Joan "Jojo" Marie Mayben, community minded

Joan "Jojo" Marie (Selby) Mayben, 81, of Milton, passed away Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2016 at Cadia Rehabilitation Renaissance Healthcare, in the arms of her loving daughters. She was born Aug. 5, 1935, in Washington, D.C., daughter of the late Wilbur M. and Mary Jane (Rider) Selby.

Joan graduated from Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Md., in 1954. She began working during high school at the age of 16, at SS Kresge Company as a clerk. Upon graduation, she began working for Bromwell Construction Division as a secretary in the Safeway Store Construction Division. After a brief time away from the work world to give birth to her two daughters, Joan went back as a customer service representative for Montgomery Ward. After moving to Rockville, Md., she began work at the Montgomery County Courthouse as a recorder of deeds, a position she held until her retirement in 1991.

Jim and Joan Mayben moved to Lewes in 1991, where she began working for Colonial East as an administrative aide. She then moved on to Cape Henlopen School District, from which she retired as a licensed special education paraprofessional.

Joan was always community minded. While living in Maryland, she was an active member of the Burtonsville Volunteer Fire Department Auxiliary, raising funds and assisting with meals and drinks on emergency scenes. She supported her daughters in their endeavors as they grew into upstanding, quality young women, and was a role model for her grandchildren as they grew into adults. She became active in the Rehoboth Beach Lions Club and the Bethel UM Church activities, including the Elizabeth Circle Group.

Joan loved to travel. She and her family traveled all over the United States and abroad. She was a collector of shells, bells and seaglass. She supported her husband and his love of the Washington Redskins and the Baltimore Orioles, and was an avid bowler. More than anything, however, Joan loved being an integral part of her family's lives, and she cherished time spent with them. She was a caring and devoted wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister and friend, who will be deeply missed by everyone who had the opportunity to know her.

In addition to her parents, Joan was preceded in death by her beloved husband, James Mayben; and her four brothers: John, David, Robert and William Selby. She is survived by her two daughters: Debra Ann "Debbie" Dukes and her husband Larry of Dagsboro, and Rhonda Lee "Ronnie" Pignataro and her husband John of Milton; her sister, Amy Janet Roberson and her husband Ron of Rockville; her four grandchildren: Timothy James "TJ" Miller and his wife Nita, Nicole Marie "Nikki" Smith and her husband Bennie, John Anthony "Tony" Pignataro, and Jennifer Lee "Jenni" Pignataro; her four great-grandchildren: Tyki Lamar "Ty" Spencer, Tykira Renee "Kira" Spencer, Tatiyana Marie "Tootsie" Spencer, and Aliyah Elizabeth "Mimi" Smith; as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

A Celebration of Life will be held Monday, Dec. 19, at 1 p.m., at the Lewes Fire Department, Station 2, 32198 Janice Road, Lewes, where friends may visit beginning at 12:30 p.m. Interment will be private. All arrangements are being handled by Parsell Funeral Homes and Crematorium, Atkins-Lodge Chapel, Lewes.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions in Joan's memory to Rehoboth Beach Lions Club, P.O. Box 291, Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971.

Please visit Joan's Life Memorial Webpage and sign her online guestbook at www.parsellfuneralhomes.com.