Joan du Pont

Joan du Pont

Joan Blaine Bowers du Pont died peacefully September 16 surrounded by her family in Easton. She was born Oct. 25, 1918, in Toledo, OH, the daughter of Margery Ann and John Lee Bowers. Mrs. du Pont was educated at the Frances Shimer Academy in Mount Carroll, IL. She was graduated from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA with a Bachelor of Arts in History of Architecture in 1940. She completed her graduate studies at the Richmond Professional Institute. During World War II, while her husband taught aeronautics, Mrs. du Pont joined the war effort in suburban Philadelphia as an airplane spotter and a volunteer ambulance driver for the American Red Cross. After moving to Annapolis, Mrs. du Pont continued to pursue her love and dedication to the preservation of historic buildings. She was a founder and a 35-year board member of the Historic Annapolis Foundation and served terms as vice-president and recording secretary. Mrs. du Pont was also a founder of Historic Easton in Easton and the Talbot County Committee of the Maryland Historical Trust. In 1986, she received the Preservation Project Award from Maryland Historical Trust for her authentic restoration of the Dr. Upton Scott House, a Georgian style mansion in Annapolis originally built in 1760 for the physician to the Maryland Royal Governor. She was a member of the Talbot County Historic District Commission from its inception in 1976 until her resignation in 2005, and served as an advisor to the State of Maryland for the National Trust for Historic Preservation. In the 1980s, she was a member of the committee to furnish the President's house at the College of William and Mary. Mrs. du Pont was a member of the Garden Club of the Eastern Shore, the Harbor Club of Easton, and a former member of the Four Rivers Garden Club of Annapolis. She had been a long-time member of Friends of Winterthur and, with her late husband, a member of the Cruising Club of America, the Corinthian Yacht Club of Philadelphia, the Annapolis Yacht Club, and the Tred Avon Yacht Club. She was preceded in death by her husband, Coleman du Pont, whom she married Sept. 6, 1941. She is survived by four children: Thomas Coleman du Pont II, Blaine du Pont, Nicole du Pont Valliant and Victor Coleman du Pont; eight grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Thursday, September 29 at Christ Church in St. Michaels. She will be buried next to her husband in a private service at the du Pont Family Cemetery, Greenville, DE. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Humane Society of Talbot County, PO Box 1134, Easton, MD 21601.