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In memory of

Joann Heen Leonardini

Moss Landing, CA, USA

May 21, 1942 - July 26, 2020

May 21, 1942 - Jul 26, 2020

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“Live your questions now, and perhaps even without knowing it, you will live along some
distant day into your answers,” – Rainer Maria Rilke
“Pffft” - Joann Leonardini
Joann Leonardini’s journey carried her from the artichoke-filled fields of North Monterey
County to Oregon, Hawaii, Los Angeles, Silicon Valley, Hawaii again, and Jerusalem before
returning home to her family and children. The roads in between these places were filled with
her spirit of exploration, passion, art, humor, and lifelong friendships. Her hand was always
extended, whether to acquaintances, strangers, or four-legged friends in need.
Born on May 21, 1942 to Antone and Irma Leonardini, Joann grew up with her brother Tony on
the family’s artichoke ranch. She attended Palma High School and the University of Oregon (go
Ducks!). After graduating with her BS in Anthropology in 1965, she traveled to Hawaii where
she met her future husband George “Trippy” Heen. They married at the mission in San Juan
Bautista in 1968 and settled in Manhattan Beach, while Joann taught in Watts. During her time
in Southern California, she studied art at Otis under Charles White and formed lifelong
friendships with her colleagues. Joann and Trippy returned to North Monterey County to raise
their children Stephen and Heather. She taught kindergarten at Gambetta then Castroville
Elementary School. She was an innovative teacher and was and is fondly remembered by her
students and their parents
After she and George divorced, Joann continued to pursue her love of painting and eventually
left teaching to pursue and earn her Master of Fine Arts from San Jose State University in 1987.
She maintained her art in a studio in Sand City where she created her brilliant, over-sized,
contemporary, figurative canvases. The Arts were an integral part of Joann’s life. She was an
accomplished pianist, as well as a visual artist, and her love of music led to her involvement
with the Monterey jazz scene. Through jazz, Joann met Jack “Jackie” Coon. Jack was an
exceptional jazz trumpet and flugelhorn player known as a loving “gentle giant” by friends. In
2003, Joann and Jack transitioned to a quiet, but full life in Kauai enjoying the spirit of the
Islands.
After Jack’s passing in 2007, Joann was intrigued by native Hawaiian music and connected with
a group of traditional Hawaiian musicians in Honolulu. She traveled to Honolulu often and met
new friends who rekindled her interest in archaeology and took her to Jerusalem on many
grand adventures. Those were too short-lived, and her final journey brought her back home to
her children, Stephen and Heather, as she bravely faced a diagnosis of ALS. Yet even that did
not slow her down as she laughed and learned Spanish with her two caregivers Yolanda and
Julia and connected and visited with many dear friends and family members.
Joann is survived by her daughter Heather, son Stephen, brother Tony and his family, and her
pet family: Guida May, Birdie, Sammy, Elliott, Charlie, and Nilla, the beloved chihuahua.
Donations and remembrances can be made in memory of Joann Leonardini to the ASPCA, or
the ALS Association.

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Raised by 8 people

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