JoAnn Self, La Conner softball coach, leaves legacy

Some people are aptly named. JoAnne Self was not.

Her friends – and there were many – insist the late La Conner school district staff member and coach was one of the most unselfish people they knew. Self died Jan. 8 in Sedro-Woolley.

Her giving nature was noticed.

The school district, appreciative of the various roles she filled there, years ago established an annual scholarship award in her honor to recognize those students who best emulate her example of selflessly contributing to the campus and community.

Whatever her assigned task – whether driving buses, preparing and serving food in the cafeteria, assisting students with research projects in the library or helping develop the softball program – she is remembered for having done so cheerfully and with no hesitation.

“I know she was loved by so many people,” Suzy Lowry, one of her former players and later a caregiver, said of Self, who died at age 81 after an extended illness.

“She was amazing,” said Lowry, “Every time I mentioned her name, people would say: ‘Oh, I just love JoAnne.’”

Cherri Kahns, the district’s executive assistant to the superintendent, knew Self as a neighbor, family friend, coach and life mentor.

“She was kind, sweet, supportive and full of encouragement,” Kahns told the Weekly News. “She was a great softball player and coach, great mentor, on the quiet side, but very competitive on the softball field.

“She always displayed positivity and enthusiasm,” Kahns added. “I had so much respect for her as a person, coach, athlete, mentor and friend. I always trusted her. JoAnne had the ability to inspire me to be the best player that I could be. She earned our trust by being fair, honest and challenging. She taught me so much about how to work together as a team both on and off the field. She held me accountable.”

Those lessons have been lasting, insisted Kahns, who knew Self, her husband, Richard and sons Jim and Joe, since childhood.

“JoAnne was responsible for a lot of what I became foundationally,” Kahns noted. “Her influence was tremendous.”

Others concur.

“She was part-time mentor and coach and part-time mother figure,” said Jenifer Bright, a 1980 La Conner High School graduate and, like others, coached by Self at the youth and high school levels.

“A lot of people don’t know this, but JoAnne Self was instrumental in bringing girls’ and women’s softball to La Conner when there weren’t any structured programs in place,” Bright recalled.

Bright, Kahns and Lowry retain fond memories of playing on the Pepsi youth teams she coached.

“We were rag-tag and rambunctious,” recalled Bright, “but somehow she managed to get a district championship win out of our group. I remember riding in the ‘Self-mobile’ to the Chuck Wagon Drive-In in Mount Vernon after our big win. The Pepsi girls were hanging out of the car, whooping and yelling. It truly was a childhood highlight and made us all believe a little bit more in what we could achieve in life if we worked hard.”

Self, a Sedro-Woolley native, coached La Conner youth teams along with Kahns’ mom, Judy Iverson and their mutual friend, Janet Robison. She would later join with Lois Coonc to guide the newly minted La Conner High softball program.

Together Self and Coonc created a blueprint that would result in the Lady Braves earning post-season tournament berths through the decades.

“I remember her smile and laugh and how much she loved slow-pitch softball and all the girls that played for her,” Peg Seeling, a retired La Conner teacher, coach and administrator, said of Self. “She had her kids well coached and they performed well.”

As a coach, Self could certainly lead by example. Kahns remembers her as an integral part of a standout La Conner women’s softball team formed in the early 1970s and sponsored by Joe’s Drive-In.

“As a kid,” Kahns said, “I would ride my bike down to the school to watch the Joe’s Drive-In team play. They were real good. I would study the game and watch the players in awe – JoAnne, Lois, Lupe Guzman, Charlotte Grin and so many others.”

“There were some great ladies on that team,” said Bright. “Cherri and I played tournaments with them. They drug home a lot of softball hardware and we were along for the injury subs and baserunning. We were front and center to some great players and a period of time when women’s sports in Skagit County were really ramping up.”

Kahns had much the same experience as Bright when enlisted by Self to join the Joe’s roster.

“JoAnne always had faith in me,” Kahns said, “as a human being and especially as a softball player. When I was playing in high school, she asked Jenifer Alvord (Bright) and me if we wanted to play for their women’s team. Oh, my gosh, my dream came true. This was the big leagues for me.”

An avid reader, Self was an open book to the students and players in her charge. They say the way she carried herself was the positive example they needed to write fulfilling, new chapters in their lives.

“She changed my life forever,” said Kahns. “My passion for the sport of softball grew and I continued to play softball for over 40 years.”

Bright spoke for all who knew Self when asked to assess her legacy.

“I have so much respect for the kind and giving lady that JoAnne was,” said Bright. “The world has lost a great lady.