We have lost a Jewel and a dear friend, a brilliant, multi-faceted jewel who has deeply touched the lives of each one of us. Joan had a way of making every individual feel special in some way. She reflected what she heard and her listeners thought “how clever I am, intelligent, perceptive, insightful, original, intuitive, and gifted I am. It was a heady tonic to hear her say, “Wait just a minute! I need to get my notebook so I can write that down.” Such a statement made our wrods seem important; that was her gift to us.

 

We know about her brilliance from her educational career. She was elected to Mortar Board, Theta Sigma Phi and, it was rumored, she was listed in “Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities”. Her search for knowledge was as constant as was her curiosity. It is hard to recall a conversation with Joan when she didn’t question you about something- an issue, a candidate, a quote, a point of view or a matter of public interest. Her ability to assimilate all this infomration was astounding.

 

Joan had very democratic (with a small d) tastes. SHe cultivated frined in every venue of her life; in places high and low. She had best friends throughout the United States, such as the waitress at the truck stop in Effingham, Ill, where I-55 turns north to Chicago. She made a friend of the butcher at the Hen House so that an appropriate and authentic meal could be prepared for a visiting dignitary from the Middle East.

 

For her, going out was an event, an excitement, an opportunity for a broader exposure to the world and its people. When Joan walked into a room, she filled it up with her personality which was certainly over the top. She was a vivid person; eager, wide-eyed and she possessed a charming innocence.

 

Throughout Joan’s life there were many challenges: times of difficulty and despair, but like the Phoenix, she alwyas rose from the ashes, anticipating the future. She did not dwell on the negative. Her cup was always overflowing. She drank deeply from the affection of others.

 

Her delight and passion was in caring for; and, oftentimes, directing the lives of her three gentlemen -- Jack, John, and Michael. Jack and Joan complemented each other; so similar in many ways, and yet, distinctive. Jack collected beautiful antiques while Joan delighted in her collection of Santas and wind-up toys.

 

While she planned exotic meals, Jack enhanced her plans with flowers and a beautifully appointed diner table. They collaborated seamlessly.

 

As for John and Michael: from their infancy to the present, she was their constant and vocal supporter. These three men were always tucked in a corner of her heart, and she never, no never would allow anything to intrude on that space.

 

Joan named her sense of the transcendent “a Higher Power.” She was very private about her faith, yet she spoke volumes to us as she displayed the elaborate and elegant creche in her front hall. Throughout her life, she had an attitude that kept her in touch with her Higher Power. Today she has moved on and is even more deeply in touch with that power. I believe that the beauty that surrounded her in this life was a gift from God, and the beauty in her life to come will be magnified beyond our comprehension.

 

I claim the following words for Joan. They come from the writing of the 11th century Saint, Francis of Assisi. He wrote, “Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; for it is in giving that we receive and it is in pardoning that we are pardonned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. May she rest safely in our Lord’s arms.