Joan Reeves

Born on June 10, 1934 in Buffalo, New York, she was raised in East Aurora until age 13, when she moved with her mother and sister into the city of Buffalo. She attended The Park School in Snyder, graduating in 1952. She moved to Yonkers, New York to attend Briarcliff Junior College for a year. With a desire to explore the world, she moved to Europe, living in France and Portugal for the next several years.

She departed the U.S. on the Ile de France ocean liner in July of 1956. When the Andrea Doria and Stockholm collided off Nantucket, the Ile de France was nearby and rescued over 700 passengers from the sinking Andria Doria. Joan slept through the entire rescue!

Joan went to work for Air France and rose to become the first female sales representative for the airline in the early 1960’s. In June 1963 she married Hans Schmidt III, and over the next 5 years gave birth to 3 boys. By the late 60’s she had become passionate about the environment, and volunteered and supported many environmental causes.

In 1976 her knowledge of the environment led to a job at the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, where she wrote the environmental impact statement for the light rail system that was under development in Buffalo.

In 1978 she and Hans Schmidt separated, and divorced in 1982.

With her children grown by the mid-80’s, she took up Scottish Country dancing as a hobby. There she met John Reeves, a Scot who had emigrated to Canada. They married in 1990, and continued to dance, eventually becoming certified teachers. They made hundreds of lifelong friends in their dance groups, people who continued to visit and socialize when the dances became less frequent.

She is survived by her husband of 35 years John Reeves; sons Eric Schmidt & wife Andrea, Scott Schmidt and Heath Schmidt; nieces Lisa Pieper-Brown and Gillian Pieper; granddaughters Rebecca Schmidt, Katherine Schmidt, Nicole Schmidt and Alex Schmidt; step-son Mike Reeves. She was preceded in death by her sister Louisa, parents Jean and John Plumb, and step-son Paul Reeves.

A memorial service will be held on January 30, 2026 at Noon at All Saints Anglican Church in Peterborough, Ontario. A visitation will proceed the service from 10-11:30am and a reception will immediately follow the service.