Joan Ada (Dreibholz) Flower (1929 - 2018)

Ancestors

Biography

Joanne A. D. Flower

Member: Order of the Eastern Star, Mt. Zion, No. 133; LeFevre Family Association; National Geographic Photography Society; Colorado Historical Society

Born Joan Ada Dreibholz, 07 Aug 1929 in Brooklyn, New York, dau. of Thomas Dreibholz and Ada Lefever. Shortly after, the young family lived in Richmond Hill (Queens NY) with Joanne's maternal grandparents. ^[1] After 1934, the family moved to Jamaica (NY) where they resided for several years before settling in New Hyde Park. ^[2] Even before the move, Joanne proved to be an apt learner, making the Honor Roll at P.S. 90 Horace Mann School, Richmond Hill, in 1936. ^[3] In Hyde Park during WWII, she performed public service with her Girl Scout Troop in Floral Park. ^[4][5]

Joanne A.D. Flower 1947

While attending Sewanhaka High School, Joanne continued on the Honor Rolls. ^[6] A journalist for the school paper, she also wrote school sports articles for the The Nassau Daily Review-Star.^[7][8] In 1947, she was voted "Most Athletic Girl" (p27) and received the coveted Victory Sports Medal, earning numerals, eight-inch letters, and chevrons (p110): A Team Sports Manager, she participated in numerous clubs - The Purple Quill, Jr. Red Cross, Girls Service League, Girls Athletic Club, Bowling, Tennis, Varsity Basketball, Soccer, and Hockey. ^[9] After graduation, Joanne studied at Hunter College in Manhattan while living with her parents and paternal grandfather in Nassau. ^[2][10] She began publishing plays and other works in 1953. ^[11] She also played softball on Women's Softball Circuits. ^[2]

About 1969, she wed her recently widowed maternal uncle Allen Flower. They resided companionably in her parents' home until his demise three years later. ^[2]

Following her father's death in 1983, she and her mother moved to Delaware, near her sister. ^[12][13][14]

Desert Adventure 1965

A travel lover, Joanne enjoyed oceanliner cruises and independent road trips. She had a few uncommon escapades, one such event immortalized in print when she became lost on an Arizona desert highway and used a portable ham radio to achieve rescue.^[15]

Joanne's mother passed away while Joanne was on a short cruise. Deeply affected by the unexpected loss, her absence during this crisis created strain between Joanne and her sister. ^[2]

Seeking brighter horizons, Joanne traveled southwest ^[16][17] Finally settling in Colorado, she lived with her paternal uncle and his wife while authoring a book about the Rockies Baseball Team's blockbuster first season in 1993. Once in her own place, she took up photography, occasionally touring by rail to capture special sights of interest. Her solo forays into mountainous spaces opened new vistas and freed her from the past; yet, she often missed her mother. ^[2]

Over time, the rift between sisters mended, but long-distance contact became more infrequent as they aged. ^[2] Still, Joanne enjoyed sharing meals and life stories with her best friend. She wrote her memoirs, filling the pages with life events and photographs. It was a great misfortune that her manuscript was lost when she moved to assisted living. Never one to give up, she began re-writing her family and personal history in the last year of her life. She passed away before its full reconstruction; however, many memories had been handed on to friends who recount some of them herein.

Joanne held lifetime interests in writing, sports, photography, history, and genealogy, particularly her maternal Huguenot ancestry. Her strength of character, independent nature, and ability to make her way alone late in life hearkened back to the struggles of those ancient ancestors who also entered into a strange New World.

This tree branch has been established in loving memory of those ancestors and a strong, modern woman isolated from family in her older years but bound by heart and mind to its indomitable ties.

Died: 24 April 2018, Lakewood, Colorado. ^[18]

Burial: Family plot near her mother, Nassau Knolls Cemetery, 500 Port Washington Blvd., Port Washington, New York.

^{[1] [4] [12] [13] [14] [16] [17] [11] [8] [5] [3] [9] [6] [7] [15] [2] [18] [10]}

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X45N-NZJ : accessed 15 April 2018), Joan Drubholz in household of Thomas Drubholz, Queens (Districts 0501-0750), Queens, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 550, sheet 11A, line 9, family 227, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 1609; FHL microfilm 2,341,343.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7} JoAn A.D. Flower. Flower, JoAn. Personal recollections, as shared with KC . 2016
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} "Honor Roll." News clipping. Richmond Hill Record. NY, Jan 1936.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/KQYV-8HW : accessed 24 April 2018), Joan Driebholz in household of Thomas Driebholz, Assembly District 4, Queens, New York City, Queens, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 41-1165, sheet 3A, line 14, family 46, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 2742.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} "Girl Scouts Aid 6th Bond Drive." Nassau Daily Review-Star, NY, 1 Dec 1944. New York Digital Library. fultonhistory.com.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} "Sewanhaka Lists Honor Students." Nassau Daily Review-Star, NY, 8 Nov 1946. New York Digital Library. fultonhistory.com.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} "Teen Agers Report." Nassau Daily Review-Star, NY, 8 May 1947. New York Digital Library. fultonhistory.com.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} "Girls Enjoy Sports Season at Sewanhaka." Nassau Daily Review-Star, NY, 8 Apr 1947. New York Digital Library. fultonhistory.com.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} Sewanhaka H.S. Yearbook. 1947, print. Online record link: [1]
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} "United States 1950 Census", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6XYM-P3X2 : Thu Oct 05 21:20:46 UTC 2023), Entry for Thomas W Dreibholz and Ada Dreibholz, 20 April 1950.
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1} Catalog of Copyright Entries, 1953. Copyright Records – Dramas, Works Prepared for Oral Delivery, Speeches, Sermons. DREIBHOLZ, JOAN A. He who hears voices, a play in two scenes. Record [2]
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1} "United States Public Records, 1970-2009," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/KTMS-282 : 23 May 2014), Joan Dreibholz, Residence, Ellendale, Delaware, United States; a third party aggregator of publicly available information.
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1} "United States Public Records, 1970-2009," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/KTMW-VLK : 23 May 2014), Joan A Flowers, Residence, Ellendale, Delaware, United States; a third party aggregator of publicly available information.
14. ↑ ^{14.0 14.1} "United States Public Records, 1970-2009," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/QJZ3-6NMR : 23 May 2014), Joan A Flower, Residence, Dover, Delaware, United States; a third party aggregator of publicly available information.
15. ↑ ^{15.0 15.1} "Tourist Radios to Obtain Help." News clipping. Arizona Republic, The. 6 Jun 1965, p2.
16. ↑ ^{16.0 16.1} "United States Public Records, 1970-2009," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/KP6Z-Z9B : 22 May 2014), Joan A Flower, Residence, Mesa, Arizona, United States; a third party aggregator of publicly available information.
17. ↑ ^{17.0 17.1} "United States Public Records, 1970-2009," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/KYNF-S85 : 23 May 2014), Joan A Flower, Residence, Sebring, Florida, United States; a third party aggregator of publicly available information.
18. ↑ ^{18.0 18.1} KC. Personal recollections, 5 July 2018:
    • DoD: 24 Apr. 2018
    • CoD : Leukemia/sepsis.

Acknowledgements

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