Joan was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. She developed an interest in writing poetry and short stories while in her teens. Joan married and raised a family of four boys in Lombard, Illinois. Joan was widowed in 1975. She has worked full time as a stenographer, typist and waitress. and part time as a salesclerk and phone communicator. Joan remarried in 1989, and is now retired in Florida. Joan wrote a free verse poem describing a previous visit to Denmark, and won a free trip to Copenhagen, Denmark, for the bi-centennial of Hans Christian Anderson's birthday in July of 2005. Joan is a...