Joan Carole Robel Valceschini

Joan Carole Robel Valceschini Age 69, of Novato, California, after a long, courageous battle with cancer, died peacefully at her home on Wednesday, March 3, 2010. She was born in Palo Alto, California on August 17, 1940, daughter of Bernice and Joseph Robel. Joan was a third generation native of the San Francisco Bay Area, attending high school at George Washington High School in San Francisco and spending the majority of her adult life in Marin County. As a young girl, Joan danced with the San Francisco Ballet Company. At age 15, she was voted the first "Miss Young America in San Francisco" by Seventeen Magazine. She continued a career in the theatre with a group called the Opera Ring and became a professional actress with Lewis and Young Productions working at the Sheraton Palace Hotel in San Francisco performing in such shows as West Side Story and Brigadoon. Otto Preminger auditioned her for the role of Joan of Arc then sent her an encouraging and door-opening letter. Later in life, Joan focused her time on her family and other interests such as writing and Tai Chi. She and her husband Hal worked together in their successful commercial real estate business, frequented their second home in Palm Desert, and traveled worldwide. She is survived by her husband, Harold Valceschini; son Rod Diehl and his wife Jennifer and their two children, Christopher and Amanda of Danville, California; her daughter Melissa Diehl Wahlstrom and husband Stefan and their two children, Ingrid and Elsa of San Rafael, California. A memorial service will be held at 1:00 PM, Thursday, March 11, 2010, at the Valley Memorial Park chapel, 650 Bugeia Lane, Novato, California. Interment to follow is private. In lieu of flowers, please donate to your favorite charity.