Joann Maria Hart

Joann touched many people in her life and was loved by so many. She genuinely was as described by all that knew her as nice, sweet, agreeable, a hard worker, generous, very athletic, passionate and much more. Well, I’d like to add “fiercely independent” (that’s the Swede coming out) and “witty” to that list. And Oh, I almost forgot… “stubborn”!  I know I’ll be reminded of all her wonderful traits often - and it’s going to bring a smile to my face. I also know that if I can harness her wit, stubbornness, and fierce independence (in particular) it will help guide me going forward, as I make decisions that hopefully will make her proud.

I was blessed to be married to Joann for 41 years. Our 41st anniversary was less than 2 weeks before her passing. The total shock, finality, and grief are overwhelming. I’ve tried numerous times to organize my thoughts and reach out to family and friends, but it’s been difficult. Thank goodness for Jessica and Robert. They took on that gut-wrenching task, and Joann and I are eternally grateful. Their support allowed me to be at Joann’s bedside, which is where I needed and wanted to be.

To share a bit of history with you:

Joann was born in Gothenburg Sweden on September 26th, 1959 to an American Father, Grant, and a Swedish Mother, Mariann. Joann is the middle child, between an older sister, Vicki, and a younger brother by only 16 months, Thomas. The Clapper Clan is a very close loving family, and they have always treated me like family. I will continue to visit Sweden as much as I can to keep that connection alive for my kids and grandkids.  Joann maintained very close contact even though 2018 was the last chance we had to visit. Her health continued to slip, and international travel became very uncomfortable and risky for her.

I first met Joann on a blind date. One of my College roommates asked Joann out on a date, but she wouldn’t go unless he could arrange a date for her friend. I became her friend’s date. My friend, Ralph, and I were studying at the University of Lund for a year on an exchange program through the University of California. The four of us had a very nice spring and summer, visiting and traveling a bit in Western Europe. At the end of the summer, Ralph and I left Sweden for home. We both maintained contact the best we could in those days before email and Wi-Fi cell calls. Needless to say, we both got ‘Dear Johns’! Fast forward maybe a year or so, and I get a letter from Joann saying that she is coming to the States for a while. She said she had an invite to audition for a modeling gig at the Eileen Ford Agency in New York. Her plan was to visit with my buddy Ralph in Berkeley for a while and then wanted to know if she could stop and spend a little time with me before she continued on to New York. Well, things didn’t turn out as expected, and Joann did not make that trip to New York. :) I fell so in love with her, and so began 41 years of marriage, 2 wonderful loving kids, and 4 healthy Grandbabies. Can it get any better? I don’t think so.

From 1983 to 2015, our family lived in Fresno, California. For all those years we were in the retail home fashion industry. We sold decorative fabrics, custom window coverings, custom upholstery, and more. It’s not by accident that Joann loves fabric, color and texture. She studied it in school (in Sweden) and worked in the Industry for over 30 years. Joann was the heart, the soul and the backbone of that business.

We have many friends in the Fresno area and many are like family. We grew up together as young adults/parents and we treated their kids as if they were ours, and vice versa. Those were wonderful years. We shared many holidays with those friends over the years (skiing, cycling, tennis, backpacking, road trips, mud runs, duathlons, marathons, centuries, and more). All know what a crushing blow this is to our family, and have been extremely supportive. We will have many years of sharing “Joann stories”. Most will involve how Joann crushed us in one way or another on the bike or a trans-Sierra hike. We will never run out of stories… there are just too many. She was not overtly competitive, but possessed a “quiet resolve” (and of course the 3rd lung didn’t hurt)!

From sometime in 2015, Joann and I were looking for a new place to call home. The Central Valley of California has one of the worst air basins in the country, and Joann needed to be in a better environment for her health. We remembered how much we enjoyed a road trip to the Pacific Northwest we had taken with the kids sometime in the mid-nineties. Joann loved the weather (no 100-degree days for weeks on end) and she loved that everything was green, even in the summer. What’s a little rain, after all? She is a Swede! Anyhow, we started to actively search for a new place to call home and luckily decided on Bainbridge Island, Washington.

