Joan Sapon

Joan Sapon, 92, passed away on October 15, 2024, after a long, fulfilling life. She was born on September 23, 1932, in Morton, Illinois, the first child of Alfred and Alice Heiniger. Joan was married to Frank Gentile, with whom she raised her three children. The two eventually divorced, and Joan went on to marry Howard Sapon. Joan and Howard were together for over three decades, until his passing in 2017. They were able to travel the world together, and greatly enjoyed each other's company to the day Howard passed away. Joan was a smart, highly creative, independent person who had many interests. She had success first as a physical therapist, working with seniors in their homes, and later she consistently won top prizes in her office selling life insurance. She was a master gardener, a lover of birds, of mountains, and of the night sky. She created incredibly beautiful gardens at her homes in Albuquerque. She would go up in the Manzano Mountains to help with the annual counting of migrating hawks as they flew by, and she could identify most of our local birds. She would take her children out after dark to show them whenever there was a comet, a meteor shower, or a lunar eclipse happening overhead. She taught them about the planets, constellations, and nebulae. She passed along to her kids a sense of wonder with the natural world. And she gave them a feeling of security, knowing she would always be there to catch them if they were ever to fall. Beautiful, reserved, patient, and kind, she was a very lovely soul who is greatly missed. Joan is survived by her sister, Pat Miller, and brother-in-law, Bob Miller; her brother, Robert Heiniger; brother-in-law, John Bishop; daughter, Allison Gentile; sons Craig and Keith Gentile; grandson, Jack Gentile; and granddaughter, Lauren Patton. She will be laid to rest with her husband Howard at the Santa Fe National Cemetery after a private memorial service on October 28.