Founder, Joan Imhof Tribute Page

Introduction by Kevin Mattimore There are people we meet in this world who we simply cannot forget. They touch our hearts, touch our souls and touch our lives in such meaningful ways, ways that leave a lasting impression on us. They are unique and special, and their passion for living and for trying to make the world a better place is so strong that it becomes contagious, lifting everyone around them. Joan Imhof was one of those rare people. Joan, the founder of the Long Island Volunteer Center, passed away December 12 from complications of a pancreatic tumor. She was taken from us far too young, at the age of 67. We miss her terribly, but we take comfort in a life well lived and in knowing that Joan's spirit lives on in all of us.

The list of Joan's accomplishments is a long one. In addition to founding LIVC back in 1992, she was a village trustee in Bayville, worked at Newsday as a manager of the highly successful FutureCorps student service project, directed volunteer services for Nassau County, and co-founded the Red Cross Swim-ACross in Bayville. After suffering a brain aneurysm five years ago, Joan began raising funds for the Brain Aneurysm Center at North Shore University Hospital - LIJ in Manhasset with her "Hope Floats" swims in Oyster Bay. In 2002, Joan was inducted into the Long Island Volunteer Hall of Fame, an honor that was richly deserved. The Hall of Fame archive reads: "The Long Island Volunteer Center was established in 1992 by Joan Imhof, who was the previous director of volunteer services for Nassau County. After the Nassau and Suffolk County Offices for Volunteers were defunded, she continued receiving phone calls at her home from agencies seeking volunteers. Realizing the vital importance of the maintenance of the volunteer center, Joan applied for and received funding from the Points of Light Foundation, Mott and Kellogg Foundations, and Chase Manhattan Foundation which enabled her to create the Long Island Volunteer Center to serve both Nassau and Suffolk Counties." Joan's willingness to help others serves as a great example to all of us. As Joan herself once said, "I feel most grateful when people who have benefited from the help of a volunteer walk out of the building with happy faces and thank us. I feel like we have shared a moment celebrating their lives. It is all about celebrating life." As we celebrate Joan's remarkable life, let us do all we can to honor her legacy. Here, in their own words, are some reflections by just a few of the many people who were touched by Joan:

Excerpts from the eulogy of Brian J. Whiteman, Joan's brother Two words that come to my mind that describe Joan are: selfless and exuberant. She was always willing to help others, and was unfailingly enthusiastic when doing so. Her spirit was contagious and always left you feeling lucky to have her support. I wanted to share with you some words of others that capture Joan's spirit: -- "God has put special people on this earth that truly stand out, and Joan was definitely one.'' -- "She was truly a role model for all of us women today.'' -- "We'll always have such fond memories of Joan. She always made us feel so welcome.'' -- "Joan was one of those few precious people in our lives who help us feel especially good about who we are and what we do.'' In the words of a great philosopher from Oyster Bay, "Only the Good Die Young.'' He couldn't have said it any better.

Rick Van Dyke, former President/CEO, Family Service League Many years back, before I really knew Joan, I attended community meetings that Joan also attended. My initial observation was that she was quiet and not terribly involved. I soon learned that I was wrong. Joan was taking it all in, and later on she would make an astute remark with a thoughtful recommendation. She was a team player – always enthusiastic and professional in her demeanor. The first real connection that Joan and I made was where we were serving together on the Junior League of Long Island's Community Advisory Board. This was a small group of community people who were providing suggestions to the Junior League about direction on social issues and the development of projects involving its membership. It was through these deliberations that Joan and I connected and found our common ground. We both were highly committed to the social good and the well being of the disenfranchised. We also learned that we were on the same page about the tremendous value of volunteers and how we might enhance opportunities for people to give back to their neighborhoods. As a result, when I was President and CEO of the Family Service League, Joan and I fostered the establishment of the Long Island Volunteer Center. I supported every step of this effort and linked FSL's Volunteer Coordinator to this broader community endeavor. When Joan took on her work with Newsday's FutureCorps, she developed it into a movement ¬– recognizing youth, inspiring the public, and helping Long Island's young people find new direction. She was spirited, incredibly perceptive, putting the pieces together. She understood the connectedness amongst us all, and her positive energy was a great inspiration. When Joan was asked to provide the keynote address at the Family Service League's annual volunteer luncheon a few years back, she gladly accepted and I had the opportunity to introduce her. During her remarks, I also learned that Joan was a very spiritual person and was moved by her inner spirit based on common principles such as our interconnectedness, the balance between task and process, the value of every human being, the democratic process, the intrinsic worth of giving of oneself to others, etc. I surely miss the opportunity to see, call or have an e-mail conversation. Joan left a great message for all of us, and her legacy will live on. She was humble but personally courageous in what she created and left for us.

