In Memoriam: Joan D. Small, 1928-2022

Mrs. Small was with the Congdon & Coleman Agency for 32 years

Joan D. Small, 93 (month shy of 94) formally of Nantucket, passed away on July 7, 2022.  Joan was born on August 2, 1928, in Yonkers, New York, to John V. and Mary E. DelBene.  She was graduated from Roosevelt High School in Yonkers with highest honors in the liberal arts course.  She then decided to go to The Katherine Gibbs School in New York City, where she again excelled in all programs.

She was employed by Eastern Gas & Fuel Associates in New York as Executive Secretary to the District Manager.

Joan came to Nantucket with friends on a summer vacation in the late 1940s and fell in love with the island- so different from the city life.  She met Arnold “Ossie” Small.  The couple was married on May 28, 1950, at the Church of St. John, the Baptist, in Yonkers and then made their home on Nantucket, where she became a parishioner of St. Mary, Our Lady of The Isle Church.  In later years she served as a Eucharistic Minister at Mass.

She worked for Norman P. Giffin in the freight office of the Steamship Authority until she left to start a family.  She would tell you that her picture with others in the freight department hangs in the manager’s office.

She was employed by Congdon & Coleman Insurance Agency for 32 years in the Commercial Property and Casualty Department and initially was also secretary to Robert D. Congdon and Henry B. Coleman.

Joan was a member of the Corporation of Nantucket Cottage Hospital, where she was a long-time volunteer at the Nurses’ Station, earning her 1,000 hour pin in September 1987 and “retired” in 1999.  She also volunteered at the Pops concerts in the summers for many years and for Health Fairs.

She was a member of the Nantucket Center for Elder Affairs and as a director, chaired the Fund-Raising Committee for the Spring and Christmas bazaars, the Yankee Magazine fund-raiser, the Saltmarsh Building expansion committee, and the John Buttrick Concerts.

Joan was also a volunteer for St. Mary’s Church at both summer and winter bazaars.  In the summer she initially volunteered at the plant table, then became its chairman.

She was a volunteer for Elder Services of Cape Cod & the Islands, serving for 25 years at their Congregate Lunch Program held at the Saltmarsh Senior Center and then in their office at the Landmark House on Orange Street.

Joan was a member of the Nantucket Historical Association, a Friend of the Atheneum, and the Nantucket Conservation Foundation.  She was an Incorporator of Nantucket Community Services, Inc.  (Landmark House).

She enjoyed reading, gardening when she was able, (hydrangeas), watching the Red Sox, spending time with her friends and most of all, spending time with her family.  She cherished her time spent with her three Cape Cod grandchildren, especially continuing family Christmas traditions.

She was pre-deceased by her husband of 47 years and her brother John V. DelBene.  She is survived by her son Robert and his wife Sharon of Westminster, MA, her daughter Cheryl Cooke and her husband James of Yarmouth Port, MA, her daughter Debra Jarvis and her husband Lowell of Weymouth, MA, her grandson James Cooke and his wife Katie and her great grandson Liam of Dennis, Ma, her granddaughters Lauren Cooke of Wayland, MA and Sarah Cooke of Bellingham, MA and her sister Jacqueline Faber of Boca Raton, FL.

During 2016 Joan moved to Maplewood at Mayflower Place in West Yarmouth to be closer to her family.  Her family thanks the caring staff at Mayflower for providing Joan quality assisted living services.  In 2019 Joan’s “ladies” from Cape Codder Home Care came into her life.  Joan’s family is forever grateful for the devoted companionship and full time care they provided.  Appreciation also to Continuum Hospice and Palliative Care.

Arrangements under the direction of Chapman Funerals & Cremations-Yarmouth, Ma.  Funeral Mass will be held at St. Mary, Our Lady of the Isle Church, Nantucket in September.  Burial will be in the Small Family Plot in Prospect Hill Cemetery, Nantucket.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Elder Services, 144 Orange Street, Nantucket, MA 02554 – their Congregate Lunch Program or Meals on Wheels.

Condolences and tributes can be left for Mrs. Small on her tribute wall on the Chapman Funeral Home website.