Joan Boone

Boone, Joan Dauphinee

After a long and rich life, Joan Boone died peacefully on November 27, 2020, at 94 years of age. She was the youngest daughter of Jean and Enna “Papa” Dauphinee, and she was so very close to her two older sisters, Lorna and Madelyn. The Dauphinees trace back to a lineage of French Huguenots, who emigrated from France to Hubbards, Nova Scotia, sometime around 1650. When Joan was just a one-year-old, Papa accepted a job with the Imperial Oil in Ioco, a small town nestled on the northern shore of the Burrard Inlet in British Columbia. Consequently, young Joan traveled from Canada’s coast to coast several times, as her family made a pilgrimage from Ioco to Hubbards every second summer. The round trip was close to 12000 km, and it was all on gravel roads. In the Rockies, when Papa was desperately trying to propel their struggling car up and over a steep mountain pass, the three girls would help from the back seat, rocking themselves back and forth in unison to provide that little extra needed momentum. Joan spent her high school and the war years in Sarnia, where she developed a passion for the beaches, waves, and stunning sunsets of Lake Huron. She went on to attend the University of Toronto, graduating with an Honours degree in Art and Archeology. These were such fun times, and years later Joan remained in close touch with many of her very best friends, including those from Whitney Hall residence, her “Pi Phi” sorority, and her close and intimate class of fellow art students. Joan loved to travel. Following university, she took an ocean liner to England, where she taught a class of rather challenging primary school students, in a rough-and-tumble part of London. These students were more than a handful, but Joan learned she could capture their attention by reading aloud to them in what they perceived as her exotic and mesmerizing Canadian accent. She spent a year hosteling her way through England, France, and Italy, before returning to Toronto to reconnect with the love of her life, Jim Boone. They were married in 1958, and before long they had traded in their two-seater Porsche for a classic, wood-paneled station wagon. While living in Mississauga, Joan and Jim had three sons, Tom, Charlie, and Peter. Although she never complained, at times she must have believed that there really should be a special place in heaven for the mothers of three boys. When Jim took a job as the Chief of Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital and Western University, in London Ontario, Joan studied art at Beal Secondary School, she did volunteer work at the Children’s Health Foundation, and she served as a docent at the then new, London Art Gallery. Joan was very proud of her sons, fostering their education, encouraging them to play sports and to enjoy the outdoors. She fully embraced the canoe trips that Jim would organize for the family in the summer. Hands down, her most favourite was the Bowron Lakes circuit, which allowed her to relive and share her childhood passion for the commanding mountains of British Columbia. Joan secretly hoped that at least one of her sons would follow in their father’s medical footsteps, but she had to settle for three PhDs instead. Graduate degrees were awarded to Tom in Engineering (Cornell), Charlie in Biology (McGill), and Peter in Economics (Harvard). After the boys moved on, Joan and Jim spent numerous summers at their cottage in Bayfield, where Joan rekindled her love for that Great Lake, Huron. Always up for some fun, Joan accompanied Jim as a long-standing member of the Bayfield International Croquet Club. She was in excellent health for most of her life, but she suffered from dementia in the last few years. Joan is survived by her husband Jim, her three boys, their lovely spouses, and her eight adorable grandchildren. Joan Boone lived life with zest, humour, and passion — she fully embraced art, travel, beautiful places, and the many people who loved her dearly. Arrangements entrusted with A. Millard George Funeral Home, 519-433-5184. Online condolences, memories and photographs shared at www.amgfh.com