Jo A. "JoAnne" Shore
Apr 12, 1952 -
Dec 28, 2022
JoAnn Hastings Shore passed away from complications due to dementia on Dec. 28, 2022, in hospice care in the Lighthouse Memory care unit at Maple Springs Senior Living in Anchorage, Alaska. She was born on April 12, 1952, in Spokane, Wash., the youngest of two children of Glenn L. Hastings and Barbara McNeese Hastings. Her parents supported JoAnn and her brother, Allan, in music lessons, scouting and family travels. Both were confirmed at Zion Lutheran Church in Spokane. The Hastings enjoyed family vacations and many gatherings at her aunt's dairy farm near Spokane.
JoAnn graduated from West Valley High School in Spokane in 1970, and attended Washington State University for two years prior to moving to Alaska. From 1972 to 2011, JoAnn spent her entire career with one employer - National Bank of Alaska, acquired by Wells Fargo in 2000. Starting as a teller, she worked in a variety of positions including branch support, director of marketing, operations, fiscal analyst, and retired as VP and Regional Finance Director in October 2011. One of JoAnn's great joys with the bank was working with the rural branches. She coordinated the Iditarod Musher's Banquet in Nome, Alaska, for several years.
In 1989, NBA sponsored a Monopoly tournament for local real estate agents to raise funds for the American Lung Association of Alaska. The event exceeded the goal and Walt Hays, the new executive, was very impressed with this very "together" lady who had done such a great job - plus she was charming. They started to date.
JoAnn married Rev. Walt Hays, a United Methodist Minister/development officer, in 1993. They remodeled and/or built three homes together in Anchorage and Wasilla. JoAnn completed her bachelor's degree in management studies with a concentration in organizational management, cum laude, at Alaska Pacific University in 1993.
JoAnn and Walt were fortunate to travel extensively to some 50 major destinations for an 18-year period in the UK - tracing family roots - the Mediterranean, Western/Eastern Europe and in Central/South America. A favorite destination was Australia: they made five trips from 2000 to 2018, and visited all major regions of the continent.
Joann joined Walt in his work with Lions International and was a member of the Palmer Lions Club. They attended eight Lions International Conventions in the USA from 2006 to 2018 in the USA, and in Sydney, Hamburg and Milan. At these conventions they hosted booths and gave platform presentations to help introduce Lions to the work of Mobility Worldwide, a faith-based, volunteer-driven organization that provides a sturdy, hand-cranked cart for the leg-disabled of the world; Since 1994, 100,000 if these carts have distributed free to those in need in 104 countries.
JoAnn and Walt co-led three humanitarian service teams to Guatemala in 2013, 2015 and 2017. The teams, composed of United Methodists, Lions and community members, built shelter homes, did vision screening and distributed thousands of pairs of glasses, staffed "pop-up" one day medical clinics, distributed hundreds of Days for Girls Feminine Hygiene Kits and worked with sewing cooperatives and schools. These experiences introduced JoAnn to the plight of the working poor in the developing world. She was fascinated by other cultures and traditions.
Out of this experience JoAnn became an advocate for the Kiva Microloan program for a six-year period. This internet platform pools small gifts from lenders so that micro loans, about $500, can be made to the poor to transform their lives. JoAnn made presentations to churches, youth groups, service clubs and others to "Make a Loan and Change A life." She would donate gift cards to start the process, encouraging groups and individuals to not ask for the return of their money once the loan was paid, but to make another loan. Due to this multiplier effect, some 2000 plus loans have been made by Alaskans to fund agricultural and small business loans in Central and South America, Africa, and Asia. Over 85% of the loans are made to women; the default rate is an amazing 1.5%.
Joann had a keen eye for detail in handwork, writing and photography. She helped edit many publications in her banking career. She loved to take photos: close-up photos of flowers and doors and windows were her favorite subjects. She felt that doorways and windows were the "soul" of a home or building. Her photos received awards at the Alaska State Fair and the annual Anchorage Fur Rendezvous Amateur Photo Contest. In 1995, her photo of a canal in Venice won a Kodak International Snapshot Award and was published in the Anchorage Daily News. She donated photo enlargements of her work to local charity auctions for several years. As the daughter of a master cabinet maker, she was as comfortable with hand tools, power equipment and masonry tools as she was with gourmet cookware and recipes. She had the ability to analyze a problem and find the answer.
JoAnn loved puzzles. When their new home on the hillside was being constructed, she took a week's vacation and sorted through hundreds of pieces of Eklutna granite and built two walls - each 13 x 6" – to accent the house. When she tackled the project, she told Walt to: one, put up tarps; two, get a space heater; three, bring her lunch; and four, "stay out of my way!" For eight years she worked to design the annual dinner/auction event at St. John UM church that would raise funds for local causes and missions. Walt recalls: "She would come home from a full day at the bank on Friday night, do three hours of prep work and then spend six more hours on Saturday preparing an elegant five course Greek or Tuscan dinner for eight guests who had won the bid. I would be beat as the waiter; when the guests had left, she would sit down, smile and tell me that this was great fun!"
A Celebration of Life for JoAnn will be held at St. John United Methodist Church, 1801 O'Malley Road in Anchorage on Thursday, May 25, 2023, at 4 p.m. A pre-service concert with a Dixieland band will precede the memorial service. The concert and memorial service will be recorded and be available via live stream on YouTube, htttps://www.youtube.com/stjohnanchorage. Funeral arrangements were conducted by the Anchorage Cremation Society.
Joann is survived by her husband, the Rev. Walt Hays; three stepsons, Thomas Campbell (Frieda) Hays, Robert K. (Robin) Hays and Kenneth Richard (Jill) Hays, all of Anchorage; brother, Allan (Rochelle) Hastings of Palm City, Fla.; nephew, David (Michelle) of Port St. Lucy, Fla.; and Leslie Hastings Balvatine (Eric) of Austin, Texas.
In lieu of flowers, the family has established a permanent fund that will help pay travel expenses for students and young professionals, ages 18-35, so they can help deliver Mobility Worldwide carts to the leg-disabled of the world. Gifts can be made to the "JoAnn Shore Fund for Servant Leadership," The PET Mobility Project Foundation Inc., 12801 W. Highway EE, Rocheport, MO 65279.
Condolences for the family may be sent to Walt Hays, 600 West 76th Avenue, #508, Anchorage, AK 99518.
