Zoom Celebration of Joanne's Life on Sunday, November 15, 3:45 pm

Joanne Rachel Bethlahmy passed away peacefully on Tuesday, October 6, 2020, in her home in Larkspur, California. 

Joanne was born on July 25, 1954, to Rhoda (Eisenberg) and Nogah Bethlahmy. While her birthplace was Santa Monica, California, Joanne considered Los Gatos, California her hometown, where she spent her K-12 years, graduating from Los Gatos High School. Joanne was a scholar and prided herself on her hard work to earn top honors at every academic institution she attended.  She was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree in History [DB1] from University of California, Davis and was invited to join the Phi Beta Kappa Society. Joanne then earned a joint J.D./M.B.A. degree from UC Hastings College of the Law (graduating in the top 10% of her class) and the University of California, Berkeley.

After a year and a half of lawyering at a major San Francisco law firm, Joanne realized that she belonged on the creative, product side of the business world.  Over the next eight years, she worked for Frito-Lay, Quaker Oats and Maybelline, developing and marketing many products that are still on store shelves today. Joanne always felt this highly successful career change—a move which was considered rare and very risky at the time—was her most remarkable achievement.  But always seeking out new career challenges, Joanne decided to become a strategy consulting executive with Anderson Consulting (now Accenture), Cisco Consulting, and her own firm, Illuminate Consulting. After “retiring,” Joanne decided to share her love of business by becoming an adjunct professor at University of California, Davis Graduate School of Management, teaching strategy to M.B.A. students.

Traveling was Joanne’s passion, no doubt the upshot of traveling around the world with her family at age 11. In college, she spent her junior year abroad at University of Kent in Canterbury, England, and then backpacked all over Europe. She was always up for an adventure.  Her adventurous, independent spirit led her to the Grand Canyon for a group rafting trip, and more recently, to England for what she called her “best trip ever”— two weeks with a group of like-minded women studying English literature. Some of those women turned out to be from Marin County and became good friends. She spoke often of her 60th birthday trip to Banff, Canada, with a close group of friends, to hike the Rockies and enjoy the wildflowers. Ultimately, between business and pleasure travels, Joanne visited 31 countries and 47 states. 

Joanne loved beauty, whether in nature, cultures, clothes, jewelry, interior design or art. She filled her home with beautiful rugs and art pieces, many of which she found during her travels, particularly in Asia.  She had a passion for theater and books, for years making an annual pilgrimage to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon, often seeing five or six plays in a short three-day visit.[DB2] 

Most of all, Joanne cherished her friends. She built a huge network of friends from all over the world.  Yet her friendships were deep and meaningful. It brought her great joy to spend time sharing her life with intelligent, fun-loving and caring people.

Joanne will be remembered for her beauty, loyalty, intelligence, honesty and commitment. She was a strong, courageous, and determined person who, even in her two-year battle with bone marrow cancer, found the strength to smile, love, laugh, and look to the future with hope. Joanne’s family and friends will miss her tremendously. 

Joanne is survived by her brother Dan Bethlahmy, two nieces Anna and Jessica Bethlahmy, and many friends who were like family to her.

Please consider making a donation in Joanne’s memory to: Planned Parenthood of Northern California, 2185 Pacheco Street, Concord, CA 94520; or Room to Read, 465 California Street, Suite 1000, San Francisco, CA 94104.  

You are invited to a Zoom celebration of Joanne's remarkable life on Sunday, November 15.  We will start to gather at 3:45 pm. The program will begin at 4:00 pm. Join at:

https://xperi.zoom.us/j/96902987790?pwd=bnNmM3U1Q0NWL052a0RmeGkrMkE2UT09&from=addon
Meeting ID: 969 0298 7790
Passcode: 412222

Phone One-Tap: US: +16699006833,,96902987790# or +12532158782,,96902987790#

Join by Telephone:
US: +1 669 900 6833 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 646 876 9923 or 877 853 5247 (Toll Free) or 888 788 0099 (Toll Free) or 833 548 0276 (Toll Free) or 833 548 0282 (Toll Free)
Meeting ID: 969 0298 7790