In Loving Memory of Joella Hartness Hricik, 49

Joella Hartness Hricik passed away suddenly on December 11, 2015, at the age of 49 from an apparent heart attack. Joella was a vibrant leader in the Atlanta community where she grew up, a loving wife and mother, a devoted sister, and a dear friend to many.

Born on November 18, 1966 in Atlanta, Joella was the second youngest child of five children born to Dr. Charles and Suzanne Hartness. Joella attended The Westminster Schools from pre-first to high school graduation in 1985. She went to Middlebury College in Vermont and graduated with her Bachelor’s Degree in 1989.

After her graduation she went to live in Seattle, Washington with her childhood best friend Catherine Simpson and it was there, working to support victims of domestic violence, that Joella started her lifelong devotion to service and leadership in non-profit organizations.

Returning to her hometown in 1993, Joella worked as Campaign Unit Director at the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta, while pursuing her Master’s in Public Administration at Georgia State University. Turning her career focus to educational advancement, Joella successfully led The Westminster Schools as Director of Annual Giving during years of significant change at her alma mater.

When Joella left Westminster, she found great personal and professional fulfillment by serving as the Development Director at Paideia School, a community in Atlanta which both touched her heart and continues to educate her three children. For several years through the present Joella transformed giving and alumni relations for as Associate Dean for Development and Alumni Relations at Emory University School of Law. Joella also volunteered for the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) since 2003, serving as a board member for CASE District III and co-chairing the 2010 district conference. She also served as a faculty member for the CASE Summer Institute in Alumni Relations.

Even more than for her community leadership and professional accomplishments, Joella will be remembered for her strongly-held convictions, her vivid personality, her passionate sense of humor, and her deep abiding love for her husband, children, family, and friends. She was perhaps most proud recently of her invitation to serve as the Team Mom of the Paideia Ultimate Team, a sport that all three of her talented sons love.

Joella was an amazing hostess with a contagious laugh, a beautiful smile, and the social graces of a true steel magnolia. Joella regularly cooked for large family gatherings and entertained a wide circle of colleagues and friends. Her great stories and wise insights are legendary. She loved music and live concerts and a glass of wine with great conversation. Joella had a rare gift for making everyone feel special, seen, and known.

In recent months, Joella and her husband, David Hricik, found peace and tranquility on their recently purchased farm in Macon, Georgia where they cooked by the pool, gardened, and adored the company of their dogs, two Great Pyrenees, Jenny & Odie, and, after the much-mourned passing of their dog, Holly, recently welcomed a new rescue German Shepherd, Lexie, into their family.

Joella leaves behind her husband David Hricik, her sons Houston Cox Shrader, Alexander Hartness Shrader, Julian Alan Shrader, their father, Rodney Alan Shrader, her step-daughter Abigail Quin Hricik, her siblings Susannah Ruth Hartness, Willie Cox Hartness, Joanna Gayle Hartness, Julian Robbs Hartness, her aunt Gary Suters, and her nieces Suzanne Grace and Jennifer Ruth Hartness. Visitation will be Monday evening, December 14, from 6-8 PM and Tuesday, from 12-1 PM at Patterson’s Spring Hill. Funeral services will be Tuesday, December 15, 2015 at 1:00 PM also at Patterson’s Spring Hill with interment immediately following at Arlington Memorial Park.

The family asks that memorial donations be made to German Shepherd Dog Rescue of Georgia or the Paideia School. Funeral arrangements by H.M. Patterson & Son, Spring Hill Chapel, 1020 Spring Street NW, Atlanta, GA 30309 (404) 876-1022.