A community volunteer, former educator, and the 39th annual First Citizen of Cherokee County, Canton resident Joan McFather recently passed away.

McFather taught English for 30 years at Cherokee High School and devoted thousands of hours to community service through dozens of organizations, for which she won countless awards.

Her many volunteer efforts and community service work benefited organizations such as the Service League of Cherokee County, Cherokee FOCUS, Cherokee Arts Center, Cherokee Chamber of Commerce, Juvenile Court Citizens Review Panel, the Cherokee Community Chorale, Cherokee County Retired Educators Association, Sequoyah Regional Library board, Reinhardt University/Funk Heritage Center, and the Cherokee County Master Gardeners, among others.