JoAnne was my treasured friend and professional colleague of 30 years. We worked together, sometimes lived together, traveled and sometimes just spent quiet time in each other's company. When I thought of "friend", I thought of her.
Our professional experiences were the making of a career. Whatever needed to be done, Jo could do it. It didn't matter if she had not done it before....nothing was out of her adventurous and competent scope. We managed disasters with many deaths and injuries, built a homelike HIV unit, were pioneers in electronic medical records, designed innovative management systems for nursing, consulted, spoke at conferences and in universities and touched the lives of thousands. Whenever I needed to figure something out, get to the bottom of a problem or chart a new direction, I went to Jo and we talked till things became clear.
She was also a woman of other interests and talents. She played bridge throughout her adult life and reached her goal of life master. She taught her friends and before she retired last July had an active bridge learning group in Portland. Sadly, she did not get to a bridge instructor on a cruise ship.....her next goal. She loved to dance because her beloved father had taught her and finding a good partner was a joy. This was a highlight of the river cruise she took with her daughter, Stepahie, last September. That cruise was the perfect last trip for her to take. I remember a trip we took to the champagne country in France. We had the dinner of a lifetime in a 3 star Michelin restaurant in Eperngne that started with champagne and ended with cheeses from heaven. Her living in Belgum expanded my horizons considerably.
I will not fill the void in my days that her absence creates but I will lean on the strength of our friendship which will never leave me.

On behalf of OHSU Nursing in Portland, Oregon, I am sharing our deep sorrow over the loss of JoAnne with her family, friends and colleagues. When she retired last July, she left OHSU a better place for her presence. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

Mount Vernon Memorial Park & Mortuary

JoAnne Girard

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OBITUARY

JoAnne Glenn Girard

September 11, 1948 – February 12, 2016

Mount Vernon Memorial Park & Mortuary

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