Joanne Oliver
1935 – 2023
Joanne Oliver, longtime resident of Santa Barbara, passed away peacefully on June 28th a few days after her 88th birthday after enduring a difficult battle with dementia. She had a gracious heart, a fun loving spirit, an unconditional devotion to family, and a beautiful smile; and she will be forever missed by everyone who knew and loved her.
Joanne was born on June 25, 1935 in Richmond, Indiana to Rudolph and Catherine Drifmeyer. She was the second daughter of the four Drifmeyer sisters joining her older sister Barbara. Much to everyone’s surprise, there wasn’t just one baby born that day but two, and her twin sister Jane arrived a few minutes later. Jane and Joanne always had a special bond as twins often do, and remained exceptionally close throughout their lives. Their youngest sister Judy was born four years later which completed the Driftmeyer family of girls.
Growing up in Indiana, Joanne had a wonderful and very traditional midwestern childhood. She was involved in many community activities, including her HS sorority, church and was an Easter Parade princess and also elected Track Queen her Senior year. She always felt blessed to be raised in a loving home and was very close to her family. In 1954 she married her High School sweetheart Robert Oliver. They were doubly blessed when on June 3rd,1956 Robert graduated from Purdue University with an engineering degree, and moments later their first child Cynthia Jane was born. Mary Kathryn followed in1966.
The family resided in the small town of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin for many years. In 1972 they were transferred to Santa Barbara as a part of the Delco Electronics group. Joanne fell in love instantly with the natural beauty and easy going lifestyle of California and made many new friends. She kept busy with a multitude of activities including golf, bowling, movies, working at Robinsons, and attending her book and card clubs to name a few. She also loved to garden, and took great pride in her lovely backyard. She grew beautiful roses, raised KOI fish, and enjoyed picking oranges off her tree and making fresh orange juice every morning.
Joanne was also a devoted weekly volunteer at the Santa Barbara Chapter of the Assistance League for over thirty years. She found a great deal of community and purpose in her volunteer work, and especially loved working with children at School Bell.. She made many lifelong friends who continued to support her throughout her illness in the past few years.
By far her greatest joy was spending time with her four beloved grandchildren Matthew, Sean, Sam, and Mia. She was known to them as “Nanny” and she was always their biggest fan. She attended their school functions, sports games, and a host of other events and activities, and was a very involved and “hands-on” grandma.
The family is very grateful to Gran Vida Sr. Living for their kind, loving care over the past few years, and also to Hospice for the comfort and care they provided at the end of her life. To honor her wishes, a private family service will be held this fall. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Santa Barbara Chapter of the Assistance League or to Hospice.
