Jean "Joanie" Joann Driggers

Jean Joann “Joanie” Shoemaker Driggers

August 7, 1934 – November 11, 2025

Jean Joann “Joanie” Shoemaker Driggers was born on August 7, 1934, in Las Vegas, New Mexico, to James Warren (JW) Shoemaker and Willie Lue (Billie) Craig Shoemaker. She was raised on her family’s ranches in La Cueva and Watrous, New Mexico.

A gifted rider from childhood, Joanie was widely recognized as one of the top horsewomen in New Mexico. She appeared on the covers of Western Horseman, Horse Lovers, New Mexico, Sun Trails and Palomino Horses magazines. In 1953, she was crowned New Mexico State Fair Queen and won numerous awards in equine competitions, including the Aged Reining class at the Denver Stock Show on her gelding, Show Boy S.

In 1954, Joanie married Howard Driggers, joining two of New Mexico’s prominent ranching families. They began their life together on the Driggers Bar Y and Cabra Springs Ranches in Santa Rosa and later worked on the Shoemaker Bar O Ranch in Watrous before purchasing their own ranch there in 1967. Joanie thrived in ranch life, working cattle, raising her children, and cooking for full ranch crews with her legendary New Mexican dishes.

In 1972, the family moved to Baker County, Oregon, where they owned and operated the Coffey Ranch, raising Hereford cattle and American Quarter Horses. After selling the Coffey Ranch, they built the Slash D horse facility in 1981. The indoor arena became a regional hub for high school and college rodeos, horse shows, team ropings, cutting competitions, clinics, 4-H events, and community gatherings. Joanie was known for her tireless work ethic, immaculate barns, and the thousands of handmade hamburgers she served from the Slash D “cookshack” at countless events.

Joanie was active in many equine and rodeo associations, including the Blue Mountain Quarter Horse Association, Haines Rodeo Association, Oregon High School Rodeo Association, Western States Junior Rodeo Association, and the Blue Mountain Cutting Horse Association. She supported her children and countless young riders in all their endeavors.

In the late 1990s, Joanie and Howard moved to Halfway, Oregon. Following their separation, she moved to Montana to ranch alongside her sister, Jimmie Lue; a time she often described as one of the happiest of her later years, especially when the two of them calved out 400 head of cows when they were 68 and 70.  She later returned to Oregon, working at the Slash D for her nephew Dan, and eventually settled in Baker City to help raise her grandchildren.

In 2013, Joanie moved to Morrison, Colorado, with her son Kyle and his family, continuing her cherished role as caregiver and grandmother. In 2020, she returned home to Baker City, where she lived with her son Arlen, who cared for her with deep devotion during her final years. Joanie treasured her annual trips to Montana to spend time with her sister and extended family; the cousins grew up more like siblings, and their gatherings at “The Bliss Camp” were among her life’s greatest joys.

Joanie was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Howard, her sister Jimmie Lue Shoemaker Eddleman and grandson William Ried.

She is survived by her children: Warren (Nancy), Arlen, Dixie (Bill Quigley), and Kyle (Robin); her grandchildren: Keri, Elizabeth, Danny, Zoe, Stephanie (Jack), Nicole, Buck (Alice), Angie (Bob); and her great-grandchildren: Christopher, Jay, Hailey, Hannah, Amelia, Thomas, Ann, Landen, Wyatt, Emett, and Móorea. She also leaves behind many loving nieces, nephews, and extended family members.

Joanie will be remembered for her extraordinary horsemanship, her unwavering work ethic, her generosity, her immaculate home and barns, her New Mexican cooking, and the fierce love she carried for her family. Her legacy lives on in the generations she raised, the horses she trained, and the countless people whose lives she touched.

The family would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the caregivers and staff of Heart and Home Hospice, and the friends and family who visited this past year. She treasured your visits and phone calls and you truly made a difference in her life.

Memorial donations can be made to CASA of Eastern Oregon, Heart 'n Home Hospice or a charity of one’s choice through Tami’s Pine Valley Funeral Home, PO Box 543, Halfway, OR 97834. Online condolences can be shared at www.tamispinevalleyfuneralhome.com