Joan C Meluch (née Hejl aka Heyl), age 96, beloved wife and mother, of Birmingham, MI and Selma, TX died on Monday, August 31, 2026 at St. Francis Nursing Home in San Antonio. She was born on April 23, 1930 to Francis Antony Hejl and Antoinette Rose (Novak) in Queens NY. There she grew up on 149th St with one brother, Francis A - 12 years her senior, and graduated from Flushing High School in 1947.

After High School, Joan attended the Catharine Gibbs School and received her Secretarial Certificate in 1949. She then entered the workforce as an administrative secretary for Trans World Airlines, where she worked until 1957. During this period, she met her future husband William "Bill" Meluch at a local dance. He and Joan were married on September 1, 1956, shortly after Bill’s graduation from New York University. Together Bill & Joan raised four, at times rambunctious, boys.

Joan enjoyed Big Band music, spending her leisure time with her family, searching for and documenting her family history, and creating representational artwork of the places that have inspired her during her life. During her life in Michigan, she spent several years volunteering to assist the library at the local Pierce Elementary School in Birmingham.

Joan & Bill retired to Selma, TX in 1992 and lived there quietly, joining the nearby Our Lady of Perpetual Help church where Bill sang in the choir for more than a decade.

Joan was preceded in death by her husband Bill. She leaves behind four sons Raymond (Wendy), Timothy (Sandra), Philip (Meredith), and Norman (Kelly), and five grandchildren.

Services for Joan Carol Meluch will take place on Friday, September 25, 2026 at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church beginning with the Recitation of the Holy Rosary at 10:30 AM. Funeral Mass will follow at 11:00 AM, and the services will conclude with a Graveside Service at Selma Cemetery #2 immediately after Mass.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Joan’s name may be made to The St Francis Nursing Home, 630 W Woodlawn Ave, San Antonio, TX 78212 or The Carmelite Sisters, 22134 Main St., Oldenburg IN 47036. Condolences may be left at SchertzFuneralHome.com