Joan Allan
June 24, 1933 – Feb. 18, 2023
Joan Elizabeth (Smith) Allan, 89, of Danbury, Conn., a longtime Ridgefield resident, passed away peacefully of natural causes on Feb. 18, 2023, at Hancock Hall, Danbury. She was born on June 24, 1933, and was the daughter of the late Clara (Holmes) Smith and George F. Smith. She was raised in Ridgefield and graduated from Ridgefield High School, class of 1951.
After high school, Joan went on to graduate from the Norwalk Hospital School of Nursing, class of 1954. She worked many years at Norwalk Hospital in the labor and delivery department. She was a member of the Norwalk Hospital Alumni Association. In her later working years, she joined Danbury Hospital and was the first PRN nurse to be named "Nurse of the Month," at the inception of the program in 1989. She went on to give hundreds of flu shots each fall season to many corporate and business employees in the Danbury area. Joan loved being a nurse and helping her friends and family.
Joan had a particular love for dolphins and had the opportunity to swim with them in Florida. She always enjoyed a good party with her friends, including chicken wings with her neighbors for their birthdays. She was always up for a good game of Rummikub or Bingo. She loved it when her family visited and enjoyed taking her grandchildren and then her great-grandchildren for a swim in her condo pool and to the Danbury Mall for a carousel ride. Joan also had a lot of fun traveling with her late longtime companion, Lou Feduzi.
Joan is survived by her three children and their families: Beth (Allan) Mortensen and her husband, Wayne, of Harrison, Tenn.; David Allan and his wife, Margo (Rotruck), of Elk Garden, W.Va.; and Barbara Allan and her partner, Greg Mazu, of Fort Collins, Colo. Joan also leaves two grandchildren: Craig Mortensen and his wife, Alison (Thompson), of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, and Lisa (Mortensen) Wilcox and her husband, Geoffrey Wilcox, of Harrison, Tenn. Joan is also survived by two great-grandchildren: Genevieve and Wesley Wilcox. Joan was predeceased by her brother, George H. Smith, and her children's father, Edwin B. Allan.
A memorial service will take place in the First Congregational Church, 103 Main St., Ridgefield, on Saturday, March 18th, at 11 a.m., with a reception to follow. There will be no calling hours. Memorial contributions may be made to the First Congregational Church of Ridgefield, 103 Main St., Ridgefield, CT 06877, or to Ridgefield Visiting Nurse Association, 27 Governor St., Ridgefield, CT 06877. Joan felt fortunate and was always grateful for the scholarship that she received from the RVNA, which helped make it possible for her to get her registered nurse (RN) degree