Joan Gusler Darst; Nurse
Joan Gusler Darst, who worked as a nurse in the San Fernando Valley for 17 years, has died at a Northridge hospital. She was 58.
A longtime resident of Northridge, Mrs. Darst died of cancer Sunday, said her son, Jim Darst Jr.
Born March 23, 1932, in Rio Hondo, Tex., she came to California in 1963. She worked as a nurse at Northridge Hospital Medical Center from 1972 to 1987 and at Encino Hospital from 1987 until 1989, when her health worsened.
She was a member of a flower-collecting group called the Epiphyllum Society.
She is survived by her son, Jim Darst Jr. of Alamo, Calif.; daughters Jenny Veneris of Northridge, Jeanne Darst of Canoga Park and Janet Biegler of Vail, Colo.; brothers Gerald Gusler of Moses Lake, Wash., and David Gusler of Rio Hondo, Tex.; sister Mae Newell of Robstown, Tex., and five grandchildren.
Visitation is planned tonight from 7 to 9 at Bastian & Perrott Mortuary, 18728 Parthenia St., in Northridge, which is handling the arrangements. A funeral Mass is scheduled to be celebrated at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, 18400 Kinzie St., in Northridge. Burial will follow at Oakwood Memorial Park in Chatsworth. Donations can be sent in Mrs. Darst’s name to the City of Hope.
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