I remember Joan changing her name to Mariah, singing the solo in "RainDrops Keep Falling on My Head" in elementary choir, and her being a fan of Alice Cooper. She graduated ahead of us and lived in NYC being true to herself.
I'm just finding about Joan, and I'm in shock. She and I were friends when we were little - she lived nearby. She was definitely a free spirit, and I remember she worked for "Blondie" for a while - she loved her. That, I believe was right after high school. Never heard anything else after that.
I remember Joan playing Dorothy in Miss Suaers' 2nd grade production of the Wizard of Oz (I played the leader of the bat monkeys and dragged her to the wicked witch - not very nice of me but I had to - it was in the script).
I didn't interact with her much in HS but remember having a very nice talk with her at our 20th reunion. She told me about all the things she was doing and I was struck by how excited she was about her life. It seemed to me that she was leading a full, interesting life and was very excited about all the positive things going on for her.
While I didn't really know her very well, I was quite saddened to hear that she had passed on since then.
Maria brought me back to the first time I noticed Joan. It was at an assembly in the grade school gym when she belted out Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head. It's been 39 years and I still think of her every time I hear that song.
Joan and I shared a special friendship back in the 5th grade. I only found out about her passing when I stumbled upon this site.
After doing some research, I was not suprised that she had done what many people desire, but few achieve: turning your passion into a career. Her pictures chronicled the punk rock scene and CBGB's club, she ran a photo agency, she even sang backup for Carly Simon!
A Mass for Joan will be offered on January 8, 2010 at the historic Mission San Miguel in San Miguel, California.
You can can read more about her life here.
Maria Cotto (Gargano)
I remember Joan changing her name to Mariah, singing the solo in "RainDrops Keep Falling on My Head" in elementary choir, and her being a fan of Alice Cooper. She graduated ahead of us and lived in NYC being true to herself.Darlene Auer (Greber)
I'm just finding about Joan, and I'm in shock. She and I were friends when we were little - she lived nearby. She was definitely a free spirit, and I remember she worked for "Blondie" for a while - she loved her. That, I believe was right after high school. Never heard anything else after that.Daniel Lynch
I remember Joan playing Dorothy in Miss Suaers' 2nd grade production of the Wizard of Oz (I played the leader of the bat monkeys and dragged her to the wicked witch - not very nice of me but I had to - it was in the script).I didn't interact with her much in HS but remember having a very nice talk with her at our 20th reunion. She told me about all the things she was doing and I was struck by how excited she was about her life. It seemed to me that she was leading a full, interesting life and was very excited about all the positive things going on for her.
While I didn't really know her very well, I was quite saddened to hear that she had passed on since then.
Kevin Curran
Maria brought me back to the first time I noticed Joan. It was at an assembly in the grade school gym when she belted out Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head. It's been 39 years and I still think of her every time I hear that song. Joan and I shared a special friendship back in the 5th grade. I only found out about her passing when I stumbled upon this site. After doing some research, I was not suprised that she had done what many people desire, but few achieve: turning your passion into a career. Her pictures chronicled the punk rock scene and CBGB's club, she ran a photo agency, she even sang backup for Carly Simon! A Mass for Joan will be offered on January 8, 2010 at the historic Mission San Miguel in San Miguel, California. You can can read more about her life here.