Joanne (Adelstein) Bigelson

One of Joanne's greatest joys growing up, was acting in plays at the Heights Youth Theater at Wiley Jr High, University Hts, under the direction of her beloved mentor, Jerry Leonard, where she starred in Pippi Longstocking - the only play which didn't require a singing voice, for as much as she loved music & singing along, she didn't quite have the chops to carry a tune, as per Jerry!

During High School, she was joyfully selected to be on the Teen Modeling Board at the former MAY Company Department store in University Heights, where she reconnected with some of her former best friends from having initially grown up in University Hts through 7th grade, as well as formed new, lifelong friendships with teens from other Heights area suburbs.

Immediately after graduating from Ohio State University with a B.A. in Photo Journalism, she moved to Israel and landed a full-time Grade School Teaching position. At the end of the school year, she travelled throughout Greece for three magical months. Upon returning to Cleveland, she was hired by Bellefaire JCB in a dual role, both managing the School Library and as Assistant Director, Theater Arts Program.

She went on to become a Journalist at the Jewish Federation of Clvd - Downtown office, during which time she met her future husband, who she recognized at a downtown Playhouse Square function as having worked at the May Company Dept store, when she was on the Teen Board there. Once they married and started a family. As much as she thoroughly enjoyed being a mom to two beloved daughters, she was relieved to be able to get out of the house & still connect with adults in her part-time position as an ESL language teacher for immigrants & refugees from other countries.

In 1981, when her husband was offered a position to head a commercial bank in Tokyo, Japan, the family moved there for three culture-changing, adventurous, novel years, till they were called to the Bank's corporate headquarters in Los Angeles, California, in 1984, where Joanne happily remained through her life.

While keeping her kids busy thru school with all-type activities and auditions/rehearsals for roles in TV commercials, music videos & Hollywood films, she immersed herself in regular pilates and aerobics classes and assumed various part-time jobs, including teaching Sunday school at Synagogues, working the front desk at a salon & acting as a proxy Mom Manager/School Tudor to the kids of full-time working mothers, chaperoning them to auditions +/or rehearsals for roles in broadcast TV & Hollywood movie productions.

All the while, she took on some new kin, becoming a mom of a different sort, to two beloved doodle-type dogs, Graffiti I & II, who kept her actively walking outdoors, constantly meeting new people, and making new friends - a common theme of her life. As eternally in-love with and proud of her daughters, Phoebe & Gillian, she was overjoyed to welcome both a grandson and granddaughter. Being that the grandkids live across the country in New York City, thanks to modern technology and FaceTime, she was able to see & talk with them regularly, even from her Memory Care Facility, which was a real blessing, as it perked her spirits to the N-th degree.