We rented an apartment in the “Grow” community and made the move.  The “Grow” was a perfect move for us and, after close to a year of renting an apartment, a townhome that we’d been eyeing became available in “Grow”. We had our new home. Perfect location, short walk to town, the Seattle Ferry and numerous nature trails. Not able to be a cardio junky any longer, she took advantage of all the scenic walks and hikes in the area, logging a minimum of 8K to 12k steps daily. The memories of those daily walks with Joann are something I’ll cherish forever.

Joann made many new and very special friends in the 5 years we’ve lived on Bainbridge Island. We discovered a community shop called “BARN” (Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network).  Joann quickly became very active in the Fiber Arts and Print studios where she met many new friends with similar interests, and she channeled her energies into rediscovering her artistic interests. Joann was a very skilled seamstress. She didn’t need a pattern, just a tape measure, scissors, and the sewing machine. She loved weaving and spent endless hours working on the looms at BARN. She loved setting up all the different looms - sometimes I think just for the challenge, and sometimes because it reminded her of when she was in school working on the looms in Sweden. She loved knitting and needle work. She loved experimenting with new techniques in all mediums, and was always taking classes to learn more and to share ideas. She loved collaborating and sharing her ideas and passion with other Barn Members. Despite her forever-worsening health issues, Joann was in a happy place. Almost all of Joann’s work has resulted in gifts to family. We will be photographing and sharing some of that work in future posts to this website. I marvel at the number and the creativity of her projects, and the endless hours she worked at her craft. I’m her biggest fan.

Joann would be humbled by the outpouring of support that her passing has generated. Joann was a kind and gentle spirit whose memories will live long in many. I’m thankful and equally humbled that so many people have shared their feelings for our beloved Joann. Joann will not be forgotten by the ones who really knew her. For me, I could not love her more.

I’m sure Joann understands our grieving, as she would grieve the loss of any one of us. I also know Joann will be very happy when the mention of her name results in a smile and not a tsunami of tears. Hopefully the overwhelming grief and sense of loss will soften sooner than later, and we can all mention her name without the tears.

I’m thankful for the series of totally random events that somehow came together resulting in Joann and I meeting. I’m thankful to have shared 41 years of life experiences with someone I truly loved. Someone who taught me many valuable life lessons, lessons I’ll draw from in the coming years. Joann taught by example, she was kind, slow to anger, fun-loving, generous, and gracious. These are all areas where I needed work, and Joann helped me become a better person. Granted it’s still a work in progress but, with her guidance, I think I can continue to improve.

Thank you all

Love

Randy

From Jessica:

While we grieve Joann’s passing, we want to provide a place to share memories and pictures of a woman deeply loved by us all. Joann was an extraordinary person. Our hearts are heavy and our words lacking, nonetheless we want to honor an amazing woman who loved well and who was deeply loved by each of us. She would understand our grieving, but she would also want us to remember the good times we’ve had together. Many of you have already shared pictures and memories via email and text. Could we trouble you to post those things on here as you’re able? We will be sharing more and updating this site over the coming days. Thank you for your support and encouragement over this past week—your care has meant so much during this difficult time. We would love to create an album and we could use your help. As you share here, would you specifically share how you know Mom/how you met (my mom, my sister, my aunt, my friend from the Barn, etc). After that you can elaborate in any direction you'd like: your favourite memories of her, a funny adventure you had together, a story that shares of her character and talents as a person, and/or a sort of bio of your relationship--or any combination of these things. Then, if you have any pictures that might go well with what you share, that would be wonderful. Grieving is a heavy and unique experience for all of us, so please don't feel pressured on the timing on any of this. When you are ready, we think it would be a special way to share with everyone the amazing woman Joann was to YOU, and it would be helpful in creating an album to cherish memories of her. Thank you so much.

Per her wishes, Joann will be cremated and Randy will spread her ashes at many of their favorite places throughout the world that were meaningful to them. She chose to not have a funeral, so we created this site as a place for us all to share our memories of her.

Love Jessica