Joanne Eleanor Buckeridge Booth

SCARBOROUGH – After a life beautifully and steadily committed to family, faith, friendship and service, Joanne Eleanor Buckeridge Booth died as she lived, with beauty, grace, gratitude and a dose of whimsy.

Joanne was born in Saginaw, Mich. on Oct. 12, 1925, grew up in Rockville Center, N.Y., and died surrounded by family on April 28, 2022 in her home at Piper Shores, Scarborough. She graduated from Middlebury College in 1947 (French, political science), and continued her education at the University of Geneva, Switzerland in 1951, George Washington University and George Mason University. In the 1950s she served with the American Friends Service Committee in France and with the Institute of International Education in New York City, and then taught social studies for 15 years at Woodson High School in Northern Virginia.

She enjoyed home and community in Arlington, Va.; Madison, Wis.; New York City; Paris and St. Nazaire in France; and Geneva, Switzerland. Her late husband, George, was a minister in the United Church of Christ (Congregational) and they were married in Paris, France in 1950. Their lives revolved around the vibrant faith communities in which they were both actively involved.

Since moving to Portland in 2000, Joanne was active at Piper Shores and State Street Church, volunteered with literacy classes for immigrants and refugees, enjoyed frequent extended family gatherings, and took a multitude of classes on topics ranging from geopolitics to the New Testament. Her many interests included travel, movies, theater, dancing, biking, yoga, politics, global issues, taking courses, all things French, cooking, reading, wildly colorful socks, and the life of the spirit. She loved music with a good beat, especially New Orleans jazz and Big Band, and was listening to Ella Fitzgerald and Scottish hymns in the last days of her life.

An avid reader, lifelong student of history and politics, inveterate note-taker and committed letter writer, Joanne offered many of us trustworthy analysis and commentary and was ready to talk to anyone. She inspired family and friends to think about and act on the big issues of her lifetime: civil rights, marriage equality, international peace, human impact on the environment, and the importance of hospice and living well right up to the end of life.

One of the last phrases Joanne left with her daughters is the directive to “Keep the Spirit!” Her legacy of a life well-lived is shared among her four daughters, Barbara Booth, Portland, Ore., Kathryn Booth (Joan Jordan Grant), Seal Cove, Janet Booth (Robert Gaarder), Boulder, Colo., and Rebecca Booth (Blair Fridgen), Scarborough; eight grandchildren, Sarah Traub (Miguel Meza), Bath, Celeste Eizaguirre (Florian Eizaguirre), Portland, Ore., Kendra Gaarder, Portland, Rebecca Traub, Portland, Kyle Gaarder, Portland, Ore., Haela Booth-Howe, Scarborough, Olivia Booth-Howe, Brooklyn, N.Y., Julia Booth-Howe, Burlington, Vt.; great-granddaughter, Clarke Eizaguirre; former sons-in-law who remain part of the extended family, Rick Traub, Greg Shultz, Matt Howe; and a host of friends far and wide.

A memorial service to celebrate Joanne’s long and vibrant life will be held at the State Street Church, United Church of Christ, in Portland on Friday May 13 at 11 a.m.

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