Joanne Carole Schieble – Few names come to mind when contemplating visionaries of new tech – Steve Jobs. His story of adoption and drive for perfection has been depicted in books and documentaries. Yet one crucial figure in his story remains in the shadows. Joanne Carole Schieble was not a mere biographical footnote. She was a woman of great intellect and strength. Her actions initiated one of the most remarkable lives of the 20th century.
While history remembers the adoptive parents who raised Steve Jobs, Paul and Clara Jobs, the story of Jobs’ biological mother has not been told fully. From a conservative upbringing in Wisconsin to a late life reunion with the son she gave up, her story is one of love, loss and the complex nature of family.
This article aims to narrate the life story of Joanne Carole Schieble. More specifically, it aims to present her early life, the tough choices she made in her early adulthood, and her final reconciliation with the son who altered the course of history.
Joanne Carole Schieble’s Early Life
Joanne Carole Schieble was born in Wisconsin in the year of 1932. Joanne’s family was from the German-Swiss Catholic decent. Joanne’s father was also very influential in the area of Green Bay as a businessman, he owned a mink farm along with some real-estate.
Joanne’s family was very well off. Arthur Schieble (Joanne’s father) was also very strict with Arthur having a very conservative outlook on life. This impacted Joannes life decisions. It was a very progressive step for women of that time for the family to even encourage Joanne’s education, however, along with that freedom, came a lot of control as to whom she could socially associate with.
Joanne had always been a very smart and curious person, and she was driven to further her education and attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which also led her to meet someone special that would have considerable influence on her life.
The Relationship That Changed History
While a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin, Joanne Schieble met Abdulfattah “John” Jandali, a PhD candidate in political science. Jandali, a Syrian teaching assistant, was smart and charming. Joanne’s father would later oppose Jandali due to the fact that he was a Muslim.
A Forbidden Love
Jandali and Joanne’s relationship quickly garnered strong disapproval. Throughout the mid-1950’s, relationships that bridged faith and culture faced significant social stigma, and Joanne’s father, Arthur Schieble, was strongly opposed to her marrying a Muslim. Biographer Walter Isaacson recounts that Arthur Schieble was so upset about the relationship that he threatened to cut Joanne off financially, disinherit her, and remove her from school.
The Decision to Adopt
The situation escalated when Joanne became pregnant in 1954 at 23 years old. Unwed mothers faced harsh societal disapproval. Joanne was in love with Jandali, but did not want to marry him. She also did not want to have the baby. She was resigned to the fact that she could not have the baby until her father had passed away.In order to maintain her family’s reputation, Joanne went to San Francisco to give birth. She was very particular about her son’s adoption. She wanted the adoptive parents to be graduates. She wanted her son to be adopted into a family that placed the same value on education as she did.
She gave birth to a son on the 24th of February, 1955. For a short time, she had made an arrangement with a lawyer and his wife, but it ended up not working because they wanted a daughter. The next couple on the list, Paul and Clara Jobs, were not the college graduates she pictured. Paul was a high school dropout and mechanic, and Clara had never even graduated college. Joanne did not want to sign the adoption paperwork. After a couple of weeks, she agreed after Paul and Clara signed a promise that they would open a college fund for the boy.
The boy was Steven Paul Jobs
Later on, things went even more ironically for Steve’s adoptive parents. Events took a more tragic turn as his adoptive grandfather died. Now with no more constraints to their marriage, Joanne and Jandali married in late 1955.
A Second Chance at Family
After the marriage, the couple had another child, a daughter, Mona, born in 1957. Steve grew up in Silicon Valley, but his biological parents were building a life elsewhere. The marriage between Joanne and Jandali also did not last. Jandali left the family, and Joanne divorced him in 1962.
Joanne married an ice-skating instructor, George Simpson, and her daughter took his surname, becoming Mona Simpson. Joanne divorced Simpson, raising Mona as a single mother.
Professional Life
Joanne helped people as a speech-language pathologist. She helped people find their voices, while her son was creating ways for people to communicate in new ways.
The Reunion and Legacy
Steve Jobs was adopted, and for decades he did not know his biological roots. It was not until the 1980s, after his adoptive mother Clara passed away, that Jobs began a search for his biological mother.
Joining the Pieces
The reunion brought tears. All the way in Los Angeles, Joanne was worried that Steve would be upset for being fingered for adoption. Jobs, however, was thankful and showed appreciation, stating that the complications in the decision put her on the track for the life she lived.
As if that wasn’t shocking enough, Joanne told Steve he had a sister, Mona Simpson, who had grown up to be a famous author. Jobs’ and Simpson’s relationship was deep and lasted for the rest of Jobs’ life. Joanne, along with Mona, brought Steve his biological truth; however, Steve made a point of not reconnecting with his biological father, Jandali.
The Effect of a Decision
Joanne Carole Schieble passed in 2011. Later stages of her life unfolded with dementia. Her legacy is definitely multi faceted. Steve Jobs’ mother is not a full depiction of who she was. Her life was principally determined by the hard decisions that weighed more on women of her age.
The Jobs went to great lengths for Steve’s education, including enrolling him in classes with a mechanic and a bookkeeper. Their efforts even resulted in Steve getting to Reed College, which he ultimately dropped out of. However, one of his experiences included a calligraphy class that had a direct impact on the design and typeface of the first Macintosh computer.
The Ripples of Our Decisions
The life and times of Joanne Carole Schieble provides clear documentation of the power of decision making, both great, and the ones perhaps made unknowingly. Her social and familial constraints as a young Wisconsin woman in the 1950’s and the choices she was faced with, went on to impact the future of technology as we know it.
With these events in mind, we can think of all the people Joanne Schieble and the rest of the world who contributed to the making of history, all the people who crafted their own quiet histories, made painful choices to transform the world we live in. Joanne Simpson was a speech pathologist, a mother, and a woman who survived her times. Sometimes, to transform the world we live in, we simply have to make painful choices. Declaring to relinquish control is one of the actions that makes a world of difference, and it is often the hardest thing to do.
