Joanne Marie Tulip, 88, formerly of Massena

Joanne Marie Tulip, 88, of Asheville, NC and formerly of Massena, NY and Malone, NY, passed away January 17, 2024 after a brief illness.

Joanne, born in 1935 in Saranac Lake, was one of four children of the late Gladys and Fredrick Willett. It was in these small towns of the Adirondack Mountains (her first love) where her passion for the outdoors, her love for mountains, fresh air and openness began.

Joanne married Gerald Tulip in 1956 in Malone, NY where they started their family.  They moved to Massena, NY in the 1960’s. Joanne worked for the Massena Central School system in the kitchen for many years, starting at Twin Rivers School and completing her career at the High School.

Not forgetting her beloved mountains, Joanne hiked the Adirondack 46 high peaks starting with Colden in 1982 and finishing on Iroquois in 1989; her ADK number is 2650. She then started the winter 46, but moved to Asheville, NC soon after Jerry's death. Not to be deterred from her hiking, she set her sights on the Appalachian Trail from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Katahdin in Maine, completing her effort in 2009 after a decade of section hiking (trail name Tulip). Other achievements (that we know of) include completing the Carolina Mountain Club 100 Waterfall Challenge and South Above 6000 challenge. Internationally, she hiked Hadrian’s Wall in the UK; hiked all over New Zealand in 2011; hiked and ziplined through Costa Rica: traveled and hiked through the Canadian Rockies; and visited most of America’s National Parks. She greatly enjoyed her time with the Carolina Mountain Club (CMC), especially her dear friend and hiking buddy, Kay Shurtleff. Joanne performed trail maintenance as part of the Wilderness Crew of the CMC and was a Section Maintainer of the Mountain to Sea Trail. For several years she volunteered with the BAA-tany Goat Project, where she hiked Roan Mountain NC to watch over the angora goats that summered on the bald.

Joanne is survived by her daughter, Jerri Marie (Tom) Phillips of Asheville, NC; and sons, Tony (Tracy Minnix) Tulip of N. Conway, NH and Alan (Catherine) Tulip of Townsend, GA.  She was Grammy or Grandma to Corbett (Ally) Tulip of N. Conway, NH; Amanda (Austen) Hart of Red Lodge, MT; Owen (Angela) Tulip of Gunnison, CO; Alex (Brittani) Phillips of Beale AFB, CA; Chris Phillips of Laramie, MT; Eric (Emilee) Tulip of Mechanicville, NY; and Jacqueline Tulip of New London, CT. She was affectionately known as GG to several great-grandchildren. Joanne is also survived by a sister, Patricia Maneely of Malone, NY.

Joanne is predeceased by her husband, Gerald, her sons Craig Tulip (Neil Patrou) and Dan Tulip; a brother, Robert Tulip; and a sister Mary Elizabeth Tulip.

Those that knew Joanne are encouraged to go outside for a ‘little hike’ in remembrance of her. Alternatively, a memorial contribution may be gifted to MountainCare Adult Day Services, PO Box 5956, Asheville, NC 28813 or online at www.mountaincareservices.org.