Joan Atwater

Joan Harris-Atwater, 78, of Thousand Oaks, CA, received her eternal crown on Friday, March 31, 2023, following a courageous year and a half battle with glioblastoma. 

Joan grew up in Sparta, Tennessee, singing with her two older sisters at the knee of her musical parents.  As a child, Joan was encouraged to sing by her teachers and was featured in school musicals.  By age 10, she and her sisters were featured singers on a local radio station every Saturday, and at age 11, Joan and her sisters were invited to sing on WSM’s live broadcast of the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. 

When Joan was 17 years old, she landed a spot on a live TV show on WLTV in Bowling Green, Kentucky called “Country Music Jubilee.” After graduating from high school, she moved to Kentucky and became the featured vocalist on the program for the next 2-1/2 years.   At WLTV, Joan met and married an aspiring actor.  In 1963, they moved to Southern California where she signed her first recording contract with Hummingbird Records.  Joan wrote and recorded multiple Country singles and albums that made the charts on Billboard and Cashbox, and performed throughout the western U.S. at various venues, including television and radio. She was also an active member of the Academy of Country Music, and coordinated and co-wrote an ACM awards show.

During this time, Joan also reared two daughters, Lorna and Kendra.  Having been brought up in a Christian home, Joan faithfully led her daughters to Christ by following the instructions given in Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”  Joan taught her daughters to love Christ above all else, and to trust in Him for everything even when the going gets tough. 

Joan experienced some tough times leading to the end of her marriage, and a four-year break from music.  After being encouraged by some friends to start performing again, Joan was introduced to Tom Atwater, a violinist/fiddle-player.  Joan joined Tom’s band, “The Crossfire Band,” as the lead singer, and they were married a year later in 1991.

In 1994, Joan was asked by her pastor to write a song for an upcoming event.  This led to a new focus in performing country gospel music.  In 2004, Joan received the “Female Vocalist of the Year” award from the Country Gospel Music Association (CGMA), after which she decided to dedicate all of her music to the Lord.  She went on to win several more awards, recorded a country gospel CD called “It’s Not Complicated,” that receives airplay on gospel radio and internet radio around the country, and completed a college course and became an ordained Music Minister. Joan also joined the CGMA’s leadership team, and was a regular voice heard on WVSGRadio.com as a devotional and prayer leader.

Joan was a faithful servant of Jesus, and a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend.  She is survived by her husband Thomas Atwater; daughter Lorna Maxwell, son-in-law Ian Maxwell, and granddaughter Kaitlin Maxwell; daughter Kendra Till, son-in-law Oscar Gonzalez, and grandsons Kaen Gonzalez and Elijah Gonzalez. 

While Joan is singing in Heaven, a private graveside service for the family will be held at Conejo Mountain Memorial Park on Good Friday, April, 7th.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent “In Memory of Joan Atwater” to:

Los Angeles Mission:

303 E. 5th St.

Los Angeles, CA  90013

losangelesmission.org

  ...Family in the care of Alison Balding, Funeral Arranger