Joan Leoline John who was born in Beterverwagting, Guyana, and resided in Hartford, Connecticut passed away on September 22, 2020.
Joan Leoline John, 78, of Hartford, beloved wife of 54 years to Ovid John, passed away on Tuesday, September 22, 2020, surrounded by her family at St. Francis Hospital. Born Joan Leoline Benjamin in Beterverwagting, Guyana on September 4, 1942, she was the fourth child and first daughter of the late Arnold ‘Brave Boy’ and Constance (Callender) Benjamin. She was raised in Beterverwagting, Guyana and was a graduate of the Guyana Education Trust in Georgetown, Guyana, the University of Guyana in Turkeyen, Guyana, and the Teacher’s Training College in Georgetown, Guyana. She started her career as an elementary school teacher and later taught at Community High School in Beterverwagting.
Joan immigrated to the United States with her family in 1980 and settled in Hartford where she’d resided for the past 40 years. She worked as a System’s Analyst at The Hartford Insurance Group for 19 years until her retirement in 2000. Joan then continued her passion for teaching and took a position as a Mathematics teacher at the Carmen Arace Middle School in Bloomfield where she was a part of the faculty for several years. During this time, she also volunteered at the Center for Urban Research, Education, and Training (CURET) where she taught adult education classes in Mathematics.
A devout Christian throughout her life, Joan was an active member of the North United Methodist Church in Hartford where she served as secretary of the United Methodist Women’s Club (UMW) and often was called upon to preach on Sunday’s and for special occasions.
Besides her husband Ovid, she leaves three children, Simone John of Silver Spring, MD, Sharon John of Atlanta, GA, and Troy John of Hartford; a grandson, Malik John of Hartford; an adopted daughter, Carol Dulaire of Hartford whom she helped to raise in Guyana; two brothers, George Ulric Benjamin and his wife Celeste Benjamin of Toronto, Canada and Randolph Maxwell Benjamin and his wife Olive of London, England; a sister, Arlene Deria and her husband Mohamed of Hartford; four sisters-in-law, Shirley Blair and her husband Gladstone of College Park, MD, Henrietta Benjamin of Surrey, England, Daphne John of Brooklyn, NY, Joyce Johnson of Brooklyn, NY; a brother-in-law, Sherlock John of Brooklyn, NY; nine nieces and nephews, Ricardo Benjamin and his wife Dianne of Toronto, Canada, Robert Benjamin of Kent, England, Candace Benjamin of Toronto, Canada, Dawn Benjamin of Essex, England, Andrea Benjamin of Surrey, England, Adam Deria of Hartford, Brian Benjamin of Dakar, Senegal, Karen Redden and her husband James of Surrey, England, and Jamilla Deria of Jersey City, NJ; cousins, Cheryl Gomes of Bloomfield, Petal Perreira of Windsor, Lorraine Gomes of Windsor, Colleen Haig of England, Keith Gomes of England, Margaret Nelson of East Hartford, Marianne Gibbs and her husband Ronald of Bloomfield, Merle Callender of Florida, Christine Triumph of Hartford, Christopher Vialva of San Jose, CA, Susan Perreira and her husband Leo of West Hartford, Robert Callender of Brooklyn, NY, Deborah McIntosh of Surrey, England, Orrin Thomas of Surrey, England, Kevin Gomes and his wife Angela of Hartford, Stella Steaman of Toronto, Canada, Sheila Aaron, Albert John, Vincent John, Sheryl Grey, Eslyn Nero, the Azores, the Burgans, the Cushes, the Dovers, the Johns, the Griffiths, the Mingos, the Mitchells, and the Yaws; close friend, Patricia Bell of Bloomfield; and a host of other relatives and friends too numerous to mention. She was predeceased by two brothers, Clayton and Sheldon Benjamin.
Her family will receive friends on Friday, October 2, 10-11 a.m., followed by a Homegoing Service at 11 a.m., at The Lodge Community Chapel, 130 Deerfield Rd., Windsor. Burial will follow in Mountain View Cemetery, Bloomfield.
In memory of Joan’s love for children, learning, and her church, the family has requested that memorial contributions be made to the Joan L. John Memorial Scholarship Fund, c/o North United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 320235, Hartford, CT 06132.
