Joanne Field Panko

Joanne Field Pankow ASHEVILLE – Joanne Field Pankow, of Biltmore Forest departed this life Tuesday, November 10, 2009. She was born in St. Louis, MO, the daughter of John Levi and Eunice Virginia Stearns Field, both native North Carolinians. On both sides of her family, she was descended from distinguished Southern lineages. She and her family came to Marion, NC in 1941. In 1962, she married Kenneth O. Pankow and they moved to Asheville in 1965. In addition to her husband, she is survived by one son, John Field Pankow of Biltmore Forest. Joanne was a graduate of Salem College. She was an accomplished musician and played the piano, harp and pipe organ. She was a teacher for many years and students often spoke of her caring, her humor and her ability not only to teach, but to instill a sense of self respect in her students. After early retirement from teaching, Joanne embarked on a wonderful adventure, a career as a professional actress in films, television and theatre. She performed in more than 60 productions, beginning with a recurring role on the TV series “In The Heat Of The Night” in 1991. She appeared in “Two Soldiers”, which won an Academy Award in 2004. She was a past president of the Memorial Mission Ladies’ Hospital Auxiliary, worked with the youth choir at First Presbyterian Church and attended All Saints Anglican Church. In the past, she performed with a number of different local theatre groups. She was a talented writer, an avid reader and a brilliant conversationalist. In her school yearbook, the inscription under her picture was the quote that begins, “She walks in beauty like the night…” Joanne walked in beauty all her life, offering love and joy to each life she touched. Everyone who knew her loved her and will miss her greatly, but we should take comfort in the thought that she is “Past all pain and tears, past all cares and griefs…over in the Summer Land”. A Requiem Mass will be held at 3:00 PM next Saturday, November 21, 2009 at All Saints Anglican Church in Mills River with the Reverend William J. Martin officiating. The family will receive friends from 6:00-9:00 PM this Saturday, November, 14, 2009 at Groce Funeral Home at Lake Julian. Memorial donations may be made to either All Saints Anglican Church, 15 McDowell Road, Mills River, NC 28759 (www.allsaintschurch.us/) or to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude’s Place, Memphis, TN 38105 (www.stjude.org)