Biography: Joan Williams Baldridge, 81, died on Saturday, August 19, with her daughters at her side. She was born on June 8, 1942, in Texarkana, Texas, to Alberta and Bill Williams. She graduated from Texas Senior High School in Texarkana and attended college at SMU in Dallas, where she was a member of Chi Omega Sorority. The day after she turned 20, she married her high school sweetheart. She and John Baldridge had two beautiful daughters together, Ellen Gregan and Margaret Adams. She completed her bachelor’s degree, graduating cum laude from Little Rock University, now known as UALR, in 1964. 
 
Joan was gifted in the arts of etiquette and entertaining. She knew where every fork, spoon, knife and glass should be placed on a formal table, but more than that, she made sure that everyone at a reception, dinner, or party felt comfortable and welcome. She gave legendary New Year’s Eve parties in her home for many years. She often responded to a family member or close friend’s announcement of an engagement, birthday, or major life event with, “Let me give a party!” Any person lucky enough to be so honored found themselves thoroughly celebrated. 
 
Those gifts are two of the reasons that in 1993 President Bill Clinton asked her to serve in his administration as assistant chief of protocol for the U.S. Department of State. She helped coordinate many official state visits for foreign dignitaries, including Yasser Arafat in 1993 on his first arrival in New York in 17 years. She was part of the official greeting parties for presidents and prime ministers from many countries, including Ireland, Norway, Australia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Lichtenstein, Thailand, Israel, India, Spain, and Japan. 
 
Prior to her position at the State Department, Joan served as director of the Quapaw Quarter Association 1975-78, director of the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program 1979-81, communications director for the Arkansas Industrial Development Commission 1983-89, and director of the Department of Arkansas Heritage 1989-93.
 
Joan had many loves – Persian rugs; classic movies, particularly those starring Elizabeth Taylor; Brit Box; Johnnie Walker Red; Bruno Magli shoes; beaches from Hawaii to South Carolina to Belize, with a special fondness for Dauphin Island, Alabama. But she had one particular hatred – pineapple in any way, shape, or form. Even the smell of it was an abomination. 
 
After her time with the State Department Office of Protocol, Joan decided to pursue a master’s degree in art history from New York University’s Gallatin School. She loved living in New York and completed her degree in 2005. Her master’s thesis was on the depiction of Saint Mary Magdalene in art. She developed a presentation based on her study and gave lectures on the topic at a variety of venues, including the Cathedral of St. James in Chicago and the Church of St. Mary the Virgin in New York.
 
In October of 2007, Joan met George Ballard. He had been widowed after a 50-year marriage, and they discovered they had many interests in common, particularly a love of travel. They began their adventures with a trip through the Canadian Rockies and followed that with trips to Rome, Hawaii, Belize, Mexico, and an African safari. They loved their cruises to Alaska, the Caribbean, across the Atlantic Sea, and Norway.
Their last trip together was a barge trip on the Canal du Midi in France. They were married on May 29, 2010, and spent nine happy years together before George’s death in 2019.
 
Joan was a member of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Little Rock since her confirmation there on Dec. 12, 1965. In 2008, she founded the Cathedral’s All Saints Guild, a group that supports families before, during, and after the funeral of a loved one. It was one of her proudest achievements. 
 
She was preceded in death by her parents Alberta and Bill Williams. Bill was a Marine killed in action in the Battle of Saipan in 1944; her grandparents Jeffie and Isaac Williams and Mary and Tom Bain, who raised her; her aunt and uncle Martha and Josh Morriss; and her beloved husband George.
 
She is survived by her daughters, Ellen and Margaret, whom she taught by example to be strong, independent women. She is also survived by their husbands, Joseph Gregan and Laurence Adams, and her grandchildren, Genevieve Adams, Stuart Adams, and Leif Gregan. 
 
Joan herself said, “My life was not always happy, but it was rarely boring.”
 
A celebration of a life well-lived will be held for friends and loved ones who wish to visit with Joan’s family on Friday, August 25, from 5-7 p.m. at Westriver Tower, 3500 Cedar Hill Road, 7 South, Little Rock, Arkansas.
 
A memorial service and celebration of Holy Eucharist will be held on Saturday, August 26, at 1 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, 310 W. 17th St., Little Rock.
 
Memorials may be made to Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, Arkansas Hospice, or a charity of one’s choice. 
 
The family would like to thank Arkansas Hospice and First Choice Senior Care for their care of Joan and support of her family. Arrangements are under the direction of RuebelFuneralHome.com