Fort Kent-- Joan Nilda Wallace, 9/25/1933 – 12/11/2020. Joan or "Jo" as she was known to family and friends, 87, died peacefully at home after a brief illness, under the care of her daughter, Laurie and with the help Northern Light Home Care and Hospice. Jo was the daughter of the late Lionel (Noel) and Essie (Gagnon) Pinette of Wallagrass Maine. Jo was the valedictorian of the Fort Kent Community High School Class of 1952. She got her diploma in nursing from the Maine Medical School of Nursing in Portland, Maine. She served as a second lieutenant and then a first lieutenant in the US Air Force, where she met and married the late Paul Vincent Wallace, Jr. They had one daughter together, Laurie Wallace Chagnon of Norwalk Connecticut. Jo worked as an OR nurse at Saint Francis Hospital in Hartford,  Connecticut . Upon her return to the St. John River Valley, she worked for a brief period as Director of Nursing at the People's Benevolent Hospital in Fort Kent, Maine then onto a 22 year career working for the State Department of Health and Welfare as a Public Health Nurse, servicing: Allagash, Grandfalls , Frenchville, Hamlin, St. Francis, St. John and Van Buren. During the time, she got her bachelor's degree in nursing from Saint Joseph's College in Sebago, Maine. She was instrumental in developing a genetic couns elin g program for people in the valley, in addition to her regular duties of immunization clinics, home visits, and Maternal and Child Health. She loved "her" families and was an excellent nurse. Upon her retirement, she enjoyed spending time with her daughter, reading, working on her family genealogy, taking care of her many pets and crocheting. She is survived by her loving daughter Laurie and her son-in-law William Chagnon, of Norwalk Connecticut. Her brother James (Jim) Pinette and his wife, Florence of Hollis Maine, her brother Robert (Bob) Pinette and his wife, Susan of Brunswick, Maine, and her sister Elizabeth (Beth) Pinette of Fort Kent, Maine. She leaves behind many beloved nieces, nephews, cousins and friends, especially Lisa and Don Lebel for all of their love, help, and support in her later years. The family will announce plans for a private celebration of life at a later date . Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Lajoie-Daigle Funeral Home. Any memorial gifts can be left to PAWS Animal Welfare Society Inc., PO Box 94, Fort Kent Mills, Maine 04744 (207-543-7348)