Fortner, Joan Heath, 1932-

Born 1932. Joan Heath Fortner was born Joan Irene Heath in 1932 to Mr. and Mrs. Norbert A. Heath. She is an alumna of Immaculata High School (1950), Mundelein College (1954, BFA), the New York Fashion Academy (1955), and Loyola University (1979, M.A. in Education). In 1947, at the age of 15, she became the youngest person ever to win the Chicago Tribune American Fashions Competition, a title she garnered for five consecutive years. She was the 1950 recipient of the Bishop O'Brien scholarship to the Art Institute in Chicago. In 1953, she won a second scholarship to the New York Fashion Academy for a design she submitted to a contest by the Evans Fur Company. Joan has been active in art organizations in Chicago and suburbs for years. She is currently the president of the Des Plaines Art Guild and the executive director of Art Cubes, a nonprofit art service organization funded by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and the Illinois Arts Council that brings the arts to older adults. Throughout the years, Joan has received many awards for her artwork, and is still involved in teaching art classes, as well as creating and exhibiting her watercolor and acrylic paintings.