This is a work in progress, and both the blurb and cover are subject to change.
To watch Joanne Holbrook Patton move across a room was to witness grace in motion. There was an effortless way she pulled people in, a quiet magnetism that made strangers feel like old friends the moment they met. Wherever she found herself in a lifetime marked by over forty moves, she would ask, “What needs to be improved here?” and then set to work connecting people, lifting spirits, and leaving every community better than she found it.
Born into a family defined by five generations of military service, Joanne became a steadfast advocate for military families, veterans, and the preservation of military history. While her husband, Major General George S. Patton (IV), served in Korea and Vietnam, she emerged as a leader within the American Red Cross and Army Community Service. Her commitment to children with disabilities was deeply personal, informed by her firsthand understanding of the unique hardships army families faced amid constant moves, scarce resources, and institutional obstacles.
Drawing on letters, personal accounts, and archival records, The Lady Who Shines: Joanne Holbrook Patton’s Life of Service offers a richly detailed portrait of a woman who embodied the grace and strength of an army wife, sustaining her family and pursuing a life of professional service through repeated moves, long separations, and tumultuous times. In a world where such qualities are ever rarer, Joanne’s integrity, moral clarity, and generosity of spirit shine all the brighter.
Minnegate Press 