Many will remember how much Mrs. Landers went to heal broken birds.  If one was hit or injured, they brought it to her. I believe it was Mr. Landers built a free flowing bird area out on the patio, full of mourning doves, night hawks,and other native birds, as well as parakeets etc..I really don't remember exactly when or why she took this on, but it was the most significant endeavor I had ever seen. 

Unfortunately, at about this time I had learned how to mimic the mating call of those love lorn mourning doves and could set them off cooing crazily for a very long time.  Which to a young boy was hysterical, but this was not amusing at all to Mrs. Landers, and it was part of my education process to learn a fast exit!

Joan was still helping people open up and close up their condos at Point of the Americas about 4 years ago.  She would call me and ask me to go over there and do things for her.  She has been a great friend.

I will miss her

Gretchen Rieger

You Have been a good friend.

Joan and I were members of Jacaranda and Cassia garden circles for many years.  She was a great comfort to me when I lost my husband in 2007.  Many many a Garden Club Christmas party at the Landers home.  Always decorated to the max.  

Love to you family and friends

Cynthia H Rieger

It is always tough when you lose someone who has been in your life the entire time. Losing Dad in 2004 was one of the hardest moments in my life but I still had a parent left. And now I have none. But, as the saying goes, you can only rely on death and taxes.  One you can cheat, the other you can't. Mom had a rough patch several years ago but we found her a great place to live out her life in an assisted living facility. She resisted the idea at first, but then she got cozy and comfortable. She threatened us in case we were thinking about moving her again because she knew every hallway and every person. She made all the staff feel like they were her child and many of them hugged me after she passed away and told me stories about how sweet she was to them. And stories about how she tried to get them to buy her some wine. lol

She wasn't always the easiest to deal with but she was a fierce fighter when it came to watching over her family and there is nothing she wouldn't have done for any of us. She lived a good life even through it's trials and tribulations. She lost her brother in the war when she was a teenager. Her mom passed away when she was young. Her father died when she was less than 30 and then her daughter (child #3) died in an accident in 1985. All of these were tragic events but she did her best to continue on. And at 87 years old, she still talked about all of them. Actually, in the past several months, she talked about talking with them recently. So the angels were already lining up to help her get through her final stage.

I may write more later. But, for now, I am sad that she is gone, yet happy that she lived for as long as she did.