Joanne Mary Osinski Best was born December 15, 1935, in Brooklyn, New York, and died peacefully April 20, 2026 at her home in Savannah, Georgia. She was the eldest of seven children of Edmund and Helen Osinski.

As a child, Joanne was an eyewitness to the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. She remembered being able to see the faces of the Japanese pilots, as they flew low over her family home in U.S. Army housing and then dove down to bomb the unprotected planes parked outside at Hickam Army Airfield.

She attended Julienne High School in Dayton, Ohio. She began her higher education at Spring Hill College, in Mobile, Alabama. She met Harry Lee Best, Jr., was married and had four children (Chris, David, Kitty and Helen) in Augusta, Georgia (and later acquired four more in a blended family). She finished her post-graduate work at Augusta College (now Augusta University), and obtained her Master’s degree. She taught kindergarten and elementary school at St. Mary on the Hill, in Augusta; later she taught English to high school students at St. Vincent’s Academy in Savannah, Georgia (teaching over 40 years).

Ultimately, for Joanne and her soulmate John Edward “Eddie” Best, Sr., Savannah would always be home. They purchased a second house in the mountains in Burnsville, N.C., remodeled it, and made it their summer retreat. Joanne loved to garden, especially to plant shrubs that attracted hordes of hummingbirds.

Joanne also loved bridge, golf and was an avid reader, always willing to learn new things. She played piano and cello, and she could type 154 words per minute.

Even up through last year, she reveled in cooking for her family. No matter how large the holiday gatherings and special occasions became, Joanne was the calm captain of the kitchen. She was widely known for her eggplant parmesan and pound cake, among other things. No one left her house hungry.

When she turned 90 last year, four generations of family and many friends came to mark the occasion with her. On that day, she was, as always, witty, engaged and joyful. She was the matriarch of the family and loved by all. Although she faced stormy times, she sailed through it all, navigating with her abundance of grace and optimism. Love was her guiding light.

She is survived by her children, Christopher Lee Best, David Matthew Best (Lori), Mary Catherine (“Kitty”) Best, and Helen Best Thomas; and John E. Best, Jr., Michael Gregory Best (Terry), Ann Best Miller (Craig), Lisa B. Daniel (Ross); and by her siblings Karen O. Roy, William Osinski, Michael Osinski and Terry O. Roen. She had six grandchildren, (Rebecca Stroup (Adam), Libby Russell (Tillman), Sara Clark (Ricky), Jessica Best, Jillian Best and River Thomas and seven great-grandchildren, Mia James Stroup, Sophia, Benjamin, Grayson and Graham Russell, and Trace and Cooper Clark. She is also survived by her other grandchildren, Chris and Joseph Best, Cory Best and Carolyn Jones (Nehemiah), and Sid and Liz Daniel, as well as great-grandchildren Corie Lane Best, Amelia, Amara and Annora Jones. She was preceded in death by her husband, Eddie Best, sister Barbara Osinski Gorman and brother David Osinski.

Joanne was a long-time member of Saint Peter the Apostle Catholic Parish, in Savannah. Visitation will be held from 11:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 9, 2026, followed by a 12:00 p.m. Mass of Christian Burial Service to celebrate her life. Interment will be at the Catholic Cemetery.