They were married for over 50 years and raised two sons. вЂњWhen Fred died, she wasnвЂ™t going to step in to be Mister Rogers, but she was going to step in,вЂќ said Bill Isler, who served as the president and CEO of FredвЂ™s company for nearly three decades and is so close to the family that he named his two springer spaniels вЂњFredвЂќ and вЂњJoanne.вЂќ вЂњI think she is incredibly comfortable with it. Last year, the 50th anniversary of his seminal kids program, she participated in a PBS special about Fred, helped to promote a commemorative postage stamp with his face on it and was also part of Morgan NevilleвЂ™s hit documentary вЂњWonвЂ™t You Be My Neighbor?вЂќ She was also a key figure in the development of вЂњA Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,вЂќ the Marielle Heller-directed film that was released over the weekend in which Tom Hanks plays Mister Rogers. At 91, she is the chair emerita of Fred Rogers Productions and the Honorary Chair of the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning & ChildrenвЂ™s Media on the Saint Vincent College campus. Joanne is one of the primary stewards of FredвЂ™s legacy.

In the 16 years since FredвЂ™s 2003 death, theyвЂ™re the only token of his that sheвЂ™s kept for herself. TheyвЂ™re tucked in a tote bag that hangs by her favorite chair, so she can grab one when she wants to feel close to him. She still has most of the letters from their early courtship. Even though she didnвЂ™t know him all that well by the time he proposed, thatвЂ™s what she clung to - the idea that this was a man with a strong moral center. Fred told Joanne about his hopes for the future - about the kind of people he wanted the two of them to become. They kept in touch through the mail, though they werenвЂ™t very good writers, Joanne says. When Fred headed to New York after graduation for an apprenticeship at NBC - the first stop on his way to вЂњMister RogersвЂ™ NeighborhoodвЂќ - she stayed in Florida to get her masterвЂ™s degree in music. Joanne - she dropped вЂњSaraвЂќ early on, deeming it too stuffy - was raised in a Puritan home, and she was repulsed by her schoolmates who talked about вЂњsucking face.вЂќ Any kissing she said she and Fred did was вЂњpretty unpracticed.вЂќ She recalls being attracted to Fred, but they werenвЂ™t particularly physical with each other outside of the sorority and fraternity dances they attended together.

It was 1952 and they were in the midst of a long-distance courtship that began at Rollins College in Florida. A letter she lost almost immediately in a flurry of excitement as she rushed to a pay phone to give him her answer: вЂњYes, yes, yes!вЂќД«oth 24, she just 11 days his senior, they were friends but not yet lovers. Fred Rogers proposed to Sara Joanne Byrd in a letter.

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