Obituary for Joanna Furlong (Gill) Craig
Joanna Furlong (Gill) Craig, age 90, a resident of Essex, VT, formerly a longtime resident of Acton, MA, passed away peacefully on February 17, 2023.
Joan was born and raised in Sioux City, IA, the daughter of Franklin Edward Gill and Gertrude Meloy Gill. In 1950, she ventured to St. Mary’s College in South Bend, IN. She graduated from the University of Iowa in 1954. Following graduation, she moved to Saginaw, MI where she worked with the local school district as a speech and language pathologist. In 1957, she married her former husband Martin Andrew Craig. During her twenties and thirties, she focused on raising her four children and establishing homes for her family in Michigan, North Carolina, Missouri, and Massachusetts. She finally settled in Sudbury, MA in 1971, and then relocated to Acton, MA in 1992. She thoroughly enjoyed her thirty plus years working with children at Sudbury Small World and Woods Edge Child Care Center in Sudbury, MA. She treasured reading to her students as well as her eight grandchildren.
An avid supporter of the handwritten thank you note and a properly set table, she will be remembered for her fabulous sense of humor, kind heart, and generous spirit.
Joan was the adoring mother of Betsy Weischedel, Marcie Jacobs (Bob), Karen Purtell (Jeff) and Randall Craig; the beloved grandmother of Jason Weischedel (Alli Greene), Kristen Naik (Harshad), Lori Weischedel (Young Kim), Keenan Weischedel, Kayla Jacobs, Abby Jacobs, Cammie Purtell, and Annie Purtell; the loyal sister of Franklin E. Gill Jr. and the treasured aunt of many loving nieces and nephews. She is predeceased by her parents, her sister Betsy Kenefick, her brother-in-law Tom Kenefick, and her sister-in-law Mary Gill. She will be missed by all who knew her.
A memorial service will be held in the spring. If you would like to do something in her memory, read your favorite children’s book to someone special or make a donation to St. Jude’s Children Hospital, High Fives Foundation, or the Kelly Brush Foundation.
Joan was born and raised in Sioux City, IA, the daughter of Franklin Edward Gill and Gertrude Meloy Gill. In 1950, she ventured to St. Mary’s College in South Bend, IN. She graduated from the University of Iowa in 1954. Following graduation, she moved to Saginaw, MI where she worked with the local school district as a speech and language pathologist. In 1957, she married her former husband Martin Andrew Craig. During her twenties and thirties, she focused on raising her four children and establishing homes for her family in Michigan, North Carolina, Missouri, and Massachusetts. She finally settled in Sudbury, MA in 1971, and then relocated to Acton, MA in 1992. She thoroughly enjoyed her thirty plus years working with children at Sudbury Small World and Woods Edge Child Care Center in Sudbury, MA. She treasured reading to her students as well as her eight grandchildren.
An avid supporter of the handwritten thank you note and a properly set table, she will be remembered for her fabulous sense of humor, kind heart, and generous spirit.
Joan was the adoring mother of Betsy Weischedel, Marcie Jacobs (Bob), Karen Purtell (Jeff) and Randall Craig; the beloved grandmother of Jason Weischedel (Alli Greene), Kristen Naik (Harshad), Lori Weischedel (Young Kim), Keenan Weischedel, Kayla Jacobs, Abby Jacobs, Cammie Purtell, and Annie Purtell; the loyal sister of Franklin E. Gill Jr. and the treasured aunt of many loving nieces and nephews. She is predeceased by her parents, her sister Betsy Kenefick, her brother-in-law Tom Kenefick, and her sister-in-law Mary Gill. She will be missed by all who knew her.
A memorial service will be held in the spring. If you would like to do something in her memory, read your favorite children’s book to someone special or make a donation to St. Jude’s Children Hospital, High Fives Foundation, or the Kelly Brush Foundation.