Joanne Tea, aged 70, of Richland, WA died unexpectedly on Sunday, August 30^th at her home.  Joanne was born February 4, 1945 to Joseph and Shirley Hennemann in Oakland, CA.  When she was just two years old, her father remarried Mildred Rapp, and the two of them raised Joanne, her brother Pete and her sister Diana.

Joanne has lived in the Tri-Cities nearly all her life and has raised her two children, Joe and Lisa among a very large extended family.

Joanne worked as an administrative assistant for several Hanford Contractors for more than 30 years before retiring in 2010. Joanne volunteered for the fire fighters auxiliary at Benton County Fire District #4 for many years and was a volunteer with the Columbia Cup hydroplane races working with the rescue team.

Joanne had a huge love of NASCAR races and also enjoyed playing the slot machines at some nearby casinos. In fact, her final day was spent with her son at a car race in Spokane. Before the races, they visited the casino for lunch and she had to play “just a little” and ended up winning!

Some favorite stories of Joanne include her love of family and going overboard at Christmas by bringing a truckload of packages to her daughter’s house, her obsession with her police scanner – nobody could get away with even a speeding ticket without her knowing, and everyone still laughs about her “wig stage” where you never knew what color or length her hair might be!

Joanne is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Lisa and Grayden Adams; her son Joe; her grandchildren, Amanda Hancock, Jared Adams and Shauna Adams; her two great-granddaughters, Melany and Katelyn Hancock; her sister, Diana Dufresne, and her very spoiled German Shepherd Bear. She is preceded in death by her parents, Joseph and Millie Hennemann and Shirley Suza, and her brother Pete Hennemann.

There will be a memorial service on Saturday, September 5^th at 11:00am at Einan’s at Sunset, on the bypass highway in Richland.