Barbara Culver

Barbara Joan Sullivan Culver Obituary Barbara Joan (Sullivan) Culver, 90, passed away at her residence on April 12th, 2020. She was born April 12th, 1930 at home in Globe, Arizona to Thomas Benjamin (Barney) Sullivan and Anna Lou Sullivan. Joan is preceded in death by her parents, brother Thomas (Tom) B. Sullivan, sister Marjorie Lee Lantz, husband Theodore (Ted) Culver, and son Kip McLaren Culver. She is survived by her sisters Annabel Ruth Miller and Orrie Nell McNair, daughters Leora Hunsaker and Shawna Carnahan, grandchildren Tanner and Wendy Hunsaker, Mandy Wigman, Beau and Monica Wigman, Lex Wigman, and Sean and Hilary Williams, as well as several nieces, nephews, and great grand children. Joan graduated from Globe High School in 1948, and resided in Globe, Arizona her entire life. In her early adulthood she worked as a switchboard operator for the telephone company, and then at the hospital before starting her career within the mining industry. She began as a Time Clerk for the Magma Copper Pinto Valley Mine in 1960. She was the first woman ever to hold the title Mill Control Supervisor and started the first ball mill on July 1, 1974 for Pinto Valley Mine. She retired after 32 years of service in May of 1992. She was known to be a self-sufficient, hardworking woman, even after retirement. Along with her husband and son, she built her final homestead on ten acres in Six Shooter Canyon, naming it ‘The Property’. She enjoyed tending to her beloved animals and land, gardening, painting, rug making, and many other creative outlets in her free time. Life around Joan was far from dull. With her imagination and quick wit she turned seemingly ordinary tasks into comical adventures. People came from around the world to be entertained by the President and Founder of the Property. On her best days, you could find Jo in her kitchen with a cigarette and coffee in hand, surrounded by her loved ones and a chorus of laughter. Her vivid stories and vivacious spirit will be deeply missed by all. Assisting the family; Lamont Mortuary of Globe.