From Aviva Maller

Joanna
Joanna means G-d is gracious
How perfect!
Joanna was blessed by G-d's grace to have so many wonderful qualities.
She was so much fun and yet she was serious and focused and so intent on getting her work done efficiently and in the best way possible. What most people don't know is that so much of what you saw at Agudath was done quietly by Joanna.
Occasionally she would ask for help of some sort but mostly she was about, "getting the job done!" It was not just done quickly but well and she loved checking off her accomplishments. I could never walk into the office without Joanna saying something about me in a disparaging yet jovial manner. I called her "Blondie" she called me "long hair." She would always spoil me, making me coffee and finding me treats to nourish me for my early morning meetings. She loved to throw Hebrew words out at me and I was always amazed at how much she knew.
I would compliment her great work and give her other ideas, which she loved but always complained and told me to stop giving her these great ideas because they would be more work for her! She knew she could come to me without question for anything but yet she would always be respectful of my time.
We talked of fun things and she had a mischievous spirit that was exciting and calming at the same time. We made promises to visit her little caretakers cottage in Westport or her cabin in the woods near the Canadian border where there was no running water or electricity. Only Joanna could think it was relaxing to spend a weekend without the amenities we all take for granted.
While Joanna was suffering, unbeknownst to me, from her sudden stroke and coma, I was thinking of her nonstop as I planted my flowers this past Sunday, thinking I can't wait to show my flowers to Joanna and show her that there is more to life than Marigolds all in a row. I so wanted to see those marigolds and tease her about her perfect orderly manner of controlling her world. I wanted to show her how disheveled wild flowers were also beautiful, in an un-orderly way. She would have said. "Cool!" Of course she planted Marigolds, they are neat and tidy and blonde! The last time I spoke with Joanna, other than working on creating Claudette's goodbye party flyer, she shared with me about her rows of Marigolds that she planted the same way every year and how proud she was that last weekend she checked off every item on her to-do list.
I was in awe.
Joanna, I hope your to-do list was, like you, gracious and fun. I will really miss you.
Aviva