Joan Cash

I first met Joan when I was 16 and she was 15. One of her three older brothers was to become my husband 5 years later.

Joan, as the youngest child, and only girl, was at the bottom of the pecking order. Ironing shirts for her three brothers was a daily task. She didn’t let that stop her. She could play rough street games with the toughest of the neighborhood boys. She never held back because she was a girl. Taught by her Father, she could wield a hammer and hit a nail straight on the head every time.

She was the fourth child of Irish parents who had met on the boat when they emigrated from Killarney and Tipperary Ireland. Both from large families, they were seeking a better life for their future children. Neither was educated beyond the 8th grade but valued a solid education. All the children went to private Catholic schools despite great financial sacrifice. Joan graduated from St. Aquinas High School in the Bronx.

Although Joan was a straight A student in high school, college was not affordable for her working class parents. Instead, she entered the business world working at a plumbing supply company, a most macho field. Joan became its top salesperson and a VP. As a result of a lifelong yearning to travel, Joan opened her own travel agency which lasted until internet travel tanked small companies.

Meanwhile, Joan went back to school at night and became an RN working in a nursing home while spending weekends enjoying Irish dancing.

She moved from New Jersey to Long Island to become office manager for my husband’s business in Hand Therapy until she retired.

This left time for Joan to expand further her artistic pursuits. Having previously studied for years at the Art Students’ League in NYC, she left painting to become an expert quilter. Starting with the basics, she joined a group which made quilts women and children living in shelters. The ultimate autodidact, Joan taught herself to knit. She purchased a spinning wheel. Using raw wool obtained from a farmer, she cleaned, spun, dyed and knitted the skeins into garments. From the sheep to the sweater.

Joan lived with and took care of her Mother Johanna until her Mother’s death. She loved and cherished her many nieces and nephews and got great joy from making hats, gloves, socks and sweaters which will last forever if they can escape the moths. Her blueberry scones were famous as well.

Joan was a deeply religious person spending much time in prayer particularly to the Blessed Mother. As a Eucharistic minister, she gave succor to the elderly, sick and lonely. Her favorite Saint was Padre Pio.

Joan lived a full life and died peacefully with her family holding her hands. We witnessed her beautiful blue eyes closing for the last time ready to meet her God.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Stony Brook University Foundation Cardiac Care Unit in honor of the excellent, compassionate care that was given to Joan in her last days.

Visitation will be held at O. B. Davis Funeral Homes, located at 4839 Nesconset Highway, Port Jefferson Station, NY, 11776, on March 31, 2025, from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm.

A religious ceremony will take place at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church of Smithtown, N.Y., 280 E Main St, Smithtown, NY, 11787, on April 1, 2025, at 9:45 am.

The committal service is scheduled for April 1, 2025, at Gate Of Heaven Cemetery, 10 W Stevens Ave, Hawthorne, NY, 10532, at 1 PM.