JoAnn Marie

Her Story

JoAnn is a two-time Cancer survivor. She credits her faith in God for giving her the strength and ability to fight that disease, and allow Him to work through her weakness for His glory.

She was an intensive care nurse for 6 years, and was continually on her toes running to deal with yet another “Code Blue.” (A code blue in a hospital is a medical emergency that typically involves a patient in cardiac and/or respiratory arrest. It requires immediate resuscitation efforts from trained staff, and alerts the hospital's emergency response team to quickly mobilize and provide life-saving care.)

JoAnn was a pioneer in the arena of schooling her two children. She homeschooled them back in the “early days,” when homeschooling was anything but the norm. From kindergarten through 8th grade, JoAnn lovingly schooled her daughter and son at home, giving them a faith-based education. JoAnn’s desire to homeschool her children definitely had her standing against the tide of “normal,” but she knew that she had to do what she felt that God was calling her to do.

Once past 40, JoAnn decided to reinvent her life, and worked diligently for 4 years to achieve her certificate in homeopathy. She then spent 14 years as a Homeopathic Consultant advising and helping many people with their health and health care.

A smiling person with gray hair and glasses wearing a blue jacket and hiking pants, climbing on large rocks with snow-capped mountains and a partly cloudy sky in the background.

Two middle-aged women with short, light-colored hair smiling and posing together indoors. One is wearing glasses, a black top, and a white braided necklace. The other is wearing earrings, a patterned black and white top, and a brown arm brace.

JoAnn’s heart is always bent towards helping others. Some of her favorite activities include: being an Awana Bible Club Leader and a Vacation Bible School Teacher, and a volunteer at Joni and Friends Family Retreats. She is excited to share the gospel and her love of Jesus with others. She is eager to share with others how God continues to work in her life.

JoAnn Marie with Joni Eareckson Tada

A smiling middle-aged woman with short gray hair, glasses, and earrings, sitting on a wooden chair in a beige room. She is holding a paperback book titled 'Back from Broken' by JoAnn Marie. To her left, there is a small table with a green plant and a white mug.

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JoAnn loves to travel and has visited 12 countries and 32 states. She is drawn to the ocean, and is in her happiest of places with the salt air on her face, and her toes in the water. Through traveling, especially to other countries, JoAnn has learned how to flex her muscles of patience, kindness, and perseverance. JoAnn shares her love of travel with her family. As a group of 8, they endeavor to take a family vacation at least every other year, and JoAnn thrives on the adventure of planning those trips.

One of JoAnn’s favorite pastimes is reading, and regularly meets her goal of reading one book per week. Her favorite genre is political and crime thrillers. To reach that reading goal, it is normal to find her with her ear buds in and audio book on, while taking her morning walk around her small town in the Nebraska plains, or while puttering in her garden, even when she is cooking and canning. JoAnn has always envied fiction writers, and has plans for her next book to be her memoir, based on real-life facts and situations from her life, but written as fiction, to protect the characters. She knows first-hand that truth is stranger than fiction!