Joan E. Connellan Obituary (1930 - 2021)

BRUNSWICK---Connellan, Joan E. (Carberry). Born on January 31, 1930, to Peter J. Carberry and Helen T. (Shaw) Carberry in Portland, Maine, Joan passed away peacefully with her children by her side on September 22, 2021, after a period of failing health. Joan lived her early life on Stevens Avenue, the street in Portland where, as she liked to say, she could attend schools from kindergarten through college. In grade school, Joan moved to Auburn with her family and was graduated, fifth in her class, from Edward Little High School in 1948. Joan then attended and was graduated from Bates College in 1952 with a major in Sociology, subsequently matriculating at Boston University, seeking a master’s degree in Social Work. A college friend, Nancy Sulides, set Joan up on a fateful blind date with a young Bowdoin College graduate, Jim Connellan, and on July 18, 1959, Jim married Joan and they embarked on a nearly 60-year partnership. Jim’s first work assignment brought him and Joan to Houlton, Maine, where Joan decided to dedicate herself to her family with the arrival of her first child, Thomas, born in April of 1960. Daughter Anne followed in September of 1961. Following Annie’s birth, Jim and Joan moved to Waterville, where they welcomed daughter Elizabeth in November of 1964 and son Peter, who completed the family in December of 1967. As her children entered school, Joan volunteered in the library at Brookside Elementary School and served on the Parent-Teacher Association in various roles, including Chair. She was famously frugal, and that talent enabled Joan to provide various lessons and camps for her children as they grew, including piano lessons, horseback riding, tennis, overnight camps, sports camps, and lots of fun family trips to locations up and down the East Coast exploring historical sites and other interesting places. Once her youngest two children reached junior high school, Joan returned to her profession, working as a Child Protective Worker for the Department of Health and Human Services, in Augusta. When Jim took a promotion relocating his office to Portland, Joan supported him and moved with Jim to Brunswick, Maine, where they resided for the rest of their lives. Joan maintained wonderful friendships with her Waterville friends, but also nourished friendships with Brunswick friends. When Joan retired, she began to volunteer at the local soup kitchen and was an active member of the local garden club, where she made many new friends. Joan was active in her grandchildren’s lives, attending sporting events, school recitals and welcoming the grandchildren during holidays and summer vacations to her home in Brunswick. Joan loved to sew, knit, and cook and she absolutely loved a good squash soup. Joan was pre-deceased by her parents, Peter and Helen, her sister Helen, her beloved husband James and eldest son, Thomas. She is survived by daughter-in-law Josephine Connellan and grandchildren James M. and Dylan Connellan of Hillsdale, New Jersey; daughter Annie and husband Jeff Edwards of Lake Placid, New York, and grandchildren, Elizabeth, Nicholas and Matthew; his daughter Elizabeth and husband Gregory Smith of Cumberland, Maine and grandchildren Myles, wife Danielle and children Aurora and Aeneas, Evan, wife Tina and son Teddy, Aiden and Jameson; and son Peter J., wife Kerri Connellan and grandchildren Patrick and Maura of Fort Worth, Texas. Visiting hours will take place on Wednesday, September 29, 2021, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Stetson’s Funeral Home, 12 Federal Street, Brunswick, Maine. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 9 a.m. at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, 132 McKeen Street, Brunswick, Maine. Interment will take place at Mt. Hope Cemetery in Lewiston. If you wish to do so, donations to The Dempsey Center in Lewiston, Maine, or The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Northern New Jersey/Rockland City Chapter in Joan’s name would be a wonderful honor of her legacy. Arrangements are under the care of Stetson’s Funeral Home and Cremation Care where condolences and fond memories may be shared at www.stetsonsfuneralhome.com