Dear Merton, Eric, Joe, and Peter,
I had lost touch with Joanne until her sister-in-law happened into my shop in Bothell this past summer. She filled me in and put us in touch. I had a wonderful, long phone conversation with her, and hoped to come visit, but my sister Elenor was diagnosed with cancer and I have been getting her in for her chemo treatments, and no longer had the spare time for a visit. When I heard two days ago that Joanne had died, I felt so much loss. She was one of my oldest friends. We met during Orientation week our freshman year at Seattle U. My husband Rod and I visited in Lacey several times and were Erik's godparents. She and I were Political Science majors together, and lived on the same floor for three years in the dorm at SU. My memories of Joanne are many. She never stopped moving, she was always bustling from one project to another. Wonderful smells were always coming from the kitchen next to her dorm room as she cooked for herself and Mert. I remember watching her playing the piano, her pink-tipped tongue parting her lips as she concentrated on her music. She was an optimist with a tender heart, always forgiving even if someone was unkind to her. I remember her falling in love with Merton. He was the great love of her life. He always seemed a little surprised that she had selected him, but once the relationship began, they were rarely ever apart. She used to panic all of us during tests at school; the test paper would be handed out and Joanne would whip through in about 15 minutes. I would still be laboring a half hour later. She later confessed her motivator for fast testing was an overactive bladder--but she was always acing those tests. She was utterly in love with her boys. She was so proud of them and all of their achievements; she never lost hope that they would overcome any problems they might encounter. God speed, Joanne. "May choruses of angels sing thee to thy rest." (Shakespeare, Hamlet) God bless and keep you Merton, and all of your family.
Suzanne Schoen Harmon
Cabrini grad, 1967
