Spotlight on Joan and Joe Fetter

by Rhonda Chambers

     This couple, better known as Joanie and Buddy, had a total of 66 years with the St. Tammany School System! 

Joe and Joan Fetter

     Joanie graduated from SLU in 1971 with a degree in Business Education and later returned to receive a Masters in Guidance and Counseling.  She began and retired from her educational career at Covington High School where she taught business courses and was the COE Coordinator until 1986 and retired as a Guidance Counselor in 2005.  Joe graduated from SLU in 1975 with an Elementary Education degree and acquired his Masters in School Administration later on also from SLU.  

     Joe’s first teaching position was in 8th grade at St. Tammany Junior High, and then he taught 4th grade at Mandeville Elementary and then at Mandeville Middle.  In 1991 he became an Administrative Assistant at MMS and then became its Assistant Principal in 1993.  When Gayle Sloan was moved to the Central Office Joe was appointed the Principal of Mandeville Middle School.  During this time he was chosen as The Principal of the Year by the Parish and also was recognized by both the Parish and State PTA organizations. He retired from MMS in 2007.

     Since retiring this couple has chosen to lead a fulfilling second half of life by caring for and playing with their 4 grandchildren and traveling the USA and Europe.  When Joanie first retired they were blessed with their first grandchild whom she cared for three days a week while her daughter worked at the St. Tammany Hospital.  Then when Joe retired they took a cruise to Alaska and decided then that this was definitely the way to live!  

     Since the cruise they have travelled to Ireland (kissed the Blarney Stone), Germany (visited a German concentration camp, a very sobering and dreary place), Austria (fabulous churches including the one in The Sound of Music), and Switzerland (rode a cable car to the top of the Alps in Zurich).  Trips in the US include Disney World, Washington D.C., San Antonio, Seattle, and a car trip through the northern and central states.

     Joe is an usher and greeter at the Covington First Baptist Church, a member of the Covington Zoning and Planning Commission, and has served on the STRSEA Board for the past 7 years.  Both Joanie and Joe are active with the Covington Heritage Foundation. Their only granddaughter, Mackenzie, has a few health issues, but she is a bundle of energy with a great sense of humor and a beautiful attitude.  

     They provide care several mornings each week before they take her to school.  They both love attending activities for all of their grandchildren, school functions, and soccer for the boys and Miracle League Ball for Mackenzie.  Joe enjoys taking the boys fishing.

     Their typical day is not set in stone.  Several days a week finds them at their children’s homes helping to get the children ready for school because the mothers need to be at their jobs early.  After getting everyone where they need to be, they either meet for breakfast or just go home to relax for a while.  The rest of the day usually is filled with household chores.  Joan loves to decorate the house and work in the garden.  They enjoy yard work and watching “Wagon Train”.  Occasionally they will sit with the grandchildren if the parents have meetings or errands to run.  As you can tell they are very attached to their girls and their children.

     Some things you might not know about Joanie (born and raised in Bogalusa) and Joe (born in New Orleans and raised in St. Bernard Parish) are that they first met at SLU in the Baptist Student Union; Joe was a young Catholic.  He entered the Naval Reserve and served in Vietnam where he was based in Danang and also on the USS Hepburn in the Pacific.  When he completed his military service they married in 1971 and moved to Covington.

     When asked to describe their best vacation ever it was hard to choose just one.  They really enjoyed their trip out west with their daughters. They visited Yellowstone, Wyoming, and Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.  It was a great time!

     I asked Joe would he rather live a week in the past or the future and why?  He replied, “I would rather live a week in the past. I have always felt that I would like to have lived in the forties during the time that everyone in the country pulled together to achieve a common goal and few counted on the government to take care of them.  Family was important and everyone maintained close ties with multiple generations. I would have been able to get to know my grandfather who passed away when I was four years old and learn more about my family's history.”

     How did you make your first dollar?  Joe bagged groceries at Winn Dixie. He doesn’t remember what the minimum wage was, but he knows that he made way more money in tips!