- By Carole Eibelheuser -
Joan lived through the London Blitz as a young child. She saw the preparations for the bomb shelters and evacuations. Her family was separated for six years. She witnessed the bombings and fires at Coventry.
Finally at home, she took a four-year apprenticeship for window dressing, where she learned many things about furnishings and fabrics. This experience was just right to be employed at Harrods in London. While working at Harrods, she vacationed in Seattle and rode the coastline to San Diego. She fell in love with our country. She started the process to come to the U.S. by applying at the embassy. The London Times had as ad for a governess in Washington, D.C., for which she applied. The prospective employers flew to London and interviewed both her and her husband and offered them jobs. It took nine months for all of the "6th Preference Immigrant" paperwork to be finalized. The Green Cards were issued in January 1971.
Joan ran a 13-room house, looked after three children and two dogs, and, if she wasn't busy enough, she cooked for the family. Her husband was the houseman and butler in the Washington, D.C. home. Their employers entertained the members of the social scene, having 40 or so guests for lunch or dinner...and Joan cooked! Of note, she cooked for and served Senator Ted Kennedy and his wife Joan on the 10th wedding anniversary of the people she worked for...how exciting!
Other highlights of her life include being a movie extra in England, opening and running an English pub in San Diego called The Princess of Wales (complete with memorabilia of Diana), and moving to La Costa Glen, her "resort," in October 2008.
We're glad to have you here! Cheers