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Ask her about law - or bobsledding

This former Olympic coach found her newest calling later in life.

By CARRIE RITCHIE, Times Staff Writer
Published August 12, 2007

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She's led an eclectic life.

She's been a teacher, a curriculum specialist in the Virgin Islands and an Olympic bobsledding coach.

Now she's an elder law attorney in New Port Richey.

Joan Nelson Hook, 69, says she'll never retire.

"I might cut back, but I love what I do. I just love it," she said. "I've thought about traveling, but no, I always want to do this."

Hook helps clients draft wills and teaches them about life care planning, arranging assets so they earn interest.

She said she does a lot of work setting up guardianships for families with elderly relatives who have lost the ability to make financial or health decisions. She also establishes special needs trusts for clients who want to leave assets to mentally disabled family members.

She said her job is perfect for her because it combines law with personal values.

And of course, she likes helping people.

"My favorite part is the hugs I get when people leave the office and think I've solved their problems, or at least given them some viable solutions," she said.

For years, though, she was interested in solving a different kind of problem: math.

She got her education degree from the University of Maryland in 1968 and completed her master's in education administration and supervision at American University in 1975. Until 1980, she taught grades 5 through 8 and an occasional summer class at American, and supervised student teachers in Bethesda, Md., her hometown.

Then she and her husband, Harvey, decided to move to the Virgin Islands.

The couple had vacationed there and bought property, so Harvey started his own construction company on St. Thomas. She helped develop math programs for schools on all three islands, which required her to take ferries, seaplanes and milk delivery trucks to work.

While they were there, Harvey and their son, David, were inaugural members of the Virgin Islands' Olympic bobsled team. Joan served as a coach and trainer for their 1988 trip to the Calgary Olympics. She stayed in the Olympic village and met the members of Jamaica's first bobsled team, who inspired Disney's 1993 flick Cool Runnings.

They lived in the Virgin Islands for almost a decade before Hurricane Hugo ravaged St. Thomas in 1989.

Though Hugo destroyed the island's structures, the worst damage was to the island's spirit, she said. That helped them decide it was time to move on.

Joan got her law degree in 1993 from Widener University in Wilmington, Del. She specialized in admiralty law, the law of the sea. But during her last semester, a professor told her about an elder law program, which she thought would be more practical.

And she has a passion for it.

Joan said seniors face challenges today because their "golden years" aren't like those of their parents. Public services are dwindling and many don't have the money their parents had after retirement.

"We just don't hang it up at 65," she said. "People enjoy enriched lives by staying in the community and work force. I think older workers are prized because of their work ethic and dependability and focus."

In the summer of 1993, the couple moved to New Port Richey to be close to Joan's mother, who had lost her second husband. Soon after, Joan set up her own practice, the Hook Law Group, and David eventually joined her.

Now, she's surrounded by her family, including her Chihuahua Lillian and her "grandcat" Charleigh.

And she gets to continue helping people. She's currently the chairwoman of the board of directors for Gulfside Regional Hospice, and has served as president of the West Pasco Bar Association, the Florida State Guardianship Association and the Academy of Florida Elder Law Attorneys. She's also volunteered with the American Heart Association, the Center for Independence and Lighthouse for the Blind.

So what more could she want to do?

"I just want to continue to love what I'm doing and to find joy in my life," she said. "And give joy to others."

Carrie Ritchie can be reached at critchie@sptimes.com.

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About this feature

Pasco People is a regular feature that will spotlight the people who make Pasco County the kind of community it is. Got someone you think we should profile? E-mail us at pasco@sptimes.com.

 

[Last modified August 11, 2007, 20:30:17]

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