MCNAMARA, Joan Ellen

Arizona Silver Belt, Globe, Arizona Tuesday, September 18, 2012 Joan Ellen McNamara, 72, of Tucson, Ariz. passed away in her home on Saturday, Sept. 8, 2012, after a valiant struggle with cancer. Born to parents Ellen and John Stebbins in Phoenix on Nov. 22, 1939, Joan grew up in Safford, married Stanley Smith and raised a family with him in Globe and Tucson, and later, after Stanley’s death, she married Dan McNamara. Joan worked in the field of addiction recovery for over 35 years. She oversaw the growth of the Local Alcohol Reception Center (LARC), which opened in 1978, from a grassroots organization providing an alternative to jail for individuals cited for public intoxication, into an addiction treatment center (Compass Health Care) with a full continuum of services and a $10 million annual budget. She opened Vida Serena in 1990 and moved detox/LARC to Vida Libre (Dodge) after purchasing it in 1993 and then opened Vida Nueva in 1994 – Women’s and Children’s program. She then opened Outpatient in 1998, MICA in 2000 and a total redesign of the detox program and move to Desert Hope was in 2003. Joan was the first chair of the Pima County/City of Tucson Commission on Addiction Treatment and Prevention and was a member of the advisory committee to the Governor on the implementation of the Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant throughout Arizona. Joan was also a board member since 2002 of Hope Inc. After her retirement, Joan continued consulting in the area of addiction management and advocating for increased access to treatment for individuals with substance use disorders. Joan was also a long standing member of Unity Church and Rotary Club. Joan is survived by her sister, Barbara Harrington; her children, Steve, Connie and Danny; her grandchildren, Jonathan, Jeremy, Stanley and Mitchell; and her great-grandchildren, Damien, Gavin, Meggie, Cammie and Hazel; and her sisters in law, Bonnie Cage, Carol Boult -Henderson and Nancy Smitch. Family and friends will gather on Saturday, Sept. 22, 2012 at 2 p.m. at Hope Inc., located at 1200 N. Country Club Road to celebrate her life. Donations in memory of Joan may be made to Compass Health Care and Hope Inc. Arrangements entrusted to Desert Sunset Funeral Home, www.desertsunsetfuneralhome.com.