January Sustainer Spotlight

Joan Elizabeth Hartsog Boben

When Joan Boben says Junior League taught her how to run a business, you might consider her fond recollection of The Junior League Follies a bit of an illustration: “Unbelievable fun. We got to know each other and our husbands. Friendships were formed that last to this day. Oh, and the great talent that came out of the woodwork. My husband did a stand-up comedy routine and I danced, sewed costumes, and worked on the ads for the program, all the while working in the emergency room at Lancaster General. When it was over, we all had a lot of spare time and wondered how we did it.”

Joan has had “just about every placement there was” since joining in the early 1970s, but counts membership development as her favorite, and the Rockford Barn her favorite project.

Though she grew up mainly in Pittsburgh and the Philadelphia area, where she attended North Penn High, Joan considers herself a sort of “duel-stater.” She was born in West Virginia, and she returned often with her parents to visit their large family there.

She holds degrees from Lankenau Hospital (nursing), St. Joseph's College (B.S.) and Penn State University (M.S.), and has had an accomplished career in nursing. She was part of a team at Lancaster General to create the only Level III NICU in the county, and was able to make real a vision to improve the status and delivery of care to women and children and maternal and infants in the region through work with Lancaster General and the Hospital Association of Pennsylvania.

Joan is married to William R.A. Boben, Jr., MD. They have a son, William R.A. Boben, III, married to Barbara May Boben; a daughter, Pia Elizabeth Boben Fenimore, married to W. Mitchell Fenimore, III; and grandchildren Martha Zimmerman Boben, 9th grade, McCaskey High; Jacqueline Elizabeth Boben, 6th grade, Wheatland Junior High; William Otto Fenimore, 4th grade, James Buchanan Elementary; and George Boben Fenimore, 1st grade, James Buchanan Elementary. The family includes the furry and feathered variety, as well: a rescue parrot, Lucky, and a rescue lizard, Blakie, at home, plus granddogs Henry Aaron Boben (Hank), and Grace Elizabeth Fenimore (Gracie).

Joan considers her family and her nursing career her proudest achievements. She continues to volunteer with Lancaster General Hospital, Homestead Village, and Edward Hand Medical Heritage Foundation, as well as the School District of Lancaster, and enjoys spending time with her grandchildren, playing tennis, skiing, gardening and sewing. As of December 15, the last book she read was "Stranger in the Woods,” aloud to first graders.