Joan Olney French

Joan Olney French passed away March 16, 2025. She was 94 years old. Joan was born in Los Angeles, California during the great depression. Her father worked as an Engineer for the LA City Sewer Department and her mother was a homemaker.

She recounted watching P38 aircraft fly over her house during WWII as a child. She was disappointed her mother denied her a pet burro and insisted on a pair of love birds instead. She worked as a lifeguard and recalled taking the trolley with her girlfriends to the Santa Monica pier before the tangled freeways were built. Joan met and married her husband James H. French at University of California, Davis where she received an Associate Degree in Dairy Industry. After her children grew older she went back to college and became a Registered Nurse. In her mature years she enjoyed raising, training, and riding her beloved Arabian horse named Hesed. 

Joan was an active member of the Desert Skies Methodist Church where she is remembered for her frequent request for the hymn “Lord of the Dance”. She played in the bells choir and served as a liturgist. Joan is remembered and admired as a stalwart disciple of the Bible. 

In the twilight of her time she fondly remembered her childhood friends Jackie and Patti and her beloved parents Frances and Ross Olney. Joan will be missed by her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.