Joan Arline Hansbarger

Joan Arline Hansbarger, real estate pioneer, dedicated business woman, and devoted mother, passed away peacefully in the early hours of June 19, 2025, at the age of 97. She took her final breath surrounded by her four children at her cherished home on the shores of Clear Lake. The gentle patter of rain on the windows and nostalgic melodies of 1930s–1950s orchestras played softly in the background, offering a fitting serenade for her graceful farewell.

Born and raised in Greenville, Ohio, Joan graduated high school early to attend Ohio State University, where she studied architecture, an early passion that would shape much of her life's vision. In 1952, Joan married Larry DeFord Hansbarger of Ansonia, Ohio, an engineering graduate of Ohio State, and a First Lieutenant in the Third Attack Group Fifth Airforce who was stationed in the Pacific and occupied Japan. The newlyweds honeymooned in Mexico before beginning their married life in Lombard, Illinois, where they welcomed their first child and laid the foundation for a growing family.

By 1955, Joan and Larry relocated to Clear Lake, Indiana, to carry on the legacy of the lakefront resort built by herself, her parents, Herschel Beatty and Susanna Hoctel, and her brother, Roger Beatty, on the lake’s north shore. What began as a family home with two apartments for the Beattys’ nearly grown children soon blossomed into the Clear Lake (Cottage) Apartments, a beloved retreat deeply rooted in craftsmanship, hospitality, and family enterprise. Joan's parents had founded Greenville’s Banner Lumber Yard and Cabinet Company, passing their creative and entrepreneurial spirit to their daughter, who carried it forward with vision and grace.

As the resort flourished year after year, guests began inquiring about lake front properties for themselves, and Joan saw a new opportunity. In 1964 when women were rarely welcomed into the real estate field, she boldly began a two-year apprenticeship under Lake James broker, Jim Bledsoe. By 1966, she founded Joan Hansbarger Realty, embracing innovation through every phase of her career. From manually-typed listings and Polaroid snapshots to fax machines and full-color brochures, Joan helped revolutionize real estate marketing in the region. Her firm grew to include nearly 125 agents with offices on Clear Lake, Lake James, Angola, Auburn, and Fort Wayne. Over nearly five decades, she personally facilitated well over 500 property sales on Clear Lake alone, and helping countless families find a place of their own in northeast Indiana, whether “lake, town, country, business or farm” as she phrased it.

Joan’s influence extended far beyond her own company. As a proud and active member of the Business and Professional Women's Club (B.P.W.), she mentored and recruited aspiring women entrepreneurs, championing their growth and leadership in professional spaces. She later embraced the camaraderie and celebration of aging with flair as a cherished member of the Red Hat Society, donning her chapeau with pride, while laughing at themed luncheons and social events.

In their motorhome, Joan and Larry searched for a winter retreat. Corkscrew Woodlands in Estero, Florida was in the early stages of development with only dirt paths when they discovered the 55-and-up community when Interstate 75 was only completed to Fort Myers. Their early visit prompted Joan and Larry to become winter residents in the 1980s. Always busy, they eagerly gave back through the community’s “W.P.A.” (We Piddle Around), volunteering for beautification and improvement projects that brought neighbors closer together. She loved playing bingo, sometimes 9 cards at a time, ice cream and desserts, and taking off at dawn on her missions with her lady friends, as Larry called it, for the “garage sale squadron.”

Joan is survived by a loving and extensive family, including her children Mark (Stella) Hansbarger of Lake James, Indiana, Brian (Hope) Hansbarger of New Haven, Indiana, Alan Hansbarger of Clear Lake and Karen Barrett (Hansbarger) of Clear Lake. She also leaves behind eleven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

She was predeceased by her husband, parents and brother.

Joan will be remembered for her tireless spirit, creative vision, and unwavering devotion to family, community, and progress. Her legacy lives on, not only in the resort she helped build and the thriving business she founded, but in the lives of the many she mentored, the homes she helped create, and the memories she cultivated.

A future celebration of life is expected to be held by the family in the upcoming weeks as a salute to Joan..