One of the charter employees of Rio Rancho Public Schools, whose smiling face greeted visitors to Mountain View Middle School for more than a decade, has passed away. Joan Bivens had been ill for several months, but continued to work up until a few days before her death on Friday morning, February 9. She was 62.

RRPS Superintendent Sue Cleveland used the words “positive, bright, caring, and hardworking,” to describe Mrs. Bivens. Mountain View Principal Kathy Pinkel remembered her as a no-nonsense and very funny person who genuinely cared about her colleagues and about children. “Through our tears on Friday,” she said, “we would just stop and laugh as we remembered funny things she had said and done.” Mrs. Bivens was also responsible for the website for Mountain View and was revered by her fellow web designers for her dedication and willingness to "go beyond" in working with her staff to have the best website possible. Family members and colleagues described Mrs. Bivens’ dedication poring over school accounts, or helping teachers write grants, or organizing drives for needy families, or the countless other small things that hold a school together.

Mrs. Bivens earned an Associates Degree in business from Goldey Beacom School of Business in Delaware and worked as a bookkeeper and accountant before her family moved to Rio Rancho. She worked as an educational assistant with special needs students at Lincoln Middle School beginning in 1989, when Lincoln was still part of the Albuquerque Public Schools. She was a founding member of the PTA at Ernest Stapleton Elementary and also was active in the PTA’s at Rio Rancho Elementary and at Lincoln, where her children attended school, and with APS’s employee union.

Mrs. Bivens became a Rio Rancho Public Schools employee when the district split off from APS in 1994, and transferred to Mountain View as a clerk when its new building opened in 1995. She became the principal’s secretary in 1996 and stayed in that position until her death, doubling at times as cheer coach and Webmaster. Her union involvement extended to Rio Rancho, where she was the first Vice President of the Rio Rancho School Employees Union and served on the negotiating team.

Mrs. Bivens is survived by her husband Lon, daughter Michelle, and son Bill. A memorial service will be held at 6:30 PM on Tuesday, February 13, at Daniels Family Funeral Chapel (Vista Verde), 4310 Sara Rd. in Rio Rancho (doors open at 5:30 PM). For those wishing to make memorial donations, the family has established the Joan K. Bivens Memorial Fund at First Financial Credit Union, and intends to use the proceeds to benefit schools.