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Joan Philley Dionne, 78, of Severna Park, died at Washington County Hospital in Hagerstown on April 7, 2007.

Mrs. Dionne, the daughter of the late Mike and Kitty Philley, was born Nov. 1, 1928 in Newberg, Ore. She earned a degree in history from Marylhurst College in Oregon and began teaching in Burns, Ore. She was a 1st lieutenant in the former Women's Army Corps from 1952 to 1955, when she married Patrick H. Dionne, who died in 2006.

She was an active volunteer in communities in which she lived as an Army wife. For 10 years she taught water exercises for those with arthritis at the YMCA pool. She served on the board of directors of the Southern Maryland Arthritis Foundation and contributed 5,000 hours as a volunteer at Anne Arundel Medical Center. In 1989, she was a nominee for "Maryland You Are Beautiful" in recognition of her service to others. She belonged to the American Legion and TOPS.

Survivors include one daughter, Mary Robertson of Keedysville in Washington County; three sons, David Dionne of Pasadena, Charles Dionne of Clarksville and Thomas Dionne of Middleburg, Va.; two sisters, Glenna Stacey of Pacific City, Ore., and Esther Matches of Bellevue, Wash.; and six grandchildren.

Visitation will be from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. tomorrow at Barranco and Sons Severna Park Funeral Home, 495 Ritchie Highway. Burial and services will be at a later date at Arlington National Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, 505 LBJ Highway, Suite 250, Dallas, TX 75244. On-line condolences may be made at www.barrancofuneralhome.com

As published on 4/11/2007 in The Capital Newspaper, Annapolis, MD