Joan Aitken, 88, of Madison, passed away September 15, 2013 at Yale New Haven Hospital. Born in New York, NY on June 24, 1925, Joan is the daughter of the late Thomas and Helen (Langdon) Brown.
Joan is survived by her two sons Montgomery Aitken of Madison and David Aitken of Santa Cruz, CA; her grandchildren Alyssa Aitken, Christopher Aitken, Ian Aitken and Laura Aitken; ten nieces and nephews, numerous grand nieces and nephews. Joan was predeceased by her parents and her four sisters.
A resident of Madison for over 60 years, Joan lived near the beach and loved taking long swims in the Long Island Sound. During the summers, she could be seen almost every day swimming hundreds of yards straight out from Seaview beach and back again, using a graceful, slow motion crawl stroke.
She was an early sympathizer with the civil rights movement and contributed to civil rights causes in the fifties and sixties. She then became involved with the ABC (A Better Chance) program, which enabled children from educationally disadvantaged neighborhoods to attend high schools in wealthier neighborhoods, such as Madison. She served as treasurer for the ABC program for several years.
Family and friends may join for a memorial service on Sunday Sept 22, 2013 at 1:00pm at St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Madison. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in loving memory of Joan to the ABC Program PO Box 371 Madison , CT 06443 www.madisonabc.org or to Wilderstein Preservation Society PO Box 383 Rhinebeck, NY 12571 www.wilderstein.org . Swan Funeral Home has charge of arrangements. For online tributes and condolences, please visit www.swanfuneralhomemadison.com.
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