- Date Of Birth: January 22, 1937
- Date Of Death: July 9, 2016
- State: Connecticut
Joanne Marie Blake, 79, of Middletown, died on July 9, 2016 due to injuries from an automobile accident. Born in Middletown, she was the daughter of the late Herbert Frank Blake and Lillian (Hraba) Blake. Joanne lived in Middletown all of her life and graduated Middletown High School, Class of 1954. She went on to earn a Bachelor of Science with a focus in Business Education from Teachers College of Connecticut (now Central Connecticut State University), Class of 1958 and a Masters in Science with a concentration in Secretarial Studies, with a minor in accounting from Central Connecticut State University in 1968.
Joanne started teaching the year before she graduated and went on to spend forty-one years teaching. She taught business education at Woodrow Wilson High School in 1957, and was faculty advisor to the Majorettes, Yearbook Committees, Senior Class Advisor, Faculty Fund Representative and Assistant for the Girls’ Athletics Department and taught drivers education. In 1969, she left to serve on the planning committee of the newly formed Middlesex Community College under first president Phillip G. Wheaton. She was Professor in the Secretarial Science department with a specialty in the Legal Secretarial Field, served as head of the department periodically for many years retiring in 1998 and becoming Professor Emerita. Joanne had a strong commitment to the community and the world. She was a Girl Scout Camp Director, joined Soroptimist International where she held many leadership positions in the Connecticut River Valley Club, the Northeastern Region and the Soroptimist International Board of America. From 1976-1978, she was the Northeastern Region Governor. She will be remembered for encouraging singing at the various National and International Conferences, since she believed singing fostered unity and harmony.
