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IN LOVING MEMORY OF Dr. Joan Georgette Staniswalis
Joan Georgette
Staniswalis
Jul 25, 1957 — Apr 13, 2018
Dr. Joan Georgette Staniswalis' Obituary
JOAN GEORGETTE STANISWALIS, Professor Emerita University of
Texas
at El Paso,
Fellow
of the American Statistical
Society,
died peacefully on April 13, 2018. Her husband, David Finston, and sister, Stella
Toibin,
were at her side. Other family members and friends were
nearby.
Joan wished to end her earthly days in hospice care amid her faith
community.
The family's thanks go out to Mesilla
Valley
Hospice, Dr. John Glick, the Cathedral of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM), St. Albert the Great Newman Center (St. Albert's), and
Father
Mitch
Dowalgo
for helping her to fulfill that wish. A Rosary will
be
said on
Friday,
April 27 at 10:00 AM, followed
by
a
Funeral
Mass at 10:30 and a reception at 11:45, all at
IHM. Dr. Staniswalis
was
born at
Fort
Lewis,
Washington
to John G. Staniswalis (US Army) and Ida M. Staniswalis on July 25, 1957. During her father's frequent overseas postings, Joan, her mother, and her sister resided in Panama
City,
Panama. Joan
was
deeply rooted in both Panamanian and US culture. Her
fluency
in
the
customs
and
languages
of
two
lands,
combined
with
her
exceptional intelligence, spiritual sensitivity, and
generosity,
made her a beloved mentor to legions of students, colleagues, and
co-parishioners. In addition to her husband and sister, Joan is survived
by
her son Luis Alberto Finston Staniswalis, who
was
born in Panama and adopted
by
Joan and David as an infant. Joan diligently raised Luis in the Roman Catholic faith. She encouraged him to embrace his Panamanian roots, speaking to
him exclusively in Spanish during his early years, and taking him on frequent trips to
Panama. Dr. Staniswalis
was
educated at California State University Fullerton (BS, Mathematics) and University of California San Diego (MS, Ph.D. also Mathematics). She had a distinguished and
varied
career as a statistician, making significant contributions to theory as well as to biomedical applications, the latter a product of her experience on the faculty of The Medical College of Virginia. She came to UTEP in 1990, where she soon rose to the rank of
Full
Professor.
Her
experience
at
UTEP
led
to
an
interest
in
environmental
applications
such
as
the
health
effects
of
air
pollution
and
the
use
of
ecological
data
to study ethnic disparities in health outcomes. Dr. Staniswalis held many visiting appointments: University of Wisconsin, Madison; MD Anderson Cancer Center;
Cornell
University;
New
Mexico
State
University
College
of
Health
Sciences as Associate Dean for Research. She served a four-year term on a National Institutes of Health panel reviewing proposals for statistical methodology and experimental design.
At
UTEP,
Dr. Staniswalis served as director of the NIH- funded Minority Biomedical Research Support Program and as director of the Statistical
Consulting
Laboratory.
Her
many
accomplishments
were
recognized
by
the statistical community with her election to
Fellow
of The American Statistical Association:
"For
important contributions to nonparametric regression and
its
application
to
biomedical
research;
for
collaborative
research
accomplishments
and
administrative
leadership
in
consulting;
for
mentoring
of
students
and junior
researchers." Even after her 2016 retirement, Joan continued her mentoring activities, graduating her final Ph.D. student in December 2017, and embarking on ambitious mathematics tutoring project to enhance opportunities for reentry into society
by
inmates at the Dona Ana
County
Detention Center.
For
many years, Joan taught the Rites of Catholic Initiation to children and young adults at St. Albert's and at IHM. In the past year she directed the bereavement ministry at IHM, working closely with
Father
Bill McCann and
Father
Marcel
Okonkwo
and
providing
solace
to
scores
of
people.
Deacon
Ed
Misquez
spoke for many when he said that, "Joan
was
a powerhouse in the
parish." Joan
was
a devoted wife, mother, and daughter. She
was
her mother's primary
caregiver
until
her
death
in
2016,
she
unfailingly
found
creative
approaches to
raising
Luis,
and
she
willingly
made
many
sacrifices
to
accommodate
the
challenges of a household led
by
two
academics. The practice of
mercy,
through works both corporal and spiritual,
was
instinctual
to
Joan.
She
had
high
standards,
none
higher
than
those
to
which
she held herself, and her corrective advice, while
always
sincere, could
be
wilting. Remembered best
however,
is her smile, which, in its
warmth
and nurturing power eclipsed the tropical Panamanian
sun. A
fund
in
Joan's
name
will
be
established
at
UTEP
to
assist
statistics
grad- uate students with
travel
to conferences. In lieu of flowers, contributions to this fund will
be
welcomed.
Anyone
wishing to contribute can contact David Finston via email at
dfi
nston@nmsu.edu.
Entrusted to Baca's Funeral Chapels of Las Cruces and Sunset Crematory, 300 E. Boutz Road, 527-2222. Your exclusive providers for "Veterans and Family Memorial Care". For online condolences logon to
www.bacasfuneralchspelslascruces,com
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