Joan G. Pryor

Joan was born on Christmas Day, 1937, in Chicago, IL. It was a lamentable occasion as her presents for birthday and Christmas were lumped into one. But she survived that and continued on for 88 years. She lived in Chicago, Wilmette, IL, Westport, CT and Essex, CT.

Joan was one of five children born to Mary Alice and Patrick Delmore Grimes. Her brothers and sisters all moved throughout the country, settling in California, Colorado, Texas and Florida. She is predeceased by her brother Bill, sister Mary Alice and brother Jack as well as her husband Maurice “Moe” Pryor and eldest son Tim. She is survived by her sister Peggy Bahar, her sons Michael and Patrick (also known as Mike and Pat) as well as granddaughters Maisie, Clara, Kelsey and Shannon.

Joan was a trailblazer, an entrepreneur, a craftsman and a raconteur with a great sense of humor. She was adventurous, inquisitive, loved gardening and fixing things, and always appreciated a picturesque view.

Joan studied at Mount Mary University in Milwaukee, WI and then went on to teach Spanish and English in Bogota, Colombia and Madrid, Spain.

She was a cheerleader in high school, but also played field hockey, serving as captain. She took a ball to her face the day of her prom so attended with a massively swollen black eye. Still, she was elected Prom Queen.

She played softball, volleyball, tennis, learned to sail, and loved passing these on to her kids who are now, of course, excellent athletes. Her sons were enrolled in swim lessons, tennis lessons, baseball and, most importantly, travel hockey.

Joan was a part of the choir at Christ The King church in Old Lyme and it was one of the joys of her life. She treasured the friendships she made and was always impressed with the quality of the music.

She was also part of a French club and a memoir writing club which she always valued. Even though she didn’t think she had anything memoir-worthy to write.

Joan was feisty and her sense of humor stayed with her to the very end. She was one of a kind.

Services for her will be on October 17th, 11am at Christ The King Church in Old Lyme.

Please don’t send flowers, my mom never really liked them because they die quickly. Please consider a donation to Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos, an orphanage in Mexico which was run by Moe’s cousin, and where our family sponsored several children, by visiting www.nphusa.org