Obituaries

Joan E. Stearns

Former Mattituck resident Joan E. Stearns of Sarasota, Fla., died May 15 at the age of 84.

Born in Riverhead Jan. 10, 1927, she graduated from the Brooklyn Hospital School of Nursing and was a registered nurse.

She married Robert Stearns in January 1951 in Riverhead. With their five children, they lived in many locations across the country and in Europe, while he pursued a 22-year career as an officer in the U.S. Army. When he retired, they moved back to Mattituck, where they lived for 18 years before settling in 1987 in Sarasota.

She was devoted to and took pride in her large family, they said, and she loved to travel, was an avid bridge player, and enjoyed artistic pursuits, including painting, needlework and ceramics.

Ms. Stearns is survived by her husband of 60 years; her children, Mark, of Seaside, Calif.; David, of Birmingham, Ala.; Lesley Ackroyd of Sarasota; and Doug and Craig, both of New York; her brother, Paul Edwards of Muncy, Pa.; 10 grandchildren; and one great-grandson.

Interment will be at Sarasota National Cemetery. A celebration of her life will be scheduled for a later date.

Memorial donations may be made to the Cookies for Kids’ Cancer foundation.