Joan R. Schumacher Obituary - The Intelligencer

Joan R. Schumacher, property 92, passed distant peacefully successful the aboriginal greeting hours of December 12, 2022, astatine the Pine Run Health Center successful Doylestown, Pennsylvania.

Joan was calved successful New Haven, Connecticut connected September 9, 1930, the eldest of the 4 children of Victor and Mary (Packer) Reid. A beardown pupil astatine the all-girls Day School successful New Haven, Joan was awarded a afloat assistance to Mount Holyoke College successful South Hadley, Massachusetts, wherever she earned a grade successful English Literature. She remained a arrogant alumna of Mount Holyoke and life-long protagonist of autarkic acquisition opportunities for women.

While inactive a pupil astatine Holyoke, Joan met her aboriginal husband, Richard Schumacher, a pre-medical pupil astatine Amherst College who aboriginal graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School. The 2 joined successful New Haven successful June of 1952, soon aft Joan graduated from college. Eventually, aft the commencement of their 4 children, Joan and Richard settled successful New Britain, Pennsylvania successful 1961 to beryllium adjacent to Richards’s aesculapian signifier successful Doylestown. She and Schumacher were divorced successful 1989.

Joan was a nonmigratory of the Doylestown country for sixty years and was devoted to the Central Bucks community. She volunteered extensively for section charities portion raising her family, including organizing events astatine the Neshaminy Manor Home, driving and assisting astatine the Central Bucks Meals and Wheels, teaching Sunday School astatine her church, the New Britain Baptist Church, arsenic good arsenic volunteering with handicapped children successful Doylestown. The granddaughter of a missionary, Joan had a beardown committedness to work and to giving; for galore years, she regularly donated a important information of her yearly income to her religion and different charitable organizations. She led her church’s missionary committee and volunteered and financially supported some the Pearl S. Buck Foundation and the Baptist Children’s Services. She opened her location not lone to the friends of her children but besides for galore years hosted children from Philadelphia done the Fresh Air Fund arsenic good arsenic precocious schoolhouse students from the Milton Hershey School.

Joan had a life-long emotion of euphony which she instilled successful her children and grandchildren. As a girl, she played the flute and aboriginal sang successful the New Haven First Baptist religion choir. At New Britain Baptist, she besides sang successful the religion choir. In 1973, she was 1 of the founding singers of the Bucks County Choral Society, wherever she sang for galore years. Her patronage of section arts included her life-long subscription to the Philadelphia Orchestra, regular attendance astatine the Pennsylvania Ballet and the Philadelphia Art Museum. She enjoyed and supported Doylestown taste and humanities institutions, including the Mercer Museum, Fonthill and the County Theater successful Doylestown.

Joan was a favored person with galore canine companions passim her beingness arsenic good arsenic 1 favourite cat. She ne'er met a canine she didn’t instantly love. She was besides an avid and accomplished gardener her full life; a subordinate of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, she regularly attended the yearly Philadelphia Flower Show. She loved touring ceremonial gardens, including Longwood Gardens successful Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. Joan loved to question and held the manager presumption for 2 decades astatine the Central Bucks Senior Center, wherever she organized and led galore memorable excursions for the members, including a travel to Ireland successful 2002. Finally, Joan was arrogant to person lived arsenic an autarkic pistillate for the past 33 years of her beingness and successful her aboriginal years became much outspoken astir protecting and advancing the rights of women successful American society.

Joan is survived by her 4 children (Carol, Jim, Neil, and Craig), 3 daughters-in-law (Debbie, Leslie and Karen), 5 grandchildren (Lea, Hayley, Anna, Faith, Elise and Katya), 3 great-grandchildren (Alba, Sage and Walter), and her 3 siblings (Donald Reid, Steven Reid and Alison Daifuku). Insightful, gregarious, witty and immensely generous, Joan volition beryllium profoundly missed by her friends and family, including her galore peculiar friends among the residents and superb unit astatine the extended Pine Run assemblage wherever she lived for the past 8 years of her life. A memorial work to observe the beingness of Joan is planned for the outpouring of 2023 successful Doylestown.