Joanne Camille Schaller

Joanne was born in Houghton, Michigan. She is survived by her daughter, Susan (Suzy) Jo Letwin. Joanne’s life began at a party. Dorothy, her mother, went into labor at a house party during a snowstorm. One doctor refused to make the trip. The other doctor had to tunnel through the snow to get into the house. Dorothy was seven months pregnant. Joanne was put in a box next to the stove and thrived. Dorothy was married to a charismatic gambling hockey player who she left when Joanne was a baby. Dorothy’s family moved to St. Paul, Minnesota. Dorothy’s mother, Mildred (Millie), helped raise Joanne since Dorothy worked as a fashion model for Dayton’s department store and other businesses.

Throughout her life, Joanne loved nature and animals. She liked to scoop pollywogs from the local pond. She thought she would see a faerie in her lifetime and drew pictures of these woodland spirits. She believed in magic like Santa and his reindeer, listening with her children every year for the sounds of hooves on the rooftop. Joanne’s love of nature extended to painting nature scenes and writing poetry about nature. One of her favorite kinds of poetry was haiku. She created 50 haiku poems.

Joanne’s family paid for her to take piano lessons. Since Joanne’s family didn’t attend church, this mischievous young woman would sneak to church to play the organ. Joanne played the piano and organ for many churches. She was playing the piano and entertaining her day program residents, care home residents, family and friends up to the time she died. She even played an opera audition piece for her daughter, Suzy, with a broken foot! And she often accompanied her cello and guitar-playing grandsons, Nick and Drew. Granddaughter Sarah and Joanne enjoyed sharing their writing and artwork with each other.

Joanne met her husband, John, when she would sneak out to church. She delighted in telling the story of John mailing her engagement ring to her and her roommate putting the little ring box on her breakfast tray. John never asked her to marry him; it was implied. They were married at Riverside Cathedral in Manhattan, New York after Joanne won Vogue’s Prix de Paris writing contest. Vogue Magazine helped Joanne secure a job at House and Garden Magazine. After Joanne and John were married and had Huntley, their first child, they settled in Freeport, Long Island where Suzy was born. John received an invitation to visit Regina, Saskatchewan when he completed his PhD in Education. The family spent 30 years in Regina. John was also a nature-lover and taught outdoor education. The family lived in a tent at Fort Qu’Appelle for several summers and they often guided students on wilderness canoe trips in Northern Saskatchewan.

Joanne also worked as a receptionist for a college dean, but most of her career was spent as a library assistant. She worked at the New York Public Library and Regina Public Library. One of her volunteer endeavors was UNICEF. She loved to hand out the little orange boxes to children to collect money for the organization at Halloween. She held a Christmas card sale each year and baked many muffins for attendees.

When John retired, they built a log house on a mountain in Jefferson City, Montana. They led a dream life, gazing out at the beautiful ponderosa pines and the Elkhorn Mountains. They made many friends and Joanne played the organ for two churches and a choir. They attended the Helena Symphony and were good friends with the French horn player. When John passed away, Joanne moved to Hunter’s Pointe, a retirement home in Helena and then moved to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan where Suzy was living with her husband and three children. Together, they enjoyed suppers, laughter, and nature outings. Suzy’s goldendoodle and rabbit would sometimes hop onto Joanne’s bed and cuddle her. Joanne lived to see her first great grandchild, Sarah’s son Jack.

Joanne was healthy until two weeks before her death. She developed heart complications. She was able to say goodbye to every family member and many friends. Suzy is hosting a private party as a Celebration of Joanne’s Life. Joanne will be cremated and a service with much music and a picnic luncheon will be held in the spring of 2024.

Arrangements entrusted to Travis Minor