Paulina Bitetto From the moment I met Joan she impacted my life. I worked for her in the 90's at around the time she started the LIVC. My job was to answer phones, organize meetings and initiate volunteer opportunities. It was only a part-time job as I was going to school at the time. Since I have a love for animals, at the time the volunteer opportunities for animals listed only a handful of shelters and when I asked if other organizations could be added to the list, she replied "Go for it."

I was very impressed with her professionalism and incredible speaking presence at corporate events. She was like a mini-tornado with the extraordinary amount of work she could get accomplished in one day. All in all, she was kind to everyone. To this day I emulate her and do not even realize her influence. On the day of her passing, I was at a stress management class hosted by my employer. The class took place only a few feet from the old LIVC in Mineola. When the instructor asked for methods of keeping your sanity, I told her about a boss I once had who told me to always keep a gratitude list and an "I Love Paulina" file at work. This was one way to keep things in perspective and stay grounded even in difficult situations. To this day I pass this on to staff and interns who work in the department. Joan Imhof has perhaps impacted my life the most out of anyone I have met since that time. I think of all the volunteer assignments I went on because of Joan – the Red Cross Swim-a-cross, planting bird houses in Bethpage State Park, Make a Difference Day, helping sick animals at Volunteers for Wildlife and planting trees at the Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary. It has been a pleasure knowing this wonderful human being and I am honored to have worked with her!

Kevin Mann, Long Island Regional Service Learning Network It is difficult to put my feelings about Joan into simple words. Most of my work with Joan was through Newsday's FutureCorps. In all meetings, discussions, letters and workshops, Joan always was a class act. Despite the hurdles and obstacles, she maintained a positive outlook and focused on the goal at hand. As coordinator of the Long Island Regional Service Learning Network, Joan and I co-hosted many events, workshops and meetings. Each event was professionally developed and carried out. Our network considered Joan a member. She was a classy woman who is gone but will not soon be forgotten. Those who met her gained from the experience. I was honored to consider her a colleague and a friend. If there is a heaven, Joan has a boat slip on still waters!

The Long Island Volunteer Enterprise (LIVE) Team Joan Imhof was an inspiration to many and a true leader in volunteerism on Long Island. She was a founding member of the Nassau County Volunteer Center whose main goal was to raise awareness of the power of volunteerism. Joan was a dynamic individual who was born to be a volunteer leader. She was an energetic and positive role model who believed with all her heart that people should help their fellow man wherever and whenever possible. She had a goal, to help Nassau County become a role model for getting things done that needed to be done but lacked funding. Back in the early 1990s, Joan encouraged a few folks from corporations to join in an effort to brainstorm about how corporations could build volunteer teams to help not-for-profit agencies. Working with Bob Purcell from IBM, Joan helped recruit a group of companies that would form Long Island Volunteer Enterprise (LIVE). Those initial companies included IBM, AT&T, Deloitte & Touche, LILCO, Grumman, Price Waterhouse, Estee Lauder, UPS and WALK Radio, along with the United Way of Long Island and numerous other volunteer agencies. Since that time, more than 400

companies and organizations have provided over 20,000 people days dedicated to helping those in need. Joan was an active member of LIVE throughout the past 20 years, always raising the awareness of the power of volunteerism. LIVE continues to be an innovative, productive group that was nourished with the aid of many corporations and with the tremendous spirit and energy of many, but especially the spirit and love of Joan Imhof. … Joan, we will miss you.

