Joan Ritch Nixon, 85, passed away, peacefully, after succumbing to Alzheimer's disease on Monday, February 25, 2019 at Province Place DePaul Hospital.  A native of Charlotte, Joan was born January 12, 1934, the youngest of seven girls.  She graduated from O'Donohue Catholic School in 1952 and attended Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, NC.  In June of 1956 she married her high school sweetheart, Richard Ray Nixon (deceased), also of Charlotte.  She and Dick enjoyed 54 loving years of marriage as she supported his career in the Air Force while raising their three children.   She was Phi Beta Kappa and graduated Summa Cum Laude from William and Mary.  Later, while a Reading Specialist in the Hampton City Schools, she completed her Master's Degree from Old Dominion University.  She had been a member of St John's Church in Hampton, Ft Monroe's Chapel of the Centurion, and Christ & St. Luke's in Norfolk.  She also enjoyed her a?liation with the Daughter's of the American Revolution. Her family and friends will fondly remember her delectable apple pie, beautiful prose, love for gardening, and how she was a warm and gracious hostess. Joan is survived by her daughter Nancy Nixon (Atlanta), and sons Richard R. Nixon Jr.  and daughter-in-law Susan Carver Nixon (Norfolk), and Ted Nixon and his ?ancée, Tracy Toth (Collierville, TN).  Joan leaves behind three grandchildren, Ellen Nixon (Seattle), John Nixon (Richmond), and Julia Nixon (Norfolk), along with many nieces and nephews.  A memorial service will be held at 2:00 PM on Thursday, February 28, 2019 at R. Hayden Smith Funeral Home in Hampton, VA.