Joanne L. Carr

Joanne L. Carr (nee Shea) age 85, of Tinton Falls, NJ and formerly of Wayne, NJ, passed away on Saturday, August 19, 2023.

Joanne was the cherished wife of the late John P. Carr (2008). She was the beloved mother of Timothy (Kristin), Christopher, Brian (Denise); adored grandmother of Megan, Bridget, Joshua, Emma, and Aaron; loving great grandmother of Lily, Molly, and Jake; dearest sister of the late Robert Bootes, the late John Shea, Phyllis Tucciarone, and Patricia Van Decker; and dear aunt of numerous nieces and nephews.

The third of Edmund and Helen (Heath) Shea’s five children, Joanne was born in Glen Ridge and grew up in the family home at 712 Broad Street in Bloomfield. After graduating from Bloomfield High School with the Class of 1956, she worked for Prudential Insurance Company in Newark. Joanne recalled that the highlight of that job came one summer when she had to spend several months down the shore to conduct training for fellow employees.

In 1961, Joanne met John Carr in North Arlington. They fell in love and married shortly thereafter. They moved into the home located at 24 James Street in Wayne where Joanne took on the role of mother and homemaker. She would go on to live in that home for over fifty years. As a young mom, while her three sons attended Ryerson School, Joanne was active in the PTO. Later she worked as a poll worker at the Ryerson School polls.

Joanne eventually returned to work outside of the home. She took a job at the Children’s Place, a retail children’s clothing chain. She started out part time in the distribution center and, over the course of twenty-plus years before retiring in the early 1990’s, she moved into the company’s human resource and payroll departments. She loved that job and her grandchildren were the happy recipients of lots of great children’s clothing.

When Joanne’s kids were growing up, the family would frequently go camping. It was affordable and, while it really wasn’t her cup of tea, it’s what three growing boys loved to do. Favorite camping spots included Cape May, Wildwood Crest, and Fort Wilderness near Disney World. One summer the whole family even camped their way up the east coast from Cape May to Nova Scotia! Joanne and John got to go to Ireland with their son Chris and to Mexico with their son Tim and his family. She and John loved to go to Atlantic City to try their luck at the casinos and they always took advantage of the free buffets. They also enjoyed several cruises and trips together to Hawaii, New Orleans and lots of national parks.

When Joanne was a young lady working for Prudential, she started bowling. It would become an activity that she participated in for many years. With a 156 average, she enjoyed bowling with friends in various leagues at Leisure Lanes in Fairfield and T-Bowl in Wayne. Joanne also loved going to Broadway shows, working in the yard, tending to her beautiful flowers and doing her crossword puzzles.

Above all else, Joanne’s greatest passion was for her family. She and husband John were such a blessing to their sons. For many years they took care of their grandchildren a couple of times a week. Joanne was never known to be shy and taking care of her grandchildren allowed her to be well-known at their nursery school and Ryerson School. She adored her grandchildren and never missed any of their shows, competitions, birthdays, graduations, or any milestone events in their lives. She loved dancing the jitter bug with them and swimming with them in their pool or in the ocean.

Joanne was truly a caring and compassionate person. When her own mother was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, it was Joanne who took care of her every need. In June, 2018, Joanne left her home in Wayne to go live at Cedar Crest Village in Pequannock. While living there, she was a regular volunteer in Cedar Crest’s memory care unit. Extremely kind hearted, she simply had a natural attraction to the down-trodden and when she saw a need, she rolled up her sleeves and helped. Sadly, Joanne herself would ultimately succumb to Alzheimer’s. With much of her family ending up living in South Jersey, she eventually moved down there to be closer to them. For the past year-and-a-half, she was a resident at Seabrook Village in Tinton Falls.

When asked what her family would miss most about Joanne, they said they would miss her great sense of humor, her warm friendship, and just her mere presence. She always got so excited to be together for Christmas and other holidays and events. She lived for her family and not having her present going forward will be hard.

Friends may visit with the family on Tuesday, August 22, 2023 from 4-8 PM at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne.

Funeral Service on Wednesday, August 23, 2023, beginning 10:00 AM at the funeral home. Following the service, Joanne will be laid to rest at Holy Cross Cemetery, N. Arlington.

In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy in Joanne’s name are asked to consider:

Alzheimer’s NJ
Attention Development Department
425 Eagle Rock Ave. Suite 203
Roseland, NJ 07068

Please make your check payable to Alzheimer’s New Jersey.