Joan E. Krupka

Joan E. Krupka, 85, of Syracuse, passed away on October 11, 2026.

Joan was born in Syracuse, New York, on September 13, 1941, to Walter and Virginia Staerker.

Family and flowers were her whole life. In 1970, she and her husband, Ronald, opened Ron's Creative Flowers, and for the next 48 years she gave the shop her heart and soul. She and Ron ran it together, with love, until he passed away in 2006. Joan carried it on alone for another twelve years and retired in 2018.

Joan had a gift for making things beautiful. She did it with flowers, with a Thanksgiving table set with care, with the way she dressed, and with a bright smile that made a room feel warmer when she walked into it. She saw what a space or a moment could be, and she left things lovelier than she found them.

Joan and Ronald shared a special bond of love that everyone who knew them could see. A devout Catholic, Joan was a deeply religious woman whose faith was central to her life.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 46 years, Ronald W. Krupka; her parents, Walter and Virginia Staerker; and her two sisters, Virginia (Staerker) Case and Margaret (Staerker) Cimino.

She is survived by her three daughters, Tina M. (Robert) Brechue, Cheryl L. (Patrick) Walsh, and Renee L. Hagar-Smith; and her grandchildren, Nicole Walsh, Jaclyn (Kevin) Lupton, Cassandra (Alex) Walsh, Elizabeth (Joseph) Breidenbach, Haley (Nick) Vitale, and Jaime Hagar.

Services for Joan will be private. To share a memory of Joan or leave a special message for her family, please visit the guest book below.