“We have two choices in life,” said JoAnn Oppenheimer. “Cope or don’t cope.” This saying, that she learned from her father, Harry Oppenheimer, has helped her through many of life’s challenges. As Oppenheimer puts it, she has always chosen to cope!
A Kansas City native, Oppenheimer was the youngest of the six children of Harry and Rebecca Oppenheimer (who are all deceased). Now in her 70s and living in Las Vegas, she spent the first 50 years of her life in the Kansas City area, graduating from University of Missouri-Kansas City. She grew up attending Keneseth Israel-Beth Shalom Synagogue on 34th & Paseo, but as an adult belonged to Beth Shalom at 95th and Wornall, where her children, Brent and Adrian Hershman, became Bar and Bat Mitzvah.
But Oppenheimer has faced adversity along the way. Her first husband, Stephen Hershman, died in the Hyatt Regency disaster 30 years ago. Although they were already divorced by that time, she and their two children, who were teenagers at the time, planned the funeral and sat shiva together. Years later, her son Brent died tragically in a car accident when he was 35.
These events, along with others, brought her back to her father’s words, and she continued to cope and move forward in her life. But she knows many others have also faced adversity and need to learn to cope. For this reason she wrote, “Potpourri For and About Women.” The book “came about because I wanted to produce a self-help book for people currently experiencing traumatic challenges in their lives,” she said.
In the book 41 women, including Oppenheimer, talk about their challenges and how they learned to live life again. The women from throughout the United States share their stories. She found the women through acquaintances and friends who gave her referrals. It took her 13 years to complete the book, finally getting it published in 2010.
Anyone interested in the book can go to her website at www.AuthorJoAnnOppenheimer.com.
Oppenheimer believes that being raised Jewish influenced her writing. “I was raised by compassionate parents in a Jewish home,” she said, “and I am sure my upbringing helped me to be the compassionate person I am.”
While she wrote her book, Oppenheimer continued other activities. She has always been active in both community and political activities. For 10 years she served on the Nevada State Architecture, Interior Design and Residential Design Commission. In Las Vegas, she also served on the Jewish Community Center board, Women’s Philanthropy Jewish Federation and the Jewish National Fund.
Her writing skills were honed writing a “Single Again?” column for a national publication called “Affaire de Coeur” for two years. Now the column appears in each issue of the Las Vegas Israelite, the only Jewish paper in Las Vegas. She provides private coaching to help people with their transitions from couple to single again. She also has been a real estate agent for more than 20 years.
During her adult years in Kansas City, she owned JoAnn and Associates, an advertising specialty company that she had for 45 years. Her activities and work in the business world led to her being named the Outstanding Young Woman of the Year for Kansas in 1967 by the Outstanding Young Women Foundation. She also served on the UMKC Alumni Board for 25 years. One of her most unexpected honors was to be named Queen of the University of Missouri-Kansas City by the student body when she was a college junior in 1957. She believes she was the first Jewish Queen of UMKC.
Oppenheimer likes to stay active. “Even though I am in my seventh decade, I have no plans to retire,” she said. “Work stimulates me and helps me keep a healthy and positive attitude while I am helping people. To have goals, be productive and to help others is my way of life.”