Joan Nancy Stokes, age 70 years, of Raritan Township, NJ, died peacefully on Monday, December 7, 2020 at Hunterdon Medical Center, Raritan Township, NJ.

Born on July 20, 1950 in Amityville, NY, daughter of William Francis Stokes of Raritan Township, NJ, and the late Annette Stadnick Stokes, Joan lived for many years in Bethpage, NY prior to moving to Raritan Township in 1985.

Earning her BA from SUNY Oneonta and her MA in Nursing from Adelphi University, Joan was a well respected and genuinely caring nurse for many years at Hunterdon Medical Center, Raritan Township, NJ.

Having a fierce intellectual curiosity, Joan was well read and appreciated fine art. An artist herself, she enjoyed painting and photography, of which she studied both during her undergraduate years. Her knowledge on many, varied subjects was vast, and one of her favorite pastimes was watching Jeopardy! with her father each evening; there was not a question on medieval history or medicine that she would ever miss. Museums, especially the MET and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, also held a special place in Joan’s heart as she would wander the halls exploring and learning all she was able on so many different genres.

Joan also greatly enjoying traveling, having been to many parts of the world. Warm weather was her best friend, and she truly enjoyed relaxing in Florida and the Caribbean whenever possible. It was on one of her many travels where she would meet her longtime partner, John Richard; the two enjoyed many happy years together until his sudden passing in 2015.

American illustrator Maira Kalman once said, “A visit to a museum is a search for beauty, truth, and meaning in our lives. Go to museums as often as you can.” Joan’s constant thirst for beauty, truth, and meaning does not end with her passing. In her family and friends she instilled the same passionate desire to find beauty with each step taken in life, and for that, Joan, you are thanked and your quest will continue on.

In addition to her mother, Annette in 1992, and her companion John in 2015, she was preceded in death by her loving sister, Patricia Leechan in 1995.

Surviving are her father, William Stokes; her brother-in-law, John Leechan; her nephew and his wife, Daniel and Katharine Leechan; and her great nieces Allison and Angela Leechan.

Joan will lie in repose on Friday, December 11, 2020 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the Chapel of Wright & Ford Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 38 State Highway 31, Flemington, NJ.

Entombment in St. Bernard’s Mausoluem, Bridgewater, NJ, will be private.

Please visit Joan’s permanent life celebration site at www.wrightfamily.com to light a candle of hope, leave messages of condolence, share words of comfort and recollection, and post photographs of her life.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in her honor may be made to the Metropolitan Museum of Art by clicking HERE or to the Philadelphia Museum of Art by clicking HERE.

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Wright & Ford, your local, family owned & operated “Life Celebration Home”