By Michael D. Wynne
One of the best ways that a new author can get started in their writing career is to write about things that they know about. Books filled with personal stories, if done right, can be woven into a delightful and cherished book, both for the reader and the author.
Over the past half century, I have almost never, as a reader, been ever disappointed with these books as they are true to heart and feel truly authentic because they usually are.
JoAnn Stevens of Jena has now discovered this poorly kept secret on how to write a really great book. Her most delightful and charming book,”Laughter from the Funeral Parlor; Eight Decades of Humorous Stories and Memories,” can be read by anybody, young and old alike, at anytime, for any reason.
The daughter of a hard-working pipeline superintendent and a homemaker, JoAnn was born in Jena and has basically spent her whole life there as a proud citizen. “My mother only had a 7th grade education,” JoAnn shared, “But she had the most common sense of anyone that I ever knew in my life. She had a way of figuring people out and could critique them to a “T” … JoAnn feels that she received her natural humor from her dear mother which helped later inspire her to write this book and to guide her through the development of it.
A graduate of Jena High and then on to Northwestern State in Natchitoches, working towards a degree in business, JoAnn first chose to become a secretary, working for Continental Trailways bus line on Bolton Avenue in Alexandria. But she soon spotted the love of her life, Jerry, on Third Street here. They have now been married for 59 years, and counting, with one son and two grandsons.
When asked what got her into the brave new world of writing stories, she responded that it began with the sharing of stories with friends. You should know first that JoAnn and Jerry formerly owned the prominent Kinner and Stevens Funeral Home in Jena, a legacy of Jerry’s family dating back a century.
One day, she and Jerry were exchanging stories with the employees at the funeral home. She realized then that these were great stories and that they needed to be preserved for posterity for the enlightenment and enjoyment of others. She then typed the stories out on an old electric typewriter and put them away. Two decades later, with the urging and assistance of a good friend who retyped out the stories on a computer, JoAnn had a book that was well worth reading by anyone today. The stories that she wrote about were about JoAnn and Jerry’s lives, their sometimes strange encounters with others as well as their funeral business. The Stevens were careful to alter the stories so as to not embarrass others.
One story was about Jerry going to the hospital to pick up a deceased man to bring back to the funeral home to embalm. The deceased wasn’t wearing his dentures and Jerry found dentures in the nightstand next to his bed. The dentures seemed to fit in the deceased’s mouth. Jerry took the deceased back to the funeral home, placed the dentures in his mouth, then embalmed him, permanently locking the dentures in the deceased’s mouth. The daughter of the deceased later called and asked, “Do you need Papa’s teeth to bury with him?” Jerry said, “I found them in the nightstand at the hospital.” She replied, “Oh, no, Mr. Jerry, those were Mama’s teeth!” Jerry finally replied, “Well, Mama will need to get some new teeth!”
“There is humor in everything,” JoAnn says, “When you talk about humor in funeral homes, you will always first remember your love ones and friends. Humor is almost always what comes to mind.”
JoAnn’s fine little book is available on Amazon and Kindle.
