Born in New Orleans in 1930, Joan Macaluso received an oral education at the Chinchuba Elementary School for the Deaf and the Sacred Heart High School. She spent two years at Notre Dame Junior College in St. Louis before entering Gallaudet in 1952. She graduated with a BS degree in education in 1955. While a sophomore at Gallaudet in 1953, she became one of the founding members of the Delta Epsilon sorority, and was its first secretary. She remained closely involved in Delta Epsilon and its alumnae organization for the rest of her life.

Joan met Robert Bates, a graduate of the Indiana School for the Deaf, at Gallaudet, and they were married in 1955, moving to northern Virginia. She spent one year in the graduate program at Catholic University learning library science, and then began a career with the federal government. Starting in 1955 as a typist and library assistant in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare’s library, she moved through positions at the Office of Personnel Management, the Naval Supply Systems Command, and the law library of the Navy’s Office of the Judge Advocate General. Finally in 1982 she became a cataloger in the Government Printing Office and remained in that position until her retirement in 1997.

A devout Catholic, Ms. Bates was closely involved in the US chapter of the International Catholic Deaf Association (ICDA-US), including helping set up its first office. She was also a member of the Daughters of St. Francis de Sales, and taught sign language classes at her church.

Joan M. Bates passed away in 2006.