Joan Dahl

1930 - 2025

Joan Dahl, née Flaherty, resident of Dataw Island, South Carolina (daughter of Blanche and Thomas Flaherty of Brooklyn) passed away peacefully on January 17, 2025 with family by her side following a brief decline in health. She was 94.

Her beloved husband of 59 years, Nils J. Dahl, passed away in 2014. She is survived by their five children, Gregory P. Dahl (Halina) of Wilbraham, MA; Patricia Dahl of New York, NY; John E. Dahl (Kimberly) of Spring, TX; Norena C. Howard (Terrence) of Fairfield, CT and Nils S. Dahl (Christine) of Southport, CT; nine grandchildren: Nils Dahl (Page), Nathan Dahl (Alyssa), Joseph Dahl (Megan), Stacie Routt (Travis), Jo De Hollis (Cory), Catherine Howard, Matthew Howard, Gabrielle Howard and Andie Dahl; nine great grandchildren, as well as her sister Kathleen Connolly of Sparta NJ and her 11 nieces and nephews, and many grandnieces and nephews. She is pre-deceased by her sister Blanche McCoyd, and brothers Thomas and Patrick Flaherty, as well as her nephews Kenneth J. O'Leary and Kenneth Flaherty.

Joan was born and raised in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, where she graduated from Fontbonne Hall Academy ('48) and attended a business school before beginning her working career as an executive assistant at J. Walter Thompson Advertising. Joan and Nils met on a blind date arranged by friends. They married in Brooklyn and began a family in 1955, then settled in Barrington, Rhode Island, where they spent 37 wonderful years raising their five children. Joan loved to shop and had the ultimate shopping experience in 1960 as a winning contestant on the "The Price is Right" show in NYC. She was a natural joiner, enjoying golf, tennis and paddle tennis with friends and family at the Rhode Island Country Club and volunteering with Tap-In in Barrington. Joan's happy place was on Martha's Vineyard where she spent many summers. She was thrilled that her children all learned to swim, sail and play tennis, since she only learned to float with help from her best friend, Edie Brown. Retiring to the Low Country of South Carolina with Nils enabled a new network of friends on Dataw Island, and included golf, bridge and volunteering as a Eucharistic Minister and for Perpetual Adoration at Saint Peter's Church.

Known for her sophisticated sense of style, as well as her bright, sincere smile and warm embraces, Joan's loving presence will be deeply missed by all who knew her.

A memorial mass will be celebrated on February 7 at 11:30 a.m. at St. Peter's Catholic Church on Lady's Island, SC. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The Eye-Bank for Sight Restoration (eyedonation.org) or to the Saint Francis Center of Saint Helena Island ( https://sscm.org/support-us/ ).