Joan C. Larkin

Joan Claire (Gerard) Larkin passed away on February 14, 2026 at home surrounded by her family. She was 94 years old. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Our Lady of the Lake Church, Verona, on Thursday, February 19, 2026 at 10:30 am. Visitation will be held on Thursday from 9:00 am -10:00 am in the Shook-Farmer Funeral Home, 45 Roseland Avenue, Roseland, NJ 07068, shookfarmer.com.

Joan enjoyed careers in both journalism and interior design, although she always said that journalism was her first love. She demonstrated a talent for writing early when as a senior at Marylawn of the Oranges High School in South Orange she won the national third prize in the category of current affairs in a Scholastic Magazine writing contest entered by thousands of high school students throughout the country and sponsored locally by the former Newark News. That same year, she also won regional commendation for short story and poetry.

Interestingly, the young reporter who interviewed her for the newspaper's story on New Jersey's national winners that year, became her first boss when she was hired as a reporter by the Newark News five years later.

As a young girl, Joan also pursued another love – ballet. Having taken dance lessons since the age of three, at thirteen she auditioned and was accepted to study at Balanchine's New York School of American Ballet. During her high school years, she had permission to leave class a bit early to catch the train to New York City for ballet classes two or three times a week.

Despite her busy schedule balancing academic studies and ballet, she also represented Marylawn in debating competitions and served as class president for four years.

Following her graduation from Marylawn, the ballet school encouraged her to continue training there but her heart pointed her toward college and journalism. She did, however, return for one month each college summer for an intense daily ballet course.

Joan, who was born in Newark, the daughter of the late Dr. Patrick and Theresa Gerard, was a graduate of Chestnut Hill College in northwestern Philadelphia. She was a class officer for four years including one year as President, and as a senior was one of five classmates named to Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities, and to Kappa Gamma Pi, honor society for academics and leadership.

Following graduation in 1952, Joan worked briefly at Glamour Magazine before joining the Newark News the following year. In 1960 she moved on to NBCTV as the personal researcher to Lawrence Spivak, co-founder and then moderator of Meet the Press, a job she found both exciting and challenging. She considered Spivak a fair master interrogator whose mission was to get information of importance to the public from people in high places of authority. In 1965, when Spivak's new contract with NBC required that he close the New York office and maintain only one in Washington, D.C. Joan did not wish to move there. Instead, she joined Time-Life Books as a researcher/writer. In 1968, she left there to marry James J. Larkin and moved to San Francisco, where he was employed.

After returning East and with the encouragement of friends, Joan in 1975 enrolled at the New York School of Interior Design. Upon completion of the year's coarse, she launched a new career in interior design under the name of New Reflections. She continued in this field until 2012 when she decided to "pull back" and devote herself to family and other interests.

Her "wonderfully happy" marriage to "Jimmy" Larkin had ended sadly in 2002 with his death from mesothelioma. Like her husband, Joan was an avid Giants fan. Like him also, she loved bright red cars, travel, good conversation and laughter. She also enjoyed bridge and flower arranging.

Joan was engaged in church and community volunteer activities. She was a member of Our Lady of the Lake Art and Environment Ministry and had served on its Parish Council and on the Parish Council of the former Holy Name Church, East Orange.

For twenty-five years from the early '70s to the mid '90s she served as a public relations volunteer for the Catholic Community Services of the Archdiocese of Newark and wrote most of the script for its annual Gala brochures.

During the 1980s Joan was also a Hospice patient volunteer and in recent years served as a Friend of Barnabas Hospice and Palliative Care Center, working on its major annual fundraiser. She also volunteered for events at the Montclair Museum and Van Vleck House and Gardens, Montclair.

The Larkins lived in East Orange before moving to Claridge House II, Verona in 1984. At Claridge House she was involved in many house committees through the 80s and 90s. She also served on the Board of Directors of Chestnut Hill College Alumni Association. She was a member of the Montclair Golf Club, Montclair Garden Club and was an avid member of A.S.I.D.

Joan's Catholic faith was core to her life. Although she had no children, she was passionate in her love and devotion to her six nieces and nephews, 17 grandnieces and grandnephews, two great grandnieces, and six great grandnephews. She followed their activities and loved one-on-one visits. She was pleased and amused that so many friends of the younger generations called her "Aunt Joan." She also cherished her good friends, a few of whom dated back to first grade at Marylawn.

She is pre-deceased by her husband James J. Larkin, her brother, Dr. Franklyn Gerard. Surviving are her three nephews, Dr. William Gerard (Ellen), Robert Gerard (Candi) and Franklyn Gerard Jr.; and her three nieces, Maribeth Eckert (Anthony III), Catherine Burke, and Joanne Monti (Dr. Richard); 17 grandnephews and grandnieces, Melissa Slomienski (Michael), Mark Fortunato (Katie) and Robby Fortunato (Cali), Elizabeth Piazza (Brad), William Gerard Jr. (Sophie), Kathleen DeSantis (Luigi), Jessica Gerard, Morgan Gerard, Isabella Fayne (Pat), Sophia Gerard, Corey Gerard, Alexis Gerard, Francesca Gerard, Brooke Monti, Jack Monti, Jocelyn Monti, and Emilia Eckert; and seven great grandnephews, William and Teddy Slomienski, James and Bennett Fortunato and Harry, Ellis and Laurence Piazza and four great grandnieces, Elizabeth Slomienski, Alba and Charlotte Piazza, and Laine Fortunato.

In lieu of flowers, family and friends are asked to consider remembering Joan with donations to St. John's Church Feed the Hungry Program, P.O. Box 200147, Newark, NJ 07102, or Our Lady of the Lake Youth Ministry, 32 Lakeside Ave, Verona, NJ 07044.