Born and raised in West St. Paul, Sr. Joan went to grade school at St. Matthew's and graduated from St. Agnes High School. The following August she was bound for Mankato where she joined the School Sisters of Notre Dame. After a year of candidature, she was sent to begin her teaching career as a middle school teacher. Summers were spent attending classes to get her BA and MA degrees. How many years she has served as a SSND sister we're not telling, but 25 of them were spent as the principal of several parish schools. Since 1997 Sr. Joan has worked here as a parish minister with emphasis on visiting hospitals, nursing homes and the homebound.