“I would cry and the tension would be gone,” she says.
In 1999, there was real-life sadness when Don died at age 83, after a prolonged illness due to Parkinson’s Disease accompanied by dementia. JoAnne chose to remain in Florida, hasn’t remarried, and lives today in Palm Beach County. She starts her day with crosswords and Sudoku, then on many days goes and hits balls and practices. She plays on some events on the Legends Tour and played at Inglewood Golf Club in Kenmore when the Legends Tour stopped there in 2012 and 2013.
She owns a 42-foot fishing boat and fishes in the Atlantic Ocean. She can operate the boat, but instead has a female captain so she can concentrate on fishing and spending time with guests on board.
“We caught six fish yesterday,” she says.
At night, she watches television.
“I love sitting here in 90-degree Florida heat watching snow and ice,” she says.
Carner still smokes, and smoked while competing. She tried unsuccessfully to quit at various times in her life. During one attempt to quit, she shot 45 on the front nine in a California tournament. At the turn, she dispatched her caddy to get cigarettes and told him to “find the strongest ones you can.”
He did just that, and she shot 32 on the back nine.
Like many LPGA veterans, Carner lobbied for years for the USGA to add a women’s Senior Open Championship, an event the men have had since 1980. It would have given her a chance to win a fourth different USGA championship.
“Please do it before I’m 100 years old,” she half-joked to USGA officials. Finally, her wish has come true, with the announcement that the first U.S. Senior Women’s Championship, for women 50 and over, will be held in 2018. That will likely be too late for Carner, however, as the winner is sure to come from someone in her 50s.
Carner says she is impressed by the LPGA these days, and how golf has become a global sport. She said she is pleased that an LPGA major will be played next June 9-12 at Sahalee Country Club, when the 2016 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship comes to town.
Carner’s 1982 induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame ensures that she won’t be forgotten in golf history, even if younger Northwest golf fans may be unaware of her legendary accomplishments.
She was a colorful, likeable competitor who was never afraid to say what she felt. She even managed to perfectly sum up her career in one quote:
“Some people are afraid to win, others are afraid to lose,” she once said. “I think winning is a lot more fun.”
Craig Smith is a freelance writer and former columnist for The Seattle Times. He is a frequent contributor to Cascade Golfer.