Joan Malone Obituary

The incomparable and effervescent Joan Louise "Jodi" Malone, a national advocate for children's mental health services, passed away Feb. 26, 2026, after a valiant struggle with ALS, the incurable neurological disorder also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. She was 73.



Jodi lit up a room with her quick wit and gregarious personality, yet could also stare down any threat, especially when it involved children or family. A beloved mother, grandmother, sister and best friend, Jodi had a strong desire for fairness and social justice, and supported many such charitable causes. She also loved to play roulette (and won!), and she collected bourbon long before it was fashionable. She so appreciated the Manhattans and Old Fashioneds neighbors brought when she was sick. She mobilized an entire village of support from people who received as much from Jodi as she received from them. She so spoiled her pets, everyone said they wanted to come back in their next life as Jodi's dog, cat, bird or bunny.



A celebration of Jodi's life will be held at 11 a.m. March 21, 2026, at Covenant Presbyterian Church, with a reception following.



Born May 29, 1952, in Canton, Ohio, to Clayton and Margaret Malone, Jodi was the middle of three children and the only girl. Jodi graduated from Canton Central Catholic High School in 1970. She earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from Edgecliff College in 1974 and a master's degree in criminal justice from Xavier University in 1976.



Jodi worked as a psychiatric social worker in Cincinnati, where she met her husband Jim Wetmore. The couple soon started a family and moved to Charlotte in 1980, where Jodi began a long career in children's advocacy. She worked as a Guardian ad Litem and later led Mecklenburg's "Willie M" program, a landmark court-mandated system of care for adolescents with severe behavioral and mental health issues. She then led Mecklenburg County's Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.



A 1990 graduate of Leadership Charlotte, Jodi served as an expert witness and consultant in lawsuits and consent decrees in at least 10 states – and was nationally recognized in the textbook "Making Child Welfare Work."



Jodi went on to run New Hope Carolinas, a psychiatric hospital for 150 youth in Rock Hill, South Carolina, from 1998 to 2006. She then joined the leadership of Sylvan Learning Centers, always maneuvering to give scholarships to those in need.



Although she had traveled widely, ALS cut short a formidable bucket list Jodi had planned for retirement. To call ALS a brutal disease is insufficient for a disorder that took away Jodi's ability to walk, talk, eat and breathe. Outrageously, it has been 87 years since New York Yankee Lou Gehrig delivered his famous speech making the public widely aware of this progressive, neurodegenerative illness – yet somehow, we haven't found the will to cure it.



Jodi was preceded in death by her parents and a menagerie of pets. She is survived by her son Christopher Wetmore, daughter Betsy and Justin Cardone, grandsons Clayton and Cooper Wetmore, brothers Breen Malone (Sheri Meyer) and Mark Malone (Robert Blackman), and extended family Liz Chandler, Sally Malone, Jim and Ann Wetmore, Laurie Cunningham, Laurie Beddinghaus and the Presleys.



In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Joe Martin ALS Foundation at joemartinalsfoundation.org or Via Health Partners (hospice and palliative care) at www.viahp.org.