Joan Markman

In Loving Memory of Joan Marie Markman September 12, 1936 to October 14, 2025

For nearly 70 years, if you wanted to find Joan Markman, you looked for Eddie. They were a team from the moment they met in college, building a life together that was equal parts partnership and devotion. Through raising their family, reinventing themselves in second careers, and meeting every challenge as partners, Joan was the steady heartbeat that kept them moving forward. On October 14, 2025, at the age of 89, she passed away peacefully, leaving behind a family and community forever shaped by her quiet strength and boundless love.

Born Joan Lafayette, she is survived by her devoted husband of nearly 70 years, Eddie, her daughter Sandy, her grandson Josh and his wife Niva, and her great-grandsons Zach and Edison, who were the light of her later years. She was preceded in death by her beloved daughter Vicki in 2017.

Joan's home told you everything about her. Impeccable in a way that put model homes to shame, yet never cold or untouchable. Her patio was where her soul lived: a garden she tended with patient hands, a fountain whose gentle sound she found endlessly soothing, lights she'd arranged to turn ordinary evenings into something magical. She could sit there for hours, finding peace in the stillness.

She had a taste for calculated risk. Atlantic City became her weekly ritual, Las Vegas her destination of choice 38 times over the years. She studied slot machines the way some people study art, learning their patterns, waiting for the perfect moment. For summers in Brigantine, she found her perfect equation: mornings with sand between her toes, evenings with coins in her hand.

Joan moved through life with purpose. She earned her teaching degree from Glassboro State University in 1958 and spent years shaping young minds in the classroom. She loved telling the story of her time as one of the first programming girls at RCA, learning to code machines long before computers became the center of everything. It was a source of pride, being ahead of her time. Even in retirement, she stayed engaged, running her husband's educational consulting company and bringing vital services to charter schools across New Jersey. And through it all, she carved out time for the tennis court, taking lessons while juggling work and family, playing with competitive fire late into life.

But ask anyone who knew her best, and they'd tell you about the small moments. The fierce Uno games with Zach and Edison where she played to win. The crossword puzzles worked in tandem, her pen moving decisively across the page. The weekly mahjong games where friendships deepened over tiles and laughter. The way she'd read to her great-grandsons, or watch them play, or simply be present in a way that made you feel seen.

Joan didn't announce herself. She simply showed up, steady and certain, creating beauty and order wherever she went. She lived an uncompromising life, meeting each day with grace, strength, and humor. Her legacy is the family she built and the love that holds them together.

Visitation Thursday October 16th 6pm to 8pm and Friday October 17th 10am until the Funeral Service at 11am at the DAVIS & WAGNER FUNERAL & CREMATION SERVICES 171 Delaware Street Woodbury, NJ 08096. Entombment Locustwood Memorial Park, Cherry Hill, NJ.

She was passionate about many causes, and if you would like to make a donation, two close to her heart were Shriners Children’s and St. Joseph's Indian School.

Eddie has lost his partner. Sandy has lost her mother. Josh, Niva, Zach, and Edison have lost their anchor. But none of us have lost what she gave us. That stays.