Joan Franciea Shaw

Adored mother, grandmother, aunt, cousin and friend Joan Franciea Shaw (nee Harvey’s) immortal soul left this world on August 22, 2026 upon the onset of a sudden illness. Her passing is a great loss to all those who loved her. Joan was born on October 18, 1941 to Mary Vinson Harvey Watts and Frank W. Harvey Sr. in Portsmouth, VA. Her mother’s family have at least 3 previous generations rooted in the areas of Norfolk and Portsmouth, Virginia, sometimes referred to as the Hampton Roads area. Joan is predeceased by her parents, Frank W. Harvey Sr., Mary Vinson Harvey Watts, siblings, Marilyn Y. Jennings, Frank W. Harvey Jr., and Preston M. Watts, and husband of 58 years, Willie J. Shaw. Joan is survived by her daughter, Franciea Young, and her son, Willie “J” Mansperger. Joan graduated from I. C. Norcom High School in 1960 and graduated from Norfolk State University in 1964, then called the Norfolk Division of Virginia State College. While at Norfolk State, Joan was accepted in the first line chapter of the sorority Delta Sigma Theta at Norfolk State University. Being a Delta would be a lifelong connection of sisterhood, dedication and happiness. Joan originally wanted to be a teacher and applied for a position in Washington, D.C., but upon arriving and seeing the size and scope of the classroom she would teach, she had a change of mind. Fortunately, before leaving Norfolk State, the federal government ran a typewriting testing program in which Joan scored in the top of the class. These exam results allowed her to obtain and enter a new job in the federal government as a GS Clerk typist/stenographer. She would have a 30 year career in the federal government. Her various positions of responsibilities over those 30 years were Staff Assistant, Statistician and Program Analyst in the Department of Agriculture, GSA, Department of Interior, Office of Management and Budget, and retiring from the OSM Office of Communications (Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement). She won numerous performance awards, was President of the DC Chapter Women’s in Mining, and also served as the Chief Congressional Liaison Officer for the Department of Interior.

As mentioned, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority is an organization that featured prominently in Joan’s life. In the last three to four decades of her life, she served as an active member in the Alumni Chapter of the Prince George’s County Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, holding various positions over that period, 1st and 2nd Vice President, Treasurer, and Correspondence Secretary. She traveled all across the United States, made many lifelong friendships, many memories, and experienced countless hours of enjoyment. In honor of her love for the organization, and her last serious illness, in lieu of flowers, we ask you to consider a donation to: Delta Research And Educational Foundation (https://deltafoundation.net/donate/) or the Independent Dialysis Foundation Affiliated with University of Maryland (http://www.idfdn.org/contact-us) in her memory.

Joan was a devoted wife, mother, aunt, niece, cousin, and friend. She spent her entire life thinking of others as everyone who knew her can attest to. She will be sorely missed, but she would want to be remembered for the 84 years of love she tried everyday to share with everyone she met.

Visitation with the family will be held from 11:00am-12:00pm, with a Celebration Of Life Service beginning at 12pm on Saturday, September 12, 2026 at the Chapel of Donaldson Funeral Home, P.A. 313 Talbott Avenue, Laurel, MD 20707.  Internment ceremony at the Maryland National Memorial Cemetery, 13300 Baltimore Avenue, Laurel, MD 20707 immediately following