BELMONT - Joan Avery Drouin passed away peacefully at home in Belmont on Friday June 2, 2017 at the age of 84, surrounded by family members. Joan was born on the 15th of February 1933 in Laconia, NH. She was the daughter of the late Capt. Bryan Avery and the late Ferne E. (Harvey) Dolan Jr.
Joan grew up in the Weirs and attended Laconia High School. As a teenager, she worked with her mother and father on the "MV Mount Washington". Joan was swept off her feet by a young Army Air Force Corporal and then Manager of the dairy route of the Ladd Hill Dairy and Farm, Laurent E. Drouin, and they were married on September 11, 1950.
Joan was the mother of "5-SONS" and she and Laurent raised the boys on Ladd Hill in the winter and at Camp "MEN-EE-BRAVES” in the summer at Sandy Beach. She was employed at Steel Hill Inn for a while and then went to work at Sears and Roebuck. After the three oldest sons left home, Joan went to work at the NH State School in Laconia. When the two youngest sons left home, she continued to work for the State of NH in Concord as a payroll clerk. During that time, Joan and her late husband attended New Hampshire College where they earned Associate and Bachelor’s Degrees, respectively.
In 1995, Joan and Laurent retired. They built their dream home in Florida and split their time between NH and FL until Laurent passed away and she returned to NH in May 2016. They loved to travel, and their most memorable trips were to Europe and to Hawaii to visit their three oldest sons.
Joan was the beloved wife of Laurent E. Drouin (deceased), dear mother to Bryan and wife Janet of Martinez, GA, Mark and wife Iraida of Loxahatchee, FL, Brett and wife Linda of Palm Beach Gardens, FL, Larry and wife Joanna of Belmont, and Craig and wife Deborah of Concord. In addition, she was the beloved grandmother of 11, and great-grandmother of 14. Joan is pre-deceased by her husband, Laurent, her father, Capt. Bryan Avery, and her mother and stepfather, Ferne E. (Harvey) Dolan and Thomas F. Dolan Jr.
There are no visiting hours.
A memorial service will be held Friday, July 14, 2017 at 10:00 AM at the Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home, 164 Pleasant St. Laconia, using the Carriage House entrance.
Burial will immediately follow the service in the family lot at Bayside Cemetery in Laconia.
In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to the New Hampshire Humane Society, PO BOX 572, Laconia, NH 03247..
Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 164 Pleasant Street, Laconia, N.H. is assisting the family with the arrangements.