Joan Louise Gelinas

Gelinas, Joan Louise 79, of Largo, died Tuesday, December 24, 2013, at Morton Plant Hospital. Born in Newton, Massachusetts, she came here in 1956, from Newtonville, Massachusetts. She graduated from Newton High School in Newtonville, Massachusetts. She was a member of St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in Clearwater, Florida and had been a long-time member of Holy Cross Catholic Church in St. Petersburg, Florida. She was preceded in death by her parents, George and J. Gertrude Quinn, and her siblings, Gertrude "Bunny" (Robert "Bob") McKenna, George, Jr. "Red", Paul and her son, Wesley Quint. She is survived by her sons, Richard J., Jr. "Rick" (Nancy), David Scott "Dave" (Denise) and Paul Troy "Troy" (Mayra); sister, Sheila (Chuck) Coller; sisters-in-law Nancy Quinn and Kathleen Quinn; grandchildren Ryan (Beverly) Houghtaling, Kenny Houghtaling, Wesley Scott Gelinas, Dylan Quinn Gelinas and a great grandson, Oliver Houghtaling; and a host of nieces and nephews, grand-nieces and grand-nephews, one great grand-nephew and other relatives and friends. Joan's customer service career included employment with Gulf Beach Bank, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and Rutland Bank. She also had a twenty-one year career in public service, working for the State of Florida Corrections Department beginning in 1976, retiring as a Major in 1997. She then began volunteering at Bay Pines Veterans Hospital in Seminole, Florida, both at the hospital as well as providing respite care for caregivers. She continued her public service as a poll-worker for the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections for many years and was a frequent platelet donor. She was also a Columbiette, a membership organization of Catholic women that is affiliated with the Knights of Columbus, and a member of Holy Cross Women's Club. She was an avid Buccaneer and Tampa Bay Rays fan. She will be greatly missed. A celebration of life will be held from 1pm - 3pm on Saturday, Jan. 18th at Anderson McQueen Funeral Home, 7820 38th Ave. N. A Mass will be held at 11am on Saturday, Jan. 25th at Holy Cross Catholic Church in St. Petersburg, Florida. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her name to Faith and Action for Strength Together (FAST), a justice ministry in Pinellas County comprised of forty religious congregations of various faith backgrounds or to the programs and projects that serve veterans at the Homeless Emergency Project in Clearwater, Florida.