Joan Hetta Barlow Van Note, of Oak Park, died on Oct. 16, 2015. She was 92. And a half. She would want you to know about the half. Born on March 16, 1923 in Hopkinton, Iowa, she was the daughter of Rev. Dr. Walter Barlow and Sarah Ellen (nee Greenwood) Barlow, who, in 1929, moved the family to Ames, where Dr. Barlow took up the pulpit at Collegiate Presbyterian Church and also served as the longtime chaplain at Iowa State College.
Ms. Van Note graduated from Grinnell College in 1944 with a B.A. in psychology, and from Case Western in 1946 with a master’s degree in nursing. She worked in New York City as the founder and editor of “Nurses Notes,” a newsletter meant to keep nurses up-to-date on medical advancements. “Nurses Notes,” which was sponsored by Squibb Pharmaceutical for 15 years, was followed by “Report for Nurses” which she published independently for three years. Moving back to the Midwest in 1970 with her former husband, Howard Peter ‘Pete’ Van Note, Joan rounded out the balance of her professional career as a geriatric nurse and as a realtor in Wheaton.
In retirement, she was a regular fixture in the Oak Park area, where she had moved to help raise her granddaughter. She sang in the church choir at Unity Temple Unitarian Universalist Congregation as well as assisting as a docent with the Unity Temple Restoration Foundation. A distance swimmer since childhood, she could be found at the West Cook YMCA, swimming her 50 laps three times per week, before heading to the Oak Park Public Library to catch up on the New York Times.
Joan Van Note is survived by her son, Allen (Elizabeth Scanlan); her daughter, Sarah; and her grandchildren, Sean (Anna), Liam (Devan), Eugene, and Grace. She was preceded in death by her parents; her brother, Walter Greenwood Barlow; and her former husband, Peter Van Note.
Services will be held on Sunday, Nov. 1 at 3 p.m. at Oak Park’s United Lutheran Church, the temporary home of the Unity Temple congregation, followed by a reception in the Fellowship Room.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be sent to UTUUC Choir, 805 South Blvd., Oak Park 60302 or to Grinnell College, Development Alumni Relations, 733 Broad St., Grinnell, Iowa 50112.