Joan A. Workmaster

Joan Marie Allen Workmaster of Rochester passed away peacefully Tuesday, September 24, 2024, in the calm and peace of the Hildebrandt Hospice Care Center after visits from family, friends, and favorite dogs.

Born on January 28, 1938, in York, Pennsylvania to Frank J. and Jane T. (Karr) Allen, Joan graduated from York Catholic High School in 1955 and went on to major in History and English at Immaculata College, graduating in 1959. While doing an internship at the Pennsylvania State Archives in Harrisburg as a college student, she met Wallace F. Workmaster, and they married on June 13, 1959. They moved to Oswego, New York, in 1960 where he became the curator-in-residence at Fort Ontario, a New York State Historic Site. While raising three children, Joan pursued her educational interests at SUNY Oswego and graduated with a MA in American Intellectual History in 1969. In the 1970s Joan worked as a historian at the Richardson-Bates House in Oswego and was involved in several civic organizations.

Joan was a devout Catholic and it was in Oswego that she began her career working in various capacities for the Catholic church, first for several years at the Newman Center at SUNY Oswego. After earning a MA in Theology from the University of Notre Dame over several years of summer study there, in the mid-1980s Joan began work as a liturgist at St. Joseph the Worker parish in Liverpool, NY. In 1994 Joan began her most fulfilling work as the Director of the Diocesan Office of Worship for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester. During this period, Joan collaborated on Diocesan Liturgies, led workshops for priests, deacons, and lay leaders, both paid and volunteers, and taught liturgy courses in the Diocesan Certification Program. Joan is fondly remembered for her willingness and interest in visiting parishes in support of parish liturgies. In service to her profession, Joan was an active member of the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions and the National Association of Pastoral Musicians. After retiring in 2004, Joan maintained involvement in the Diocese through serving as Chair of the Cathedral Parish Liturgy Commission, a board member for Joseph's Place Food Pantry, and a member of the Cathedral Community's Green Team, as well as teaching, offering workshops, and singing and playing handbells in the Cathedral choir. The Diocesan Choir's trip to Scotland in 2004 was very special for Joan, in part because it included visiting the Abbey on the island of Iona and meeting John Bell, the sacred music composer, but also because Joan and accompanying family members were able also to visit the town of Wishaw, near Glasgow, where her father grew up. In the last years of her life, Joan was studying in the Associates Program of the Sisters of St. Joseph. In addition to her work, Joan enjoyed hearing of the exploits of her family, as well as challenging crossword puzzles, mystery novels and political non-fiction, and knitting and other crafts.

Joan is survived by her children, Beth Ann A. (Linda Crubaugh) Workmaster of Madison, Wisconsin, Douglas M. Workmaster of Sausalito, California, and Wallace F. Workmaster of Lantana, Florida; as well as granddaughter, Stephanie L. (Andrew) Andujar; and great- grandchildren, Mason A. and Athena I. Andujar of Davenport, Florida. She was predeceased by her parents, husband, brother, Francis "Scotty" Allen, and partner, Katherine S. Kingsford.

A memorial mass for Joan will be celebrated at St. Theodore's Church on Saturday, November 9, 2024, at 11:15 AM. A private burial service was held at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, on Friday,
September 27, 2024. In lieu of flowers, donations in Joan's memory can be made to Joseph's Place Food Pantry (c/o Sacred Heart Cathedral, 287 Flower City Park, Rochester, NY 14615) or the Sisters of Saint Joseph (https://www.ssjrochester.org/donate).

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