Entering the workforce at only thirteen years of age, she quickly moved up in the music industry of her home province of Newfoundland.

With the success of her fourth album, "Home Brew" selling 50,000 copies, and reaching gold status, Joan received honorary awards from the Newfoundland Easter Seals, followed in 1972 by a Juno nomination.

A recently published biography, Yes My Dear..., was nominated for the 2005 Heritage and History Award for Newfoundland and Labrador.

[3] Though the events that culminated in her suicide are not certain, Joan had undergone open heart surgery in October 1977 which left scarring on her chest and legs.

It was subsequently reported that she had been severely depressed since her operation and took her own life on January 10, 1978, at her home in Mount Pearl, Newfoundland.