Joan Harlan Kellogg, 84, of Greenfield, passed away with her family by her side on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2016. She was born Dec. 7, 1931, in Paducah, Ky., to the late Joseph Souder Harlan and Ruth Terrell Harlan.
Joan was a remarkable woman with many interests and talents. She was a fine artist with skills in many media, but preferred painting still life and portraits with oil, acrylic, or watercolor. She enjoyed opera, with Tosca being her favorite. She played piano, guitar, and ukulele and had a beautiful voice. She was an avid reader who enjoyed discussing many subjects including poetry, history, politics, philosophy, science and more. Joan was also a designer, preservationist, and entrepeneur.
Joan grew up in Rochester, NY and graduated from West High School where she won a National Merit Award for art and drew the graphics for the ’49ers themed yearbook for her class. She later studied commercial art at Rochester Institute of Technology before moving to Atlanta, Georgia, where she worked as a commercial artist and married Robert T. ‘Bob’ Kellogg on December 24, 1952. They soon moved to Houston and then Dallas, TX. where they opened a book store and a candy store near SMU campus. In 1959 they moved to Greenfield to be closer to her family. They had two children, Anne Kathleen ‘Kathy’ Haldrup (Bob) of Knightstown, IN and Wade Harlan Kellogg (Tammy) of Franklin, IN. They were married for over 57 years until Bob’s passing in 2010.
In the mid 60’s Joan started designing cross-stitch needlework patterns and created a company called Greenfield Designs. She advertised in national magazines such as McCall’s and Woman’s Day and quickly developed a successful mail order business. She had a knack for creating interesting designs combined with catchy proverbs and sayings, which made her samplers stand out from the competition.
In the 80’s Joan became a member of the Indianapolis Art League and later taught classes at the Art Center. She continued to paint for many years. She was also interested in local history and preservation. She was active in the efforts to save the Greenfield Post Office. In 2013, she was awarded a Greenfield Historic Landmarks Preservation Award for the barn restoration project behind her residence.
In addition to her daughter and son, Joan is survived by her granddaughter, Erin Perrazzelli (Luigi); grandsons, Joey Kellogg and Clay Kellogg; great-grandson, Antonio Perrazzelli and cousins, Lynn Davis, Cynthia Rhoades, Becky Hines and Tom Terrell.
Stillinger Family Funeral Home is handling arrangements. There will be no visitation or service. A private remembrance is planned for close family. Burial of cremains will be sometime in the spring at Park Cemetary.
Online condolences may be shared at www.stillingerfamily.com.
