Jaffrey, NH – Joanne Marie Manning passed on August 14, 2026. She was born in 1952, lived several decades, each one bringing her new friends and adventures. The daughter of Joe and Marie in Jaffrey NH, she blissfully rode her bike up and down Sunnyfield Drive with her five siblings and neighborhood friends. After a few years at Conant, she continued her schooling in Keene, Hamden CT, Durham NH, and Amherst MA. A child of the 60's, she then spent a few years in a log cabin on a pond in Alstead NH with a fellow-teacher friend where they read books and paddled around the pond. She then moved to Boston where she met Jean-Pierre, a handsome young man from Paris, who also liked to eat brown rice and miso soup. A bike-riding-window-washer, he would stop by the Boston Public Library on his way home to their Southie apartment by the sea. After many years of joy and the birth of their daughter Eugenie, Joanne brought her toddler across the bay to Provincetown where her red hair did not need to be combed, blew in the salty wind, and got all frizzy. Friends, family, and teaching opportunities subsequently brought them other places including time in Greece, Paris, Florida, Falmouth, and finally, back to Florida with Tuck Hayashi. Her life reads like a long novel with many chapters, twists, and turns. With the tragic loss of Eugenie in her early twenties, Joanne obviously suffered for years but, since she maintained her friendships with all those in her past over many decades, she held on. She kept reading. She understood the real meaning of life, the importance of friends, the close bond with her siblings, and a variety of experiences. She cherished the happy memories of all those years. Unfortunately, her physical and mental health declined rapidly over the last six months with multiple symptoms in the final stage of her free-spirited life. We will plan multiple celebrations of her life and remember her in many ways as the trail- blazing sister who introduced us to the Beatles, bell bottoms, and other forms of bad behavior.
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Joanne Marie Manning