Joan M. Tiernan, Ph.D., of Atlanta, died May 15 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. She was 60.

A loving wife, mother, teacher and excellent role model, Mrs. Tiernan taught seventh- and eighth-grade math, joining the staff at Our Lady of the Assumption School as a math teacher in 1979. She became principal at the north Atlanta school in the early 1990s. She received her Ph.D. in 2000.  She retired in April 2005 after 27 years of dedicated service. A friendship garden was created at the school in her honor in 2007.

Her survivors include her husband, Jim; children, Jamie, Jennifer and Jonathan; grandchildren, Sean, Harrison, Cate and Murphy; brother and sisters, Susan, Theresa and Tim.

A funeral Mass was celebrated on Wednesday, May 18, at Our Lady of the Assumption Church.

Memorial donations may be made to the Dr. Joan M. Tiernan Scholarship Fund, 1350 Hearst Drive, Atlanta, GA 30319.