Joan Tittle, an Eagles superfan and season ticket holder since 1958, dies at 88
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Lincoln Financial Field will miss a beloved fan this season as Joan Tittle recently died, but the Philly Pride of her beloved team lives on in her family.
"Please join us in welcoming Joan Tittle," an Eagles announcer said with her face on the big screen. "An Eagles season ticket holder since 1958."
You could say Joan was an Eagles superfan. Her husband of 60 years, George Tittle, said Joan's fandom was partly a way to honor her father, who took her to her first Eagles game 66 years ago.
"To this day, it is a part of her relationship with her family," George said.
Her family said she kept that tradition going, taking her son Terrence to his first Eagles game. Terrence said he remembered his mom's reaction when they both saw the Eagles win Super Bowl LII.
"I think it was emotional for her," Terrence said. "She didn't say a lot, but I felt that she was excited."
Joan's fellow fans were emotional about her, too. Joan's family says that in 66 years, she only missed one home game due to a flight issue. But later in her life, Terrence shared how difficult getting to her favorite seat in the stadium had become for her.
"Somebody that sat on the end seat, on either side of the section, would get up and sit on the steps and offer my mom their seat so she could sit there, get her wind back together," Terrence said.
Joan's friend Artis Hall said that when she could not walk up the steps, the team stepped up.
"When she couldn't get up the ramp anymore, they would come down and get her when she got there, come down and carry her up the ramp to her seat," Hall said.
The Eagles sent the family a commemorative ball honoring Joan. It read, "In loving memory of Joan 'YA' Tittle, forever an Eagle." She earned that nickname for sharing a last name, though no relation, with the late NFL Great Y.A. Tittle.
Hall said Joan's dedication to the team will be hard to beat.
"You might be a fan, but nobody is a bigger fan than Joan Tittle," Hall said.
Joan died on Friday, Aug. 9, at the age of 88. Her funeral will be on Saturday. Fellow fans are invited. Joan had one more wish: that anyone attending her funeral wear Eagles Green.
Joan's funeral mass will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 24 at Our Mother of Consolation, 9 East Chestnut Hill Avenue, Philadelphia, Pa. 19118.
A celebration of her life will take place at 1 p.m. at Laurel Hill West Cemetery, 225 Belmont Avenue, Bala Cynwyd, Pa. 19004.