Joan Bothast

Just short of her 90th birthday, Joan Bothast of South Pasadena, California, joined her beloved late husband Lee to be reunited in the presence of God. Peace came to her on November 19, 2022, with no pain, and guided with good care, after a two-year struggle with dementia.
Joan was born in 1933 to Frederick and Helen (nee Chayko-Dwyer) Rapp of Keyport, New Jersey. She grew up amongst the tight knit members of her parents many siblings, cousins and grandparents, alongside her beloved brother William, who passed in 2016.
Graduating from Keyport High School in 1950, she ventured out on her own, working her way through Bryant University in Rhode Island, and upon graduating with a degree in accounting, began work for the American Meteorological Society in Boston. It was there, on a cold October Sunday in 1952 that she met the love of her life, a Navy Man named Lee Bothast, who proposed to her three months later and they were married just three more months later in March 1953, to start a life partnership filled with love, laughter, commitment, support and growth, lasting for 60 years until Lee’s passing.
After many years as the diligent wife of a pastor, Joan started a long and highly successful real estate career as a commercial agent in 1972 in Massachusetts, and upon moving to California in 1975 began her 42-year residential realtor association with Coldwell Banker San Marino. Her production awards and involvement in the industry, including President of Pasadena Board of Realtors, Realtor of the Year, and so much more at the state and national level, was only exceeded by the respect, reverence and friendship that her colleagues and long held loyal clients afforded her, right up to, and past, her retirement in 2017.
Joan, along with her husband, were continuous and widely respected, members of the First United Methodist Church of Pasadena from 1976 to 2022. They deeply loved the community and the many dear friends there, including the Questers, and all the committees and other contributions to which they were deeply devoted. The church was truly their spiritual home away from home.
Joan loved to travel, arranging trips for her and Lee to exotic locals such as China, the Tahitian Islands many times, Europe, and cruising the QE2 from England to New York, as well as multiple trips all over the United States, often visiting closely held friends and family at the same time. She added to these achievements with her involvement in PEO, taking on so many roles over the years, and cherishing the sisterhood of that highly regarded organization.
Joan leaves a legacy in her children, a daughter Laura Lee Fitzpatrick and her husband John, a son, Lee Bothast II and his wife Samantha, along with five grandchildren, Byron and Charles Fitzpatrick, Joely, Lily and Alexander Bothast.
Joan was a self-made success story, climbing to the highest levels in real estate, a dedicated mother and grandmother who was filled with love and loyalty for her family, her clients, her 45 year FUMC church and Pasadena area charitable communities. She was influential to many, and impacted lives everywhere she went. She will be missed and her legacy lives on with many that she touched throughout her decades.
A private burial alongside her beloved husband was held in November at San Gabriel Cemetery. A public Memorial Service at First United Methodist Church, main sanctuary, will be held on March 11, 2023, at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to The Pasadena Methodist Foundation (pasadenamethodistfoundation.org), or any local or national chapter of PEO (donations.peointernational.org).