Professor Patricia Lupino, Nassau Community College I first met Joan in 2005 at a Newsday conference she hosted for Long Island educators interested in exploring Service Learning as a teaching modality. That first meeting was only a few years ago. Yet, I feel as if I have known Joan for many more years than that. I suppose that's the best tribute I can offer. She was a genuine, loving, kind person. She welcomed me into her life and her projects so readily and completely, that I feel that I have lost a long-term friend. Joan loved Prom Boutique. That's what I will remember most about her. She glowed when she arrived at the Boutique each year, even the year that she was recovering from brain surgery. She often brought her grandchildren; and they, too, walked around the Boutique as if they were at an incredible, fun-filled fair. It was so apparent that she instilled a sense of wonder and enthusiasm for good works in everyone, including her precious grandchildren. When she was recovering from brain surgery, she told me that she wanted her daughter to know how much Prom Boutique meant to her – and that it was one of her favorite events, as it helped so many young women in need. For me, her legacy will always live on through that event. I remember that she came to Prom Boutique a few months after her surgery. She didn't want to miss it. She wasn't quite ready physically but she came nonetheless and offered her love and support. (I was so impressed with how she "fought back" after her surgery to regain her strength.) One year, our students raised more than $1,800 for the Volunteer Center to use for Prom Boutique expenses. Joan was so touched and grateful to the students. She never assumed that anything was "owed" to her. She loved to celebrate the accomplishments of others. She left the building a "little nervous" about carrying so much cash. One of my colleagues offered to walk out to the parking lot with her. Both women were petite and I questioned the wisdom of letting them go off without an escort from Public Safety. Then I realized that nothing bad would happen to her – if someone tried to rob her, she would give him or her the money and offer her support. She was that kind of person. For the past two years, Joan helped us to launch a service learning initiative at the College. At the time, she was recovering from a broken ankle. It didn't stop her. She made it a priority to get to the various taskforce meetings and to contribute to the initiative. She offered her personal talents, as well as that of her organization. She believed so passionately in the effort and committed her time and soul to seeing it through. That's what most impressed me about Joan through the years. She was so generous with her support; she didn't seek fame or fortune; she just wanted to help make a difference in the lives of others; she wanted to support others looking to support those in need.

When I first learned of Joan's illness, I was shocked. Yet I was not surprised. I had a premonition that something wasn't quite right. A day or so before Diana O'Neill called to tell me that Joan was ill, I was thinking about her. She wanted to get together for dinner with our spouses. I vowed to call her and set a date. I knew it was important to her and I hadn't made it a priority. I was annoyed with myself for letting other things take precedent. When Diana called, I knew it was about Joan and that it was something bad. I'd like to think Joan was thinking about me that last Sunday – and sending me warm thoughts. That's what she would do – she was such a thoughtful soul. It's beyond my comprehension as to why someone so good, so kind, so loving, and so important to all of us should be taken from us. It's still not "real" to me. Through the years, I've thought about her every time we've launched a service learning project. I will especially miss her this year when Prom Boutique comes around. I'll miss her smile, her support, her generosity of spirit, her guidance, and her love. She touched my life and is irreplaceable, yet she lives on in each of us.

Marguerite Fagella-D'Aloisio, Director, Student Success Center, Farmingdale State College For the past five years, we have co-sponsored and co-presented at Farmingdale, the Long Island Volunteer Fair with Diana O'Neill, Anna Lyons, Tracy Murtagh and of course Joan. In 2007, two of my colleagues, Sandy and Judi, saw a Newsday article by Diana on the LIVC and we decided to call her and see how we could combine our resources and bring volunteerism to students and the local community. Joan was at every meeting and she helped us understand how we could approach everyone around us to become involved in developing a volunteer fair. There is a coffee bar outside my office and I treated everyone to lattes at each meeting and she thought that was so gracious, so she began to share her "story" with me about her aneurysm. I knew immediately that she was a very special individual, and I could learn from her resilience. At the first volunteer fair, Joan lost her car keys, and I drove her home to Bayville to get the extra set. When we returned to the college to get her car, she couldn't stop thanking me and gave me a canvas bag and journal. I still have them and will always remember how she loved it when a kindness was shown to her. Her spirit and light was shown very clearly to me and I will never forget it; and along with many others I will miss her presence in the community.

Stan Friedland, Ed. D., Long Island Regional Service Learning Network Joan's lasting legacy will be the developing of FutureCorps, one of the very best school recognition programs by a newspaper in the entire United States! How can I make and justify this statement? After retiring as a high school principal in 1986, I became an educational consultant and for 20 years, I presented workshops to educators all over the United States, Canada and the Caribbean Islands. In each place, my workshop topics were relevant enough for me to describe the FutureCorps program and to ask if any such newspaper programs existed in the local area. The FutureCorps program knocked everyone's

socks off consistently as everyone recognized what a great stimulus it was for area schools to engage in authentic community service for the strong benefits to the student participants. Not one locale could ever match it and I always gave to the audience Joan's name and number for them to contact and hopefully replicate the program. When Newsday changed hands on two occasions and the FutureCorps program was in fiscal danger of possible elimination, I had the pleasure of writing two testimonial letters to the new owners, endorsing FutureCorps on behalf of our Service Learning Network. I've had the pleasure of working with Joan on virtually each of the many conferences we've co-sponsored with Newsday and I was just such a big fan of hers, both personally and professionally, for the exceptional dedication and excellence of effort she always showed in raising the bar for FutureCorps. She will be sorely missed!

