Joan Rasmussen (Joan Derby)

Daviess County High School

Class of 1942

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Joan Derby - Class of 1942 - Daviess County High School

First Name	Joan
Last Name	Rasmussen
Maiden Name	Derby
Graduation Year	Class of 1942
Gender	Female
Current Location	Lakewood, CA
Hometown	Owensboro, KY
Relationship Status	Widowed
About Me	Joan Derby Rasmussen 1/1/1925 – 12-23-2015 Joann Derby Rasmussen was born January 1, 1925, Hammond, Indiana, the second daughter of Hugh and Florene Derby. Her sister who was one-year older and best friend, Marguerite died in January. Their little sister, Jerrie, came along 10 1/2-years later. Joan grew up in Owensboro, Kentucky where her father worked for Kentucky Natural Gas. In Owensboro and neighboring towns of Henderson, KY and Evansville, Indiana lived aunts and uncles from her dad’s family who also worked for Kentucky Natural Gas. Joan said they couldn’t get away with much as kids without some relative running into them. Joann went to Daviess County High School. She was very smart. She played trumpet in the Marching band, was very smart and skipped 10th grade, and graduated in 1942. After high school and she got a job as a chemist in Evansville, Indiana, where she shared a one room apartment with another girl who worked nights. Joan would get out of bed in the morning just when her roommate would come home and climb into bed twin bed they shared. After a year they could afford a one bedroom and two-beds. After turning 40 and being discharged from the Navy in 1944, her father moved the family to Los Angeles, California, and Joan got another job as a chemist. She also went to a USO dance one Friday night and her husband told the story that as he followed her up the stairs entering the dance he told his friend, “I am going to marry that woman.” Once inside, he introduced himself and asked her to dance. They married September 15, 1945, and danced for 51-years. Joan Derby may have been one of the first women to scream discrimination before it was ever thought about. Right before she got married work slowed down where she was working as a chemist and her boss came and told her she was being let go. She said, “What about that man who works with me. You just hired him. Her boss said the man had a family to support and she was getting married and had a husband who could support her. Where was Gloria Allred when Joan needed her in 1945? Joan was still mad about it when she last talked about it shortly before her death. In 1947, the first child, a daughter, Kris came along. Kris worked in the health information field in several hospitals. She then became a college teacher in her subject and now teaches related subjects for the Escondido Union High School District...Kris added to the family, grandchildren, Rick, Danielle, and Paul. Granddaughter Danielle added great-grandchildren Ashley, Dylan, and Evan. Ashley added great-great-granddaughter Sophia. 1951, brought a second daughter, Jane. Jane became an Air Freight Forwarding Executive and had a long and satisfying career until disability caused her to retire to the mountain town of Crestline. Even though she suffers from extreme pain Jane continues her passion, inspired by Joan, for helping others through many of the same volunteer activities. Son John was born in 1954. He found his greatest satisfaction in life was helping individuals attain homeownership and could best do that by becoming a broker and helping them get the best loans possible. While this occupation has its ups, and downs it still gives him great satisfaction when that single person, couple or family moves into their own home. 1959, brought the last child, his name is Paul. Joan would sometimes joke and say they named him Paul in like, that’s all. He is very accomplished and earned his private pilot’s license before he turned 18. Paul chose two paths in life. He followed in his father’s footsteps and became an electrician and then got his contractor’s license. He did chuck it all for a few years and go to Colorado and become an entrepreneur and was very successful with an ice tea business selling and servicing restaurants. After Joan’s husband and the children’s father died Paul returned to California and went back to the electrical business as an estimator and back to college and finished his degrees at Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University. Now he works both as an estimator and a flight instructor depending on his teaching schedule. Joan had many jobs. You heard about her job as a chemist. Once when Paul was in junior high she decided she wanted to work and got another job as a chemist. She lasted three days and decided she never wanted to do that job again. When Kris was little on Saturday’s she and her mother had a dance studio in Whittier where they taught little girls dancing lessons. It was fine, but she said eventually paying the piano player five-dollars an hour, this was 1949, cost too much so they closed the dance studio. She did not work again until all the children were grown. That is when she started her career in market research. She really liked that job and while none of her children could be on any research panels because they were related to her, all their friends got to be paid to give their opinion on products. One day John asked Joan to come to his office and help with the phones while the receptionist was on vacation. She never left. Well, he would never let her leave. Joan became the best help they had and eventually our office manager and Executive director extraordinaire. John said, “Some people would not want their mom working in their business, you would want my mom. All of the guys and I loved her.” Joan’s real passion was helping others and she was not just a supervisor, she was willing to do the hands-on work. When the children went to Catholic school she was active with the Mother’s Club and helped with rummage sales to raise money for the school. She was the room mother for each child more than once. When the family moved to Downey Joan joined the Downey Women’s Club with her best friend Pat Clapper. When they first started they did the cooking for the lunches. Joan was the Club House Manager for a few years, she became a life member of Together with Hope. Every month she picked up donations for Metropolitan State Hospital. The Christmas Gifts for Giving became one of her favorite projects every year along with making sure the patient store had all the things a woman would need besides just clothes. She said they needed purses, jewelry, hair bows, whatever, so they could go on job interviews when they were ready to leave the hospital. A few years ago, she was the Downey Woman’s club’s Woman of the Year. While Joan held different jobs, and loved volunteering to help others there was one job that she did best and her children will always r...(read more)