Joanna H. Lakey

On October 2, 2021, the World lost a beautiful soul. Joanna H Lakey 69, of Cleveland Tennessee was born on December 28th 1951. She was adopted by Cleveland Glover and Jeanette Glover of Charlottesville Virginia. She was a Marine Corp’s daughter and grew up living all over the World. She was preceded in death by her husband James Bovie Lakey. She and my Dad met at a South Carolina Hilton hotel, where at the time she was in between planes, working as an airline pilot and he was traveling to promote his photography business. Jim Lakey was a member of the Masonic Lodge, Scottish Rite and the Alhambra Shrine Temple, where as a family we would travel raising money for the Shriners Children’s Hospitals of America. Together, Joanna and Jim were also a member of the Elks Lodge, American Legion, Veterans Administration, Cleveland Country Club, Professional Photographers of America, Wedding and Portrait Photographers International and Photo Marketing Association’s. They were owners and operators of Brightscreen and Images of Interest, with 75 patents they invented and manufactured for professional photographers around the World. Their main customers included NASA, Walt Disney, the Marine Corp, the Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Paramount Pictures, Kodak, Canon and Nikon, just to name a few. Joanna was a mother who always went above and beyond in that role as well. She use to hand make clothes, from dresses to sweaters, tops and bottoms. She crocheted scarves, blankets and hats to keep me warm. She was a very talented cook and everyday she would pack school lunches equipped with home made sour dough bread. She was always patient and kind. She was a best friend to too many to count; however, she is leaving her closest friends behind, including, Cindy, Sally, Melba, Robin, Mary M., Mary H., Debbie, Max, Courtney, Rick, Judy, Jane, Dave, Chris, Joe and Bobby. They will all tell you that she lit up every room she walked into. Over the last 12 years she fought skin cancer, then colon cancer, then bladder cancer, then pelvic cancer, then lung cancer finally took her out. During one of the many surgeries she had to endure, the Dr’s found her organs are not where you’d expect them to be; they are actually reversed. Because she is such a rare case her wishes were to donate them to the University of Tennessee for research. No matter what life threw at her, her positivity was always prevalent and her sense of humor and smile was always present. She is survived by her only daughter Amanda Michelle Lakey and Grandson Andrew James Lakey. There will be no funeral reception as her wishes are to be cremated and her friends and family to have their own private celebration of life with a toast of Chardonnay and a dance to her favorite song “Havana”.