Steve Santa Barbara, Board Member, Long Island Volunteer Center There are so many different memories that come to mind when thinking about Joan. I think an overall memory is of her "go-getter" attitude. There was never anything that was too small to tackle – it was all a matter of "how" to tackle it. From moving logs at the state park to painting to matching an agency with volunteers, it was always what and whom do we need to get it accomplished. One of my favorite times with Joan was when the first LIVC office was opened. Basically, it was a room in a non-profit and Joan and I spent a night after work painting. I think my favorite part of that was that it was just the two of us. We had done much together in terms of volunteering and spent a great deal of time on the phone or in meetings together – but that night we bonded over painting. We discussed her family, my nieces and nephews and siblings, our parents and our extended families. We were able to laugh, joke and understand each other – there was a commonality. I will bring up one other story that most of the board knows and, again, it goes to show what a friend she was. I was getting my first tattoo at 48 years old. We had a board meeting the week before and I informed everyone that I was doing it and told them what it would be. A couple of days before Joan called to see if I was still "going through with it" and where I was having it done because she wanted to sit with me. The day arrived and, as I was sitting in the chair as the artist was outlining the angel, I heard someone in the front say, "I am here to see Steve – he is getting a tattoo.'' It was Joan – there to sit with me and to keep me laughing and keep my mind off the process. I tried at that moment to convince her to get one with me right there. W¬e were hysterically laughing thinking about what her family would do if she walked in the house with a tattoo.

Barbara Karl Nehr I met Joan Imhof in the spring of 1980 at Adelphi University, where we were both enrolled in the MBA program. Joan was married and a Mom to 9-year-old Julie and 13-year-old Meg. At that time, she was a third-grade teacher at Portledge School and a Trustee in the town of Bayville. I had left teaching after six years at St. Patrick School in Glen Cove and was working as an auditor for Saks Fifth Avenue. Both of us saw the pursuit of an MBA as a way to broaden our horizons and open up new career options.

Joan and I met in a Cost Accounting course taught by a gentleman who was the CFO of Franklin National Bank. He had been educated in the grand Jesuit tradition and would sprinkle his lectures with quotes from Shakespeare. He was an older man and we both respected and admired his ability to blend academic education with life lessons as well as inspire us to stay awake for three more hours after an already full day. He always told us that he liked hiring liberal arts majors because they could think; he made us feel that we belonged amongst all those business majors. I still remember the day that I realized that Joan wanted to be my friend. I was never sure why I had been chosen for that role in her life but I have always been humbled by her energy and grateful that she picked me. At the time I was unmarried and concerned that time was moving so quickly and there were no prospects on the horizon. Joan and her daughters entertained me on my thirtieth birthday with mint juleps and high tea so that we could all pretend to be fine ladies. She kept my mind off my new age with a typical Bayville day, swimming sun and idle conversation. Joan would always tell me that there was this fellow that worked with her husband John who would be perfect for me. It would take her five years to introduce us but she finally did and we were married two years later. At my shower, I announced to all my friends that Joan was my best friend for life. This was probably a mistake but as you also know Joan you realize that over the last 30 years Joan has included many of them in her acts of kindness. When my daughter came along, I knew that I would never receive a greater gift from anyone. Joan read at our wedding and was my daughter Elizabeth's sponsor at Confirmation but most importantly Joan showed me how to be a Mom as I watched her raise Meg and Julie; a Mom who was respectful, loving and lived the values and ethics necessary to make for strong bonds between women. Joan arranged for a friend of mine whose husband was suffering with MS to meet another woman whose husband had ALS. We left them lunch and privacy to talk about things we could not understand as we took a walk on her beloved beach. Her friend's house burned to the ground so she collected clothes for the family; new ones even from her daughter's own closets, so that they could go back to work and school proudly. Next, she searched through all her pictures to find ones that would depict the children in the family at all different ages to replace those that had been destroyed; especially of the young daughter that the family had lost to illness. A neighbor across the street lost his wife in a terrible tragedy, Joan helped make the funeral arrangements and fed all the relatives that came to mourn. All of these acts of kindness were done quietly, selflessly and without public acclimation. If you knew Joan well, you would find yourself suddenly organizing a clothing drive or painting classrooms at the Cerebral Palsy Center. She was all about seamlessly involving herself and others in volunteer endeavors. When Joan was honored with a volunteer bench at the Bethpage Golf Club, she invited me to attend. As I was teaching that day, I told her I could only come if I brought students with me. She arranged that three of my students who had accumulated more than one hundred volunteer hours each could attend the ceremony. They had an opportunity to meet Carolyn McCarthy and to see my friend Joan honored for work as a volunteer cementing the idea that volunteerism is a life long commitment.

