Joan T. Weiss

Joan Burke Tutin Weiss, age 94 years, died peacefully at home in Cedar Grove, New Jersey, on December 26, 2024. She was a resident of Caldwell, New Jersey since the late 1950's, prior to settling in Cedar Grove in 2012. A memorial service will be held at the Montclair Women's Club, 82 Union St, Montclair, May 16, 2025 at 10 am. Born October 6, 1930 in Boston, Massachusetts, she was a 1948 graduate of the Cambridge School and graduated from Colorado College in 1952. She attended the Art Students League in New York following college. She married Jay Kenneth Weiss on September 9, 1952. When he was deployed to Marrakech, Morocco during the Korean War, she traveled there with their firstborn son, Samuel. A devoted mother, she waited until her youngest son graduated high school before earning a Master of Library Science degree from Rutgers University in 1987.
The love of books was central to her childhood, with her father a book seller and mother on staff at the Library at MIT. Prior to earning her MLS degree, she worked at the West Caldwell Public Library, the Montclair Public Library, and was a volunteer assistant at the Lincoln Elementary School Library in Caldwell for 18 years. She worked for 15 years at the Irvington, NJ public library as a reference librarian.
Throughout her adult life she fought for causes consistent with her beliefs: integrated housing through the Human Relations Council of West Essex, NJ; reducing nuclear weapons through the NJ chapter of National Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy (SANE); and promoting peace as a life member of Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. The Montclair Women's Club became a central part of her later life and benefited from her service on the board for many years
She was an avid participant in athletic activities, moving from field hockey as a student to downhill skiing in Vermont; tennis and running, including 10K races. She introduced her husband and children to skiing. In her last few years, her in-home trainer observed that she could tell Joan was an athlete because of her excellent physical condition.
While raising four children, she and her husband Jay invited foreign exchange students into the home for extