With the passing of Joan Sparkman in December, the Temecula/Murrieta Valley lost a pioneer, a leader, a visionary, an icon, and a friend. With an advocacy career spanning more than five decades in the Valley, Joan left an indelible mark on the growth and development of the region from education to business and healthcare. Her legacy is woven into the fabric of our community.
Following her family relocation to the area in 1969, Joan quickly became active in the nascent school district driven by her perceived need of expansion for our growing population of young families, including her own. Joan served on the board of the Temecula Valley Unified School District for 22 years, another 14 years on the Mt. San Jacinto College Board, and a decade as a UCR trustee. As many as 25 area schools resulted from her funding and land acquisition efforts. In 1980, the Joan F. Sparkman Elementary School was named in her honor reflecting her contributions to educating our youth, a rare tribute to a living person.
Healthcare was another beneficiary of Joan’s transformative impact. As a longtime member and Chair of the Southwest Healthcare governing board, she was instrumental in the acquisition of the Sharp Healthcare facility in Murrieta and its conversion to Rancho Springs Medical Center and subsequent expansions. The current expansion of Inland Valley Medical Center also owes much to Joan’s leadership and advocacy to parent company UHS. She was also a founding board member of the Temecula Valley Hospital, involved in land acquisition, funding, and the grand opening of that state-of-the-art facility in 2013.
When the Pechanga Tribe voiced interest in opening a casino on their land, Joan, a banker at the time, went to bat for them and helped secure funding in the face of opposition from less visionary lenders who thought a casino here would never work. Those of you who remember the trailers and tents that predated the current world-class resort will appreciate those baby steps that made today’s success possible thanks, in part, to Joan.
Our trademark Temecula Wine Country also owes much of its current success to Joan’s work with Ben Drake and others to combat the Glassy Wing Sharpshooter invasion back in 1999 when many of today’s wineries were still in their infancy. Their very survival at the time, as well as the addition of most of today’s wineries, owes a debt of gratitude to Joan for securing funding and support to eradicate the threat and the rebuilding of nearly 20% of vineyards lost to Pierce’s Disease.
Joan’s advocacy was paramount to her community service in so many ways, but none more apparent than being a founding member of the Southwest California Legislative Council over two decades ago. This organization was formed with local chambers of commerce as the voice of local businesses in Sacramento and D.C., striving to reduce regulatory burdens, costs and overreach on their operations. Among her legions of friends, Joan counted political leaders of both parties at the local, state, and federal level, all of whom readily took her calls and responded to her concerns. She was often described lovingly by those who knew her as a loyal friend but a formidable adversary. Local businesses, who were the often-unknowing beneficiaries of Joan’s intermediation, are in her debt.

We could easily devote several pages of this paper to Joan’s accomplishments and contributions to our community. Joan was a founder of the local Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, a stalwart of the Professional Women’s Roundtable and namesake for their Joan Sparkman Unity Award, a director of the Murrieta Temecula Group, the Tuesday Morning Club, the Boys and Girls Club, the Women’s Council of Realtors, the establishment of the Rape Crisis Forensics Exam Unit, the Assistance League, and more. One of her fondest social interactions was her long-time membership in various local Rotary clubs. Her home-made apple pies were a highly anticipated item at Rotary fundraisers, often fetching thousands of dollars in bids.
Her awards and accolades over the years would fill a few more pages, but a summary would have to include Woman of the Year California State Senate, Woman of the Year Assembly (twice), Athena Award for Business and Industry, Temecula Valley Chamber Citizen of the Year, Boy Scouts of America Distinguished Citizen, Temecula Museum Wall of Honor, American Bankers Award for Community Service, League of Women Voters Outstanding Volunteer Award, Outstanding Education Leadership Award from the Riverside County Office of Education, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Temecula Valley Chamber of Commerce. Yet with every recognition Joan remained humble, crediting not herself but the support of her community and the potential for accomplishment afforded by collective action.
The death of her beloved husband Will in 2010 gave Joan only momentary pause before rededicating her life to service of her community and family. Joan was a proud and active parent of children Steve and Margaret, a loving Grandmother and Great grandmother. While it might be expected that such an active community lifestyle could come at a cost to family home life, Steve recently assured me that was far from the case at the Sparkman home. As loving, caring and supportive as she was to her community, she exceeded that at home, encouraging Steve to a lifelong career in education and youth sports, and always being there for them both as children and adults. Both children live close by her in Murrieta. She remained active and engaged, entertaining visitors and friends, discussing (and cussing) politics and business, and enjoying episodes of Law and Order right up to the end when time finally caught up to her at the age of 90.
We will not see another of Joan’s stature, grace, and compassion pass this way again. Her passing leaves a rent in the fabric of our community that will not heal, and a hole in the hearts of those who knew and loved her. Her memory will serve as an inspiration to others for service above self, community support, and boundless love for others. Goodbye my friend.