b'Live JoyfullyMoon loves theater, friends & clear sighthomemade muffins helpBY TRINA KLEISTisa Moon was trying to put one foot in front of theother, going up a step. I could visualize it, but I couldnt do it! A stroke a few weeks earlier had left the well-known local doctor without balance and her brain-body connection shredded. The physical therapist standing behind Moon picked her up by her belt, put his foot under hers, and moved her forward.To me, the best part of me is my brain, Moon says. And in August of 2016, her brain was wounded. So Moon applied the same determination and perseverance she has exerted against all the other challenges she has faced throughout her life.Its just the thing I want to do, says the Banner Mountain resident, now 69. I want to get better. I want to win. I want to do the best that I can.That drive has left its mark on Nevada County. In 1978, Moon and her husband, Gerald Chan, started what is now Chan Family Optometry in Grass Valley (now owned by their daughter, Tiffany Chan). Moon was the founding president and artistic director of Community Asian Theater of the Sierra, and shes a formidable contender at the Nevada County Fair. Born in Massachusetts (where her dad attended Harvard University) and raised in San Francisco, Moon possesses a love of learning and a drive for excellence instilled by her parents, who worked hard, held Lisa Moon, 69 high ideals, broke through barriers Businesswoman, cookie fairy, socialand earned recognition for their connectress, Zumba fan, fun grandma,accomplishments.bundle of optimism So Moon wasnt going to let a stroke best her. After three weeks in the hospital and three more in rehabilitation, Moon walked to the car For her character in CATS\' production of "The Joy Luckfor her ride home. Her husband wept.Club," troupe co-founder Lisa Moon wears a vintageThey said to me, Do you want us to wheel jacket handed down by her mother, who wore it when sheyou out in a wheelchair? I said, No! I came here by was pregnant with Moon. ambulance. Im going to walk out of here!Photo by Kristofer B. Wakefield Moon continued on page 142022-2023 Western Nevada County Edition SENIOR DIRECTORY 13'