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Joan Lord Johnston

Jul 21, 2023

Joan Lord Johnston passed away on July 13, 2023. She was born on May 3, 1933.

Joan moved to Shepherdstown with her husband Ernest in December 1989. After 25 years growing up in New England (and college at Oberlin in Ohio), and 31 years living in 7 different locations around the world, she embraced whole-heartedly the opportunity to grow deep roots.

She had earned a Master’s of Fine Art in ceramics from Antioch College four years earlier.

In Shepherdstown, she relished the time to focus on her pottery and spent hours, days and years absorbed in her studio creating pots that are functional and beautiful and continue to be used by family, friends, and pottery lovers. Joan also was immersed in her gardens – both flowers and food – and in making delicious food. She was one of the early members of the Over the Mountain Studio Tour, and a long-time contributor to the Islesford Pottery in Maine. Over 33 years, many local institutions and activities were important to her: the Shepherdstown Library, a rich source of reading, where she volunteered in repairing books – the C & O Canal Towpath, Antietam Battlefields, and fields around her house where she could be found on a brisk walk just about every day – the Farmer’s Market where she found her friends, plants and food – the Potters Bowl Fundraiser for Good Shepherd Caregivers – the Contemporary American Theatre Festival – the Garden Tour – music in small and large gatherings – as well as various shops, farms and restaurants in Berkeley County. She cherished her life in Shepherdstown, the beauty in the world around her, the fruits of the sea, and ice cream. She carries the love of her friends and connections in the area with her.

She died peacefully at home with family, with her “joie de vivre” present until the very last day.

Joan is survived by four daughters (Johanna (Foster, RI), Lucy (Boxford, MA), Julia (Durham, ME) and Rebeckah (Harper’s Ferry, WV), two sons-in-law, six grandchildren, one step grandchild, one brother, two sisters, and many nieces and nephews. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband of 63 years in 2021, and her sister Annie in 2019.

Arrangements are entrusted with Stetson’s Funeral Home and Cremation Care, 12 Federal Street, Brunswick, Maine. Condolences, memories, and photos may be shared with the family on the obituary page of the Stetson’s Funeral Home website, www.stetsonsfuneralhome.com.