Bernard, Joan Justice (1948– )

1948–

Parents: John T. Bernard (c.1914– ) and Katherine Louise Hamann (1919– 1991)..
Spouse: (1) George Alexandre Zara (1949– ), married September 1970; (2) Stephen Lakin Sharpe (1946–2015); (3) Dave Moskowitz.
Children: With George Zara: Katherine Cameron Zara (1976–1995), Elizabeth Alexandre Zara (1980– ), and Michael Thomas Zara (1980– ).
Kinship: Wife of George Alexandre Zara, the second cousin once removed of the post–World War II Smith generation.

Early Life and Education Joan Justice Bernard was born in 1948, the daughter of John T. Bernard and his wife Katherine. She attended Marjorie Webster Junior College in Washington, D.C. and later the University of Denver, where she studied in the theater arts department and met her first husband, George Alexandre Zara.

Early Career in Special Education Before attending the University of Denver, Joan worked as an aide with special needs children, a vocation that would become central to her life. While her husband completed his degree, she accepted a position as a special education teacher despite having had no formal coursework in education. When the Zaras later moved to Florida, she began a master’s degree in education while teaching students living in deep poverty. When George pursued graduate work in Pittsburgh, she also completed her own master’s in education. After their divorce, Joan continued teaching, first in an elementary school’s special education program and then in a specialized vocational high school serving students with disabilities.

Personal Tragedy and Resilience The death of her daughter, Katherine Cameron Zara, in an automobile accident, followed years later by the death of her husband Stephen Lakin Sharpe, were profound personal losses. Yet Joan found healing in her continued work with special education students, often remarking that they helped her more than she helped them.

Literary Career as Jody Sharpe Out of her experiences of loss and recovery, she began writing under the pen name Jody Sharpe, creating the Mystic Bay, California series—a cycle of novels expressing her belief that “synchronicities are angels among us.” On her website she writes that “writing about angels became healing after losing my daughter and then my husband. The valuable lessons I learned about moving forward and loving life in the now have set me on a mission to tell the stories with love, humor, and spiritual awakening.”

Her works include 20 Moon Road: An Angel’s Tale, which continues the series’ central theme that miracles still happen in the fictional town of Mystic Bay, where angels live among humans. The novel’s protagonist, Angel Ken, a former football coach, is guided by the spirit of his late friend, Madam Norma, who recounts her century-long life of helping others through her visions of angels. Through her story, Sharpe explores healing, compassion, and the possibility that divine assistance can appear in human form.

Later Life Joan (Jody Sharpe) continues to write and advocate for spiritual awareness through fiction, speaking about her experiences of grief, teaching, and faith. Her Mystic Bay series reflects a lifelong commitment to hope and the quiet presence of grace in ordinary lives.