Joan S. Randolph, a nurse and leader in her field, dies at 84

Joan S. Randolph, 84, formerly of Northeast Philadelphia, a nurse who was a leader in her field, died Saturday, Feb. 22, of respiratory failure at Rydal Park, a senior community in Jenkintown.

Born in Philadelphia, Mrs. Randolph graduated from John Bartram High School and was a 1956 graduate of the Jefferson School of Nursing. She also studied at the Yale University School of Organization and Management.

She began her career at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and was an industrial nurse at Sears, Roebuck & Co. before joining the staff at Jeanes Hospital in 1962. She worked for 38 years as a nurse, a nursing supervisor, and finally vice president of nursing and patient services. She retired in 2000.

“She was very passionate about nursing and mentoring new nurses,” her family said in a statement.

Mrs. Randolph’s influence was felt beyond nursing. She was a board member and adviser for the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau for 25 years. In 1994, a year after the opening of the Convention Center, she started the bureau’s Nursing Leadership Committee and chaired it until 2017.

The committee of nursing, corporate, and government executives was responsible for attracting new business to Philadelphia. During her tenure, the city hosted 30 nursing meetings, which brought in 110,000 conventioneers and a significant amount of revenue.

In 2014, she received the PHL Life Sciences Ultimate Solution Award for her commitment to promoting the city as a nursing-convention site.

“She was a true example of a Philadelphia ambassador,” said Julie Coker, president and CEO of PHL Life Sciences, a division of the convention and tourist bureau. “She believed in this city and wanted to share her passion with everyone she came to know.”

Barbara Wadsworth, who replaced Mrs. Randolph as committee chair, said her predecessor forged a unique connection between nursing and hospitality.

“She created a legacy and will be missed by her peers,” said Wadsworth, the chief nursing officer of Main Line Health Systems. “We have her to thank for all we have learned about the growth of our city and region, and how we could leverage that to fill the Convention Center with more meetings and conventions from the world of nursing.”

Mrs. Randolph played a key role in the painting of the city’s first nursing mural, at Broad and Vine Streets in 2002. She served on the Jeanes Hospital Foundation board and was a member of the hospital’s community advisory board. She also was a consultant to Temple University Hospital.

In 1991, she was named by the Navy Nurse Corps as an honorary ensign. In 2016, Mrs. Randolph received the Jefferson College of Nursing Alumna of the Year Award.

Outside the world of nursing, Mrs. Randolph was active in the churches led by her husband, the Rev. Paul C. Randolph Jr. In 1966, he became pastor at Reconciliation Reformed Episcopal Church in South Philadelphia, and in 1974 moved to St. Mark’s Reformed Episcopal Church in Jenkintown.

She was a board member of Insight Christian Counseling, a Huntingdon Valley nonprofit founded in 2007 by Mrs. Randolph and her son, the Rev. Paul E. Randolph. He is the nonprofit’s executive director.

Mrs. Randolph enjoyed summers in Cape May, travel, fine dining, and spending time with family. She was an accomplished seamstress and knitter.

Her husband died in 2012. That year, she moved to Rydal Park, where she started a group for retired nurses.

Besides her son, she is survived by three grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and a sister.

A viewing from 8:30 to 10:15 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 29, will be followed by 10:30 a.m. funeral services at Calvary Chapel of Philadelphia, 13500 Philmont Ave. Interment is in Lawnview Cemetery, Rockledge.

Memorial contributions may be made to Insight Christian Counseling, Box 867, Huntingdon Valley, Pa. 19006.