Joan A. Croan of Sag Harbor died on November 9, 2018, at the Hamptons Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing. She was 89.
Born on October 15, 1929, in Baldock, Hertfordshire, England, she survived the blitz of London during World War II. In her youth she was a competitive swimmer, winning many awards, including county and regional trophy cups.
Later in life, she emigrated to the United States with two children, Louise and Michael. She became a sewing teacher for the Singer Sewing Machine Company in Westbury and, later, in Sag Harbor.
After meeting Peter “Jerry” Croan, she settled in Sag Harbor in the 1970s. There she developed and nurtured a love of Noyac Bay, the surrounding nature and brought a bit of England to her yard by creating the quintessential English garden there. It is also where she raised her third child, Joanne, a lifelong resident of Sag Harbor.
Ms. Croan pursued a career in real estate in the mid-1970s and obtained a broker’s license. She worked with many successful real estate offices and was a top producer in her time.
She is survived by her husband, “Jerry”; daughters, Joanne Shumski and Louise Strada-Grinsell; and a stepson, Timothy Croan; and two grandchildren, Catherine Musnicki and Stephen Musnicki. She is also survived by her in-laws, Michael and Betty Lou Croan.
She was predeceased by her son, Michael Strada.
A funeral service will be held on Sunday, November 25, from 2 to 4 p.m., at Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in Sag Harbor, followed by a reception at the home of her daughter, Joanne, in Sag Harbor; details are available from Yardley and Pino Funeral Home.
Memorial donations may be made to the Animal Rescue Fund, arfhamptons.org.