Joanna Carpenter Kissling, 99, of Tullahoma passed away on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024 at Life Care Center of Hixson.

A service will be conducted on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024 at 11 a.m.at the Chattanooga National Cemetery where she will be buried with her husband of over 70 years Lt. Col. Lamar Read Kissling who passed away in 2019. Family will meet in parking area at main office and proceed to service site at designated time.

Joanna was born in Falmouth Kentucky at her Grandmother Momma G’s house on Sept. 1, 1925. Her parents, William Kelso and Verlie Hazel (Flaugher) Carpenter owned a large farm in neighboring Bracken Co. Ky., near Brooksville. Joanna was the third of 4 children and the only girl. She attended elementary through high school in Bracken County and grew up working on the farm, mostly helping her mother with chores and the cooking which was a non-stop job as everything was prepared fresh and they were feeding the farmhands in addition to their family. She was butchering chickens at age 6 and learned young how to prepare a delicious fried chicken. When asked how many chickens she thought she had fried in her life, she would pause to think and then say “oh about 80,000 I guess.”

Joanna graduated from Brookville High School in 1945. She got accepted to attend The University of Kentucky and was the first woman in her family to attend higher education. She joined Delta Zeta Sorority her freshman year. During her sophomore year at UK, she met her future husband and love of her life, Lamar Kissling, who was a young Lieutenant Pilot in the Army Air Corps working on his engineering degree. Joanna and Lamar got married in 1948 in his hometown of Louisville, Ky. Lamar resumed his Air Force career post-college, and they had many postings including Eglin AFB in Fla., Sugar Creek, Mo., Montgomery, Ala., Chicago, IL, Andrews AFB and the Pentagon in Washington D.C. and finally Arnold Engineering and Development Center in Tullahoma where they moved in 1972. They made new acquaintances in all of these locations, many who remained life-long friends. In 1976, Joanna started a business called Joanna’s Junque. She ran this very successful antique shop until 1986 when she retired to become a full-time Grandmother. She was known throughout the Tullahoma area as “The Junque Lady”. Joanna and Lamar were active members of The First Presbyterian Church since 1972.

Joanna is survived by her daughter, Marla Jo Horn (David); her son, Randy Kissling (Mary Tipton); four grandchildren, Reynold Kissling, Lowell Kissling, Brandon Horn (Courtney), Chris Horn; and two great grandchildren, Emily and Walter Horn.

A special thank you to Morning Pointe of Tullahoma and Hixson for their care of Joanna following Lamar’s passing. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the First Presbyterian Church of Tullahoma or your favorite charity.

Tullahoma Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.

Tullahoma News – Oct. 23, 2024