Joana Oetter, a French teacher and writer in St. Louis, died Oct. 22, 2009, at the Mari de Villa nursing home in Town and Country.

She was 85 and had been suffering from dementia for about 12 years, her family said Wednesday.

She was born and raised in Cannes, France, and lived through the four-year Nazi occupation there. After D-Day, her fluent English — learned from her English governess — landed her a job at an information desk for American servicemen on the French Riviera.

There, according to family history, she met Bob Hope while he was entertaining the troops, and went on a date with him.

She was named the Riviera's "Miss Palm Beach," and caught the eye of a producer for Paramount Pictures, who offered her a Hollywood screen test.

She turned down the offer in order to marry Lt. Donald Oetter, who was operating an Air Force radar unit in Cannes.

It was 1946, and after a three-week romance and two months of letter writing while waiting for her visa, she followed him to St. Louis. He was a junior at Washington University planning a medical career.

She and Dr. Oetter, a family practice physician and allergist, were married 58 years, until his death in 2004.

Mrs. Oetter earned a baccalaureate with high honors at the Cours Maintenon in Cannes and, 30 years later, a B.A. at Washington University.

From 1956 to 1967, she taught French at Villa Duchesne, John Burroughs School and Rohan Woods school.

"I always sat in the front row, because I didn't want to miss anything," said Mary Jo Sauer, a former student at Villa. "To this day, I remember a French poem she taught us 40 years ago."

Mrs. Oetter also taught here at the Alliance Francaise, an organization dedicated to promoting French language and culture. She was a board member and former president.

David Eidelman, president of the Alliance, took 10 classes from her. "She was tough, but she was one of the most popular teachers."

For decades, Mrs. Oetter gave informal French conversation classes on Fridays at her home in Olivette. Her house was a popular gathering place for Europeans.

She wrote more than 300 features, book reviews and essays for the Post-Dispatch, Globe-Democrat, Suburban Journals and Commerce Magazine.

A memorial service is being planned.

Survivors include a daughter, Cheryl Jarvis of St. Louis; two sons, Bruce Oetter of Clayton and Chris Oetter of Chicago; six grandsons; and one great-granddaughter.

Memorial contributions may be made to St. John's Mercy Foundation Hospice Memorial Fund, 1000 Des Peres Road, Suite 200B, St. Louis, Mo. 63131, or to the Alliance Francaise, 8505 Delmar Boulevard, St. Louis, Mo. 63124.