Joan's boat was her haven out on the water; one that she generously shared with her friends. My daughter had her first aquatic sleepover on Aunt Joan's boat after Uncle John patiently accompanied her on a swim across the bay. Salmon that they had caught in Alaska was generously shared with us and left us with a cherished memory. Joan was never happier than when she was behind a camera immortalizing the simple moments in life. We have so many precious moments of our daughter's life preserved by Joan. Pictures of her at their Fourth of July celebrations or by the Christmas tree because Joan was all about honoring important holidays. My daughter Elizabeth had an opportunity to be a summer intern at Newsday working for Joan and also had an opportunity to meet Hillary Clinton at a FutureCorps project. When Elizabeth needed a guest speaker to talk at her History Honor Society night in at Commack High School, Joan came and inspired a group of young men and women to go out and make a difference. It was a wonderful occasion as these friends of my daughter had an opportunity to enjoy Joan, an energetic woman, who always seemed to inspire others to service. One night Joan and I were typing a paper for one of her daughters for school so that she could study for an exam and go to sleep. As we edited and typed away, we suddenly realized that we had edited our way right through a Keats poem. How funny it was as we tried to put it back the way we found it. Once when we were studying for a Statistics exam, I spent hours trying to teach Joan about a deck of cards. Apparently, playing cards had never been one of her pastimes. Neither of us was happy the next day when the professor neglected to put any card questions on the exam. Joan, in her ladylike way, let the professor know how annoyed we both were with him for making us waste our study time. Joan and I studied with a group of eight men and women. One night several of the ladies decided we would dress one of us in all the preppy clothes we could find and we would outprep her for once. Joan, of course, arrived in a lime green skirt with frogs, easily beating us at our own game. It is still difficult to come to terms with the loss of our dear friend. As we stood in church at Joan's memorial mass, I realized how many people Joan had made feel special; how many lives she touched through her volunteerism and long and varied career. All who knew Joan were blessed with a selfless and extraordinary friendship; one that not only made your life better but helped you to be a better and more complete person. Whether she was fussing over a meal that she shared with you, inspiring you to give of yourself to others or just sharing conversation and laughter, Joan was a blessing to us all and is sorely missed.

Lana Gluck, Project Manager, Long Island Volunteer Center I knew Joan through the LIVC and worked with her for about nine years. To put my thoughts about her succinctly, she was a lady to her fingertips. Everything that she did to help others and to be an excellent role model for all. I am so glad that I had a chance to know her and to learn from her. We will carry on her legacy at the LIVC forever.

Dr. Deborah Benson, Director, Common Ground Alliance Joan's voice and energy continue to resonate in my mind, heart and soul. Her tremendous resilience in overcoming her own challenges, and then her willingness to give back to others less able than herself will continue to serve as an inspiration to professionals, survivors and advocates across Long Island. Joan was keenly aware that in giving to others, we heal ourselves. At Common Ground Alliance, our membership organization for brain injury survivors and families, we have initiated a Community Service Group in Joan's honor. In this small way, we hope to carry on her vision and passion for giving and community, and know that Joan will be with us in spirit along our journey.

Angela Salerno The attendance at Joan's wake was a testament to how much she was loved and adored. It is no wonder because when speaking with Joan, due to her humble nature, one could never tell what a force she was here on Long Island. Joan was a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother. She would tell me about her beautiful grandchildren at the many fundraisers she and her wonderful husband John would attend. She was so proud of them. Her love for her daughters and their children was the first thing she would speak to me about. How fortunate I was to have spent those evenings with her. Joan worked tirelessly to help those less fortunate than herself. My husband Paul, was lucky enough to have worked with Joan on many projects here on Long Island. My daughter, Laura, also worked with Joan. She, along with Diana O'Neill, were such a positive influence on my daughter, who has been volunteering at the prom boutique in Hempstead. What an honor to have known her. I am sure that I speak for everyone who knew Joan, she will never be forgotten.

Kevin Mattimore I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to have met and worked with Joan at Newsday. It truly was an honor to not only work with Joan, but to call her a friend as well. I first met Joan when I was working as a copyeditor on a special section Newsday was putting out that highlighted all of the FutureCorps activities that occurred throughout the year. It was huge undertaking, considering how many schools took part in the program. It involved a lot of painstaking compiling of information and photos. Working on a copydesk at a newspaper can be a thankless job doing "behind the scenes'' work, but on this particular occasion Joan not only thanked us profusely, but even brought in homemade cookies as a sign of her appreciation. That's just the type of person she was. As I watched Joan, I came to admire her for not only the way she worked, but also the way she lived her life. She was such a giving person, one who wanted to make a difference in as many ways as she could. I came to see her as somewhat of a mentor, and I am grateful that her inspiration led me to some opportunities to contribute my own talents to some worthy causes, even if only in small ways. I am a better person for having known Joan, and I will never forget her.

