by Wendel Sloan

Joan Armstrong was Eastern’s First Lady from 1975-83 while her husband, Warren, served as president. Dr. Armstrong passed away about four and one-half years ago, and Joan has lived in Tulsa, Okla., for the last four.

She and Warren, who earned a Ph.D. in history from the University of Michigan, met while she was attending Olivet College in Michigan where he was a history professor. There, she earned a B.A. in history with minors in English and Spanish.

These days, physical fitness, travel, and family and friends keep her busy. She walks, practices yoga and lift weights, but considers the most fun tap dancing with “older women. Occasionally, we perform in retirement centers or for other groups,” says Joan, who grew up in Benton Harbor, Mich., and graduated from Benton Harbor High School.

“I am fortunate to have many friends and to remain close to my five children and nine grandchildren. And, I’m involved in my church and volunteer at a hospital one day a week. A group of us attend the Tulsa Town Hall lecture series, which feature guest lecturers. Three years ago, I traveled to Turkey and Greece with close friends: that was spectacular! Since Warren died, I’ve done some traveling in the U.S. to Florida and California, and twice a year to Minnesota, where four of our five children live. Close to my home is a great library, and I generally read two to three books a week.”

Before becoming First Lady at ENMU, Joan taught 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 6th grades in Minnesota.

“When Warren became a university president, I chose not to pursue a career, but times change, and, today, many spouses of university presidents have separate careers and professions,” says Joan, who earned a master’s of education at ENMU and occasionally substituted in the Portales public schools.

Joan says that some of the changes that Warren, born in 1933, was most proud of during his tenure at ENMU included: expansion

of quality comprehensiveness of programs at the University; recruitment of highly qualified faculty who were committed both to scholarly research and public service as well as teaching; construction of new facilities and renovation of existing facilities; strengthening of the relationship with branch campuses; growth in public and private financial assistance for students; and building the alumni program.
In an interview from her Tulsa home, Joan reminisced about some of the pressures and duties of being First Lady.

“The challenge, for me, was to balance the time of being a wife and mother with the various obligations and expectations of being a First Lady. It was important to me to be active and supportive of both the University and the community. As a presidential partner, my role was to be a primary confidant, nurturing companion and best friend to Warren.”

Joan says that almost all of her experiences in Portales and at Eastern were positive.

“We loved living in New Mexico. We left Minnesota in a blizzard, and a few days later we were Christmas shopping in Portales where it was sunny—no jacket or boots. Having grown up in the Midwest and the East, we were delighted to be in the Southwest and appreciative of our years in the Land of Enchantment.”

Warren and Joan had access to a University plane, an Army surplus Beech E-50 painted white with green and silver trim, which Warren piloted and Eastern owned at that time. Based in Roswell, it allowed them to travel on University business quickly. “Traveling throughout the United States, learning about other universities, and meeting interesting people were highlights, as was immersing ourselves in the rich culture of New Mexico,” says Joan. “New Mexico is an incredibly beautiful state and we were fascinated with its history, and blending of the Hispanic, Anglo and Indian peoples.

“I fondly remember going to a rodeo, a tractor pull, learning to like country western music, wearing cowboy boots, visiting ranches, decorating tumbleweeds at Christmas, rappelling a wall with the help of someone from ROTC by my side, hosting parties where the beef was prepared, buried and cooked in the ground, attending sporting events, concerts, lectures, and being welcomed to New Mexico by those associated with the University and Portales, too.”

Joan, who dispels the long-held myth that she was the author of an anonymous column in the school newspaper that was often critical of her husband’s administration, says she can think of almost no negative experiences at Eastern. “However, I must admit that all university presidents are criticized from time to time, and that was difficult for me,” she says.

After his career at Eastern, Warren became the president of the Wichita State University. However, Joan says that they were never happier than at Eastern.

“Our years in New Mexico were among the happiest of our lives. Our parents, children, other relatives and friends were able to visit, and they, too, were thankful for the experience. Warren and I were young in 1975, and although there was a lot to learn, we were helped tremendously by the support of University staff, who did so much for us over the years.”

After they eventually retired to Grand Lake, about 70 miles northeast of Tulsa, in 1993, they kept physical memories of ENMU and New Mexico. “The carpet in our great room was a handsome dark green with a silver-grey border,” says Joan. “A ceramic greyhound sat on our coffee table. An ENMU University chair was in Warren’s den. The painting of the Administration Building, a farewell gift, hung over the sofa. The counter in the kitchen was Mexican tile, and the wind chime with an R.C. Gorman painting of a Native American woman was in a special place.”

Joan says that Wayne and Marjorie Stratton were perhaps their closest friends in Portales. “Marjorie was not only a dear friend, but a mentor as well. I was the age of their oldest of five children, and I learned so much from seeing her as a gracious woman and the way she loved and mothered her children. I would hope to have been half as effective mothering my children as she was with hers,” says Joan.

Although she hesitated to say who she still stays in touch with from her Eastern days because she might leave someone out, she mentioned Bob and Sandra Matheny, Gilbert and Lorrena Sanchez, Don and Penne Furtges, Frances Richardson, the Stratton family, and several of Warren’s administrative colleagues.

Since Warren’s death, Joan admits that it’s taken time to “evolve into a life without him. So much of our lives together were spent in the university arena that I’ve had to figure out who I am and what I need to do to keep busy, productive, and connect with those for whom I care. I am thankful for the years we had together. Warren was a loving partner, a devoted father, passionate about so many things, whether it was sports, politics, flying, or many other things. He was calm in a crisis situation and seemed to solve problems with ease. He had a deep and abiding faith.”

Joan says that Warren, a pastor at West Bainbridge Baptist Church in New York from 1954-56, never really retired. After he “retired” from the Wichita State University in 1993, he returned to the campus for several years to teach a Civil War class and to complete a book about Union chaplains in the Civil War. For a portion of one year, he assisted George Nigh with a special project at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond.

“After that it wasn’t long before he felt called to become more involved in the Episcopal Church. After three years of study and preparation, he was ordained a priest by the Diocese of Oklahoma, where from that time he was a supply priest and assisting priest at our parish until he died.

“He led a busy and fulfilled life, was devoted for all those years to education, and I was proud to have shared in that life together.”