\t\t\tJoan Andrews \t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\tOBITUARY\t\t<\/p>\n
1960\u20132026<\/p>\n
Joan Andrews, 65, of Orlando, Florida, passed away on March 14, 2026, after nearly three decades of a courageous and unwavering fight against breast cancer. She faced that battle the same way she lived her life \u2014 with grace and an open heart.<\/p>\n
Born on October 5, 1960, Joan was a proud graduate of Radford University, Class of 1982, where her love of storytelling first took root. That passion carried her to a distinguished 20-year career as a journalist and Assistant Sports Editor at the Orlando Sentinel, where her sharp wit and deep love of sports made her a beloved fixture in the newsroom. She later brought her talents to Lee Hecht Harrison, where she continued to craft words with the care and precision that defined her craft.<\/p>\n
But Joan was so much more than her byline. She was the person who would stop to make friends with a stranger\u2019s dog (and undoubtedly take a photo \u2013 or 30). She was happiest on the water, with sand between her toes, or gathered around a campfire under open skies. She was a die-hard Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan \u2014 loyal to the end, through every season.<\/p>\n
Joan\u2019s greatest joy, above all else, was the people she loved. She is survived by the true loves of her life, her partner Lynda Thorpe and her son Joshua Andrews. She also cherished Lynda\u2019s daughter Cori Thorpe and grandson Joshua Brett, along with many friends who were family in every way that matters. She is further survived by her brother Gary Andrews and his wife Marie, her nephews Brian and Forrest of Keysville, Virginia, and her sister Joni Baldwin of Richmond, Virginia. She was preceded in death by her beloved parents, Doris and Hilton Watt.<\/p>\n
Joan leaves behind a world that is quieter without her laugh, emptier without her enthusiasm, and immeasurably richer for having known her.<\/p>\n
In honor of Joan\u2019s 30-year fight, the family kindly asks that you consider donating in her name to the Unstoppables team through the American Cancer Society\u2019s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event this October in support of the ongoing fight against breast cancer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Joan Andrews OBITUARY 1960\u20132026 Joan Andrews, 65, of Orlando, Florida, passed away on March 14, 2026, after nearly…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":217471,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[139,141,140],"class_list":["post-217470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=217470"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217470\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/217471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=217470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=217470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=217470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}