JoAnn was born in the snowy, icy landscape of Waterloo, Iowa, January 20, 1930. The Depression had begun just months before with the stock market crash, and times were getting increasingly lean. She was the second child of Claude J. O'Connell and Grace Simpson. She had an older sister Norma, born in 1928. Another sister, Sylvia, and a brother, Noel, would complete the family in the next ten years. The O'Connells pulled up stakes in 1936, like so many other midwestern families, and traveled west to the land of sunshine and promise, California. They lived in Berkeley, California where the children attended school. There was a talent for music in the family, and Jo Ann stood out with her heavenly soprano voice. At the age of 18 she joined the San Francisco Opera Company. A couple years later, she began singing in Civic Light Opera for Edwin Lester. Her shows were numerous, but perhaps the most life-changing show she would be in was appropriately named "Kismet". Some of the most lyrical music and lovely songs, such as "And This Is My Beloved", and "Strangers in Paradise" were part of the unforgettable score adapted largely from the classical composer Borodin. JoAnn understudied the lead singer/actress, Doretta Morrow, and when Ms. Morrow became ill, JoAnn performed the lead role of Marsinah on Broadway to wonderful reviews. The romantic story in the Broadway show "Kismet" mirrored the romance JoAnn was having with a handsome singer in the show, Richard Vine. They fell in love, not unlike the Caliph and Marsinah. The show closed in 1955, and one year later, Richard and JoAnn married July 3, 1956. The first son born to them, Kevin, sadly died several weeks after birth. They were blessed the following year with another son, Richard K. Vine. They lived in Sherman Oaks, California for many years, Richard going back to work at Lockheed after his foray into show business, and JoAnn content to be a homemaker. The family eventually moved to the little town of Campbell, California when Richard transferred to Lockheed located in Sunnyvale. JoAnn worked at home for many years in a typing business which catered initially to college students and later to major technical publishing companies. She was a perfectionist at her work and in most aspects of her life. Her talents in knitting and sewing were phenomenal. Her singing voice heavenly. He ability to do crossword puzzles in record speeds amazing. Her one luxury was going to Lake Tahoe a couple of times a year with her husband and son, and hitting the quarter slot machines with a passion, most often walking away with several casino buckets brimming with quarters. She loved her family and was extremely proud of her son Richard who joined the Navy at age 17, eventually rising to the rank of CDR. Her son married Patricia Guiterrez and became the father of two lovely children, Jennifer and Aaron. After the loss of her husband, Richard, in 1999, she once said when I asked her how she was doing, "OK, considering half of me is gone." She became ill with cancer, and dealt heroically with the challenges for two years. Her son, my brother Richard, and I took her to Lake Tahoe for what would be her "last hurrah" at the casinos in October 2003. I drove her back home to Campbell a few days later, as she intially sat beside me remarking of the beauty all around her, knowing her time was drawing near. She asked to lie down in the back seat of the station wagon, where I covered her and she slept all the way home. She passed away the following month. Her last words to me were "try to remember the good times". She was my step-mother, and truly unforgettable.