Tracy Murtagh, Youth Programs Coordinator, Long Island Volunteer Center Joan Imhof was an inspiration to all that came in contact with her. Always the teacher, she encouraged people to learn and grow without judgment … what a wonderful gift.

Alisa Kesten, Executive Director, Volunteer Center of Westchester Joan's legacy of commitment to promoting the volunteer spirit on Long Island will live on. She left footprints in the sand that will simply not wash away.

Anna Lyons, former Executive Director, Long Island Volunteer Center Joan became such a dear friend over almost 20 years of working together toward developing LIVC as well as sharing life's lessons and family experiences. Her integrity, talent for inspirational public speaking and devotion to her family are some of the things I admired most. There was still so much I wanted to learn from her.

Margaret Hoban, Twitter Administrator, Long Island Volunteer Center Some John O'Donohue quotes that I just found really resonate with me. I want to share them. "The eternal world and the mortal world are not parallel, rather they are fused." "One of the deepest longings of the human soul is to be seen." (I like this one, because I truly believe Joan achieved this. She exuded the kindness and love that was within her soul to all of those around.) "One of the most beautiful gifts in the world is the gift of encouragement. When someone encourages you, that person helps you over a threshold you might otherwise never have crossed on your own." (Her words of encouragement and acknowledgement were always so pleasant.) "Even though life may have moved wearily and painfully through such a person, they have still managed not to let it corrode their soul. In such a face a lovely luminosity shines out into the world. It casts a tender light that radiates a sense of wholeness and wholesomeness." (Despite the fear and pain Joan may have experienced, anyone on the outside would not know it unless they were told it. She did not allow it to corrode her soul. She occupied herself doing what she loved to do. Her memory, love, and soul will live on through her work, her organization, as well as the individuals she worked with and so deeply touched.) "If you send out goodness from yourself, or if you share that which is happy or good within you, it will all come back to you multiplied ten thousand times. In the kingdom of love there is no competition; there is no possessiveness or control. The more love you give away, the more love you will have." (Joan was truly an individual that was brimming with love. Love to give and love she received.)

Paul Fleishman, Newsday's vice president of public affairs Joan was a community dynamo, always doing great work to help people in need. Former Bayville Mayor Victoria Siegel, who served with Joan as a trustee I always respected Joan for her love of community.

Former Bayville Mayor Victoria Siegel, who served with Joan as a trustee I always respected Joan for her love of community.

Janine Gallo, Jewels for a Cause It's a great loss to our world to lose a genuine soul. She was so dedicated to making a difference. I have no doubt she will continue as an angel above.

Michael Watt In times like these I think of the thoughts my friend, J.J. Quinn S.J., expressed in the sermon he gave during the Mass celebrating his 60th anniversary as a Jesuit priest: "Life is not measured by years, but by celebrations of the heart." And such celebrations should be shared by family and friends who made them possible. That is why we are all here. And we remember those special people not here in person but in spirit. "We must learn to write our hurts in the sand and to carve our blessings in stone." Otherwise, "If we always do what we always did, we will always get what we always got."

Diana O'Neill, Executive Director, Long Island Volunteer Center A few summers back, Joan had expressed to me a desire to be a point of light. When Melissa Grober of the Points of Light Institute (our national organization) expressed her condolences on Joan's passing, she asked me was there anything they could for us? So on Wednesday, February 29, 2012, Joan Imhof was posthumously honored as a Daily Point of Light. This national award recognizes individuals who, as change agents, have made significant contributions that address serious societal issues. Since 1992, she was the president/founder of the Long Island Volunteer Center, a co-founder of a corporate community service initiative, Long Island Volunteer Enterprise, now celebrating its 20th year, and the manager of Newsday's FutureCorps for a decade helping students perform voluntary acts to help build community. Joan shared her wisdom, her love, her knowledge so that others could grow. She was a very integrated person who could balance family, friends, home, work, personal interests, spirituality, and charitable acts with confidence, grace, and impact. Her desire to increase the quality of life of Long Islanders was second only to her love of Long Island itself. We all need someone to look up to and while her civic footprint will never be equaled, Joan Imhof's example is one that inspires each one of us to be better people. She

certainly embodied the old adage, "Volunteerism isn't what you give, it's not even what you get, it's what you become."

From article in Anton 2 News

Celebrating a Life Lived with Purpose Joan Imhof of Bayville: Dies at 67 Written by Dagmar Fors Karppi Friday, 30 December 2011 00:00 Joan Aileen Whiteman Imhof died on Dec. 12. A resident of Bayville, she was the wife of John Imhof and the mother of Julie and Meg. She died at the age of 67, of complications of a fast moving pancreatic tumor. Joan Imhof’s death is a loss to the community because in her life she made such an effort to work for the community’s good. She served on the Bayville board; co-founded the Red Cross Swim-A-Cross with Judge Ute Lally which they ran for 10 years. She is best known for her work with the Long Island Volunteer Center which she founded. She also raised funds for NSUH-LIJ for the Brain Aneurysm Center. Ms. Imhof worked for Newsday as a project manager for Future Corps from 1999 to 2009, a student service project. Ms. Imhof served as a Bayville Village trustee from 1972 to 1982. Her husband John said, “While there she worked with NYS Senator Ralph Marino coming up with the concept of reverse mortgages and in getting the legislation approved. Now it has taken off all over the country. That was when she was a Bayville board trustee. She also worked on flood insurance for Bayville,” he said. Honored for Service In 2002 she was voted into the Long Island Volunteer Hall of Fame. “The Long Island Volunteer Center was established in 1992 by Joan Imhof, who was the previous director of volunteer services for Nassau County. After the Nassau and Suffolk County Offices for Volunteers were defunded, she continued receiving phone calls at her home from agencies seeking volunteers,” states the LIVHF archive. “Realizing the vital importance of the maintence of the volunteer center, Joan applied for and received funding from the Points of Light Foundation, Mott and Kellogg Foundations, and Chase Manhattan Foundation which enabled her to create the Long Island Volunteer Center to serve both Nassau and Suffolk Counties.” When Republican President George H. W. Bush gave his State of the Union Address on January 29, 1991 he envisioned “One Thousand Points of Light” representing volunteers all over the country, of which Joan was certainly one. Ms. Imhof had an artistic side too, as a photographer. Think Long Island’s Ewa Ruprecht and Jolanta Zamecka expressed their sympathy to Joan Imhof’s family saying, “Her warmth, dedication to public service, and her volunteering activities touched many.” They

carry Joan’s note cards with beautiful photos of Oyster Bay, Bayville, Centre Island, and Long Island Sound, in their Oyster Bay store. Her husband John said, “One of her passions all through her life was taking photographs. We recently met Suzy Francy-Jenkins [the former Oyster Bay Enterprise Pilot editor for whom Joan took photographs] who was with her brother Paul. We went sailing with Paul and the group at Brian Lawrence Hunt’s Oakcliff Sailing Center. (In business Mr. Hunt is known as Brian and in sailing he is known as Lawrence.) “I took Joan on a last sail on Caper. It’s one of Lawrence Hunt’s bigger classic wooden boats, it’s 57 feet long and was built on Long Island. (There are about four or five of the classics that race in Oyster Bay.) “She loved it. We had a full house of fellow sailors on board. It was a wonderful life. I have all fine memories. I’d do it all over again,” he said. Besides loving sailing, Ms. Imhof loved swimming. She and Judge Ute Lally were the founders of the Red Cross Swim-A-Cross that they ran for 20 years on Centre Island beach. When she wanted to create a fundraiser for the Brain Aneurysm Center she again turned to swimming as a way to do that. Ms. Imhof suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm five years ago and was treated by North Shore University Hospital’s David Chalif, MD and Avi Setton, MD. After her brain aneurysm, John said, “She worked real hard to recover. She had some cognitive issues and she overcame 99 percent of those issues. Her doctors dealt with the surgery, but there is an after path, and she worked with people in North Shore Hospital LIJ in Manhasset in helping other patients with those issues.” On Aug. 13, Ms. Imhof, along with the Long Island Volunteer Center, an affiliate of HandsOn Network, organized the fifth annual one-mile swim in Oyster Bay Cove, to raise funds for North Shore University Hospital’s Brain Aneurysm Center, part of the Cushing Neuroscience Institute. Her granddaughter Madison Callinan, aged 10, took part in the 2010 swim and said, “I swam this for my dad’s dad Thomas Callinan, who died of a brain aneurysm and for my Nan - Joan Imhof - who survived one. I felt good that I actually swam back to the beach.” She continued to use her life experiences to help others. Former Bayville Mayor Victoria Siegel said, “Joan was a person who was very much involved with the community. She was a ‘community person.’ I’ve always respected her for that.”

Ms. Imhof herself possibly put it all best when she said as founder of the Long Island Volunteer Center, “I feel most grateful when people who have benefited from the help of a volunteer walk out of the building with happy faces and thank us. I feel like we have shared a moment celebrating their lives. It is all about celebrating life.” John Imhof said, “We had a lovely wake [at the Beney Funeral Home in Syosset on Dec. 16] and a funeral mass at St. Gertrude’s in Bayville on Saturday, Dec. 17, and a reception following at Meridah, the Chaminade retreat house.” Mr. Imhof carries on the family tradition of volunteering. He was a volunteer in the recent re-construction of the Christeen and is currently volunteering on the Ida May Project. “Half the frames are up already and it looks beautiful,” he said. Ms. Imhof is survived by her husband, John; her daughters and their husbands:, Julie and Frank Matozzo of Bayville and Meg and her husband John Callinan of Huntington; and six grandchildren: Madison, Jacqueline, Michael, Katherine, Lilianna and Tessa. Ms. Imhof was the sister of Ellen (Ernie) Whiteman Tiu; Richard (Trish)Whiteman, Donald Whiteman, Robert (Rhonda) Whiteman and Brian (Ellen) Whiteman.

View obituary in Newsday

Former Bayville trustee Joan Imhof dies December 15, 2011 by EMILY NGO / [email protected] Fueled by unrelenting passion and boundless energy, Joan Imhof made it her life's work to serve the community. The Bayville residents she represented as a village trustee. The beneficiaries of her swim-themed fundraisers. The vast network of Long Islanders encouraged into volunteerism through an organization she founded. All were touched by Imhof. "She would basically do things for the general good," her husband, John, said Thursday, "and she was the person who always reached out to people in need of consolation." Joan Imhof, of Bayville, died Monday of complications of a pancreatic tumor. She was 67. "Besides her physical beauty, she was just a beautiful person," John Imhof said. Joan Imhof served as a Bayville trustee from 1972 to 1982, when she ran unsuccessfully for mayor. She worked at Newsday from 1999 to 2009 as a project manager for Future Corps, a student-driven community service project. In 1992, she founded the Long Island Volunteer Center, a Hempstead-based resource center for community-service initiatives where she was president until her death. Imhof was inducted into the Long Island Volunteer Hall of Fame in 2002. She also taught elementary school, directed volunteer services for Nassau County and hosted fundraisers such as Bayville's Red Cross Swim-A-Cross. She raised two daughters, who saw her through a brain aneurysm she suffered five years ago. Her dedication and thoughtfulness were apparent in quiet acts: Scouring a list of children's names in order to match each with the perfect book from a Christmasbook drive and bringing boxes of baking soda to a charity swim event in motherly anticipation of jellyfish stings.

Diana O'Neill, executive director of the Long Island Volunteer Center, called Imhof "an amazing catalyst for good." "She was our point of light," O'Neill said. "She shared everything -- her wisdom, her knowledge, her love - so that others could also grow." Paul Fleishman, Newsday's vice president of public affairs, said Imhof leaves a legacy of volunteerism. "Joan was a community dynamo, always doing great work to help people in need," he said. Former Bayville Mayor Victoria Siegel, who served with Imhof as a trustee, said: "I've always respected her for her love of community." Imhof is survived by her husband; her daughters, Julie Matozzo of Bayville and Meg Callinan of Huntington; and six grandchildren. A wake will be held at Beney Funeral Home in Syosset Friday from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. A funeral Mass will be offered at St. Gertrude's Church in Bayville at 10 a.m. Saturday.

From the Long Island Volunteer Center (December 2011): During this season of fellowship, giving, peace and good will, the staff at the Long Island Volunteer Center has sad news to announce. LIVC's Founder & President, Joan Imhof, has passed away this week after a brief illness. Her vision, dedication and firm belief in the values of volunteerism created and sustained the Long Island Volunteer Center for almost 20 years. Those of you who have met Joan know that she was a very special person - humanitarian, community leader, teacher, mentor, inspirational public speaker, hands on helper, loving wife, mother & grandmother and dear friend to many. She loved Long Island and devoted her life to serving the Long Island community. For those of you who were close to Joan, funeral arrangements are posted on LIVC's website www.longislandvolunteercenter.org in the Announcement & News Section at the bottom of the home page. Kindly share this information with your leadership & colleagues since Joan's reach was wider than any email list we could maintain. With our wishes for love & peace now and throughout the new year. The Staff of the Long Island Volunteer Center

Diana O'Neill Executive Director Long Island Volunteer Center, an affiliate of HandsOn Network 58 Hilton Avenue, Hempstead, NY 11550 516.564.5482, fax 516.564.5481 [email protected], longislandvolunteercenter.org

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