Joan Nicoll Riedl

Joan Nicoll Riedl, Aug. 1, 2025, age 97. Joan lived a fascinating life, which she shared with others through her stories of her time in Chicago, Scotland, Iowa, and Austria. Born in Chicago to Scottish immigrants John and Ethel Nicoll, she grew up during the Depression and WWII years there and in Scotland. She graduated valedictorian at Chicago’s Senn High School and summa cum laude at Grinnell College in Iowa. She earned a master’s degree in German literature from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Joan was in the first Fulbright Scholar class at the University of Vienna in 1951, where she met the love of her life, Norbert Franz Riedl. In 1955, Joan and Bert married in Austria. They lived in Princeton, NJ and Vienna, Austria before Bert joined the Anthropology Department at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville in 1962. Always a voracious reader, Joan joined the UT faculty women’s book group in which she participated actively for more than 50 years. After Bert’s untimely death in 1975, Joan supported their five children as a secretary in the UT Religious Studies Department, where she was loved by students, faculty, and staff. Following her retirement at age 82, the department created a book award in her name, funded by the Joan Nicoll Riedl Endowment. Joan was a long-time member of Second Presbyterian Church in Knoxville. She enjoyed many friendships in her church’s Covenant Group, at WUOT, and in the UT Religious Studies Department. She leaves behind her five children and their families: Christopher Riedl (Tracy), Jennifer Cross (Tracy), Glennis Porter (Chris), Fiona Riedl (John Rauh), and Alec Riedl (Angie); grandchildren Ian, Keenan, Colin, Eva, Laurel, Sean, John and Matt; and great-grandchildren Panina, Theo, Poppy and Benjamin. The family wishes to thank Joan’s special friends, Debbie Brown and Donna Thomas, and her kind helpers at Oakwood Senior Living and Gentiva Hospice. A memorial service and reception will take place on August 30, 2025, 2:00 pm, at Second Presbyterian Church. Gifts can be made to the Joan Nicoll Riedl Endowment in lieu of flowers at bit.ly/joanriedl.

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Joan Nicoll Riedl

July 22, 1928 - August 1, 2025