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City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremations

Obituary
Joan Gormly Decker

Cary, North Carolina

Age 89.
Died 3/13/2024.

Our beloved mother, Joan Gormly Decker, 89, passed away peacefully on March 13, 2024, after a long goodbye from Alzheimer’s while at her Memory Care home, Phoenix Assisted Living in Cary, North Carolina. She was born on September 29, 1934, in Newark, NJ, the oldest child of the late John and Margaret Gormly. Pastor Tracy Bell will preside over a private Celebration of Life on Sunday, April 7, 2024, in Raleigh, North Carolina. Tex Culton will preside over a private Celebration of Life on July 7, 2024, in Frenchtown, New Jersey. Joan is survived by her four daughters, Shari Lee O’Neill, Donna Decker McCollum, Kelly Decker Pich, and Traci Decker Todd; four sons-in-law, Michael O’Neill, Thomas McCollum, William Pich, and Brandon Todd; five grandchildren, Anthony Johnson Jr., Edwin Charles Johnson, Christina Dunn, Logan Decker Todd, and Cameron Daniel Todd; and four great-grandchildren, Justin Watson, Riley Johnson, Oliver Dunn, and Elliott Dunn and two great-great-grandchildren Evander Watson and Cove Watson. She graduated from Frenchtown High School in 1952 as an accomplished student-athlete and lettered in basketball, softball, and hockey. Her high school yearbook prophecy indicated she would be in the WNBL and marry her high school steady. One of those predictions came true, and in 1953, she married the love of her life, the late Edwin “Ed” Charles Decker, and they lived in Barbertown and then Frenchtown, New Jersey. She worked for the Hunterdon County National Bank before starting their family in 1959. After that, she and Ed moved to Sarasota, Florida, where she worked in Human Resources at Sarasota Memorial Hospital. In 1979, they returned to Frenchtown, New Jersey, where she had a successful career in Human Resources and retired from Ortho Pharmaceutical in 1994. The final move would be to Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1994, where in 1995, she and Ed started their own business, “Spice Up Your Life.” For 23 years, she was known as the “Spice Lady” and left her footprint on many hearts and kitchens nationwide. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider helping us fight this devastating disease of Alzheimer's by donating to the “AFA” Alzheimer's Foundation of America https://alzfdn.org.

For additional information or for service details, please reach out to the family directly.


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City of Oaks Cremation and Funeral Home is a full-service funeral home in Raleigh, serving all of North Carolina and beyond. We provide an alternative to costly funeral homes and every day we help families in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and all over North Carolina make simple, affordable funeral arrangements.

Simply having to reach out to a funeral home can feel overwhelming. Our goal is to simplify the entire funeral home experience and make the process as easy as possible. We hope to eliminate any unnecessary surprises by publishing our total cost and the services we provide directly on our website. All of our obituaries are provided free of charge as a way to help families celebrate and commemorate the lives of their loved ones.

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Apples to Apples

Just like all other licensed funeral homes in North Carolina, City of Oaks Cremation, LLC is regulated by the NC Board of Funeral Service.


The same laws that apply to the big corporate funeral homes also apply to the modest independently owned firms like ours. All crematories in North Carolina, regardless of who owns them, are inspected annually by the state and must adhere to the same rules and laws.

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Genuine Care

We're committed to providing families within our community unsurpassed service before, during and after the time of loss.


Our staff will provide clear communication to your family through each step as we move forward from the original phone call notifying us of a death to the time we deliver the urn back to your family. We will treat your family with the utmost respect, as we honor the wishes of your loved one.


We promise to make this process affordable and as endurable as possible.

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State Wide

Our Funeral Home is located in Wake County NC; however, we provide our services to families throughout the entire State.


Unlike other funeral homes, we don't charge an additional mileage fee. Regardless of what county you live in, we can help your family with making simple, affordable funeral arrangements. From Asheville to Wilmington, we're proud to help families statewide.