Joanne was born on August 21, 1943, in Boston, MA, a daughter of Richard L. and Mary C. Forsberg Mathey.
She grew up in Boston with a large and close-knit family. They would spend every summer on Cape Cod, where, during her adult life, she and her husband, Ed, owned a home. Joanne was graduated from Girls’ Latin School in 1961, and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in 1965. Joanne taught English literature at South Boston High School for 15 years, during which she also earned a Masters degree in Filmmaking, from Boston College. After she and Ed moved to Palm Coast, FL, in the mid-1990s, she pursued another successful career as a real estate agent. Through the years, Joanne enjoyed traveling to Europe – where she would visit relatives in Denmark - the Caribbean, and the United States, often returning to Boston. Joanne enjoyed a lifelong passion for literature, history, and film, belonged to several book clubs, attended numerous live theatre shows, and loved going to the movies. She was also a glamorous woman, very aware of fashion, and always looked beautiful.
Joanne’s husband of 44 years, Edward F. Smith, whom she married in 1972, passed away on January 1, 2017, after a thirty year struggle with Parkinson’s disease.
Joanne is survived by two children, Carol Anne Smith and John Smith; her granddaughter, Jasmina Smith; a brother, Richard Mathey of Temecula, CA; two sisters, Deborah Murphy of Palm Coast, FL; and Suzanne Mathey-Lynch, and her husband Jim, of Palm Coast, FL. Joanne also leaves behind numerous nieces and nephews – including Amy Edge, Beth Schulz, Richard Mathey, III., Caitlin Mathey, Andrew Gross, and Lucinda Castro Val – as well as cousins, grandnieces and nephews, other dear friends, and, last but not least, her beloved dog, Scamp.
Family and friends will be received on Monday, September 21, 2020, from 4-6 PM at Craig-Flagler Palms Funeral Home. A Funeral Mass celebrating her life will be held on Tuesday, September 22, 2020, 10:00 AM at Santa Maria del Mar Catholic Church. Interment will take place at Jacksonville National Cemetery at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Joanne’s name to the National Parkinson’s Foundation, 200 SE 1st Street, Suite 800, Miami, FL, 33131, or to the Stuart F. Meyer Hospice House, 150 Memorial Medical Parkway, Palm Coast, FL, 32164.
Condolences may also be sent to Joanne’s family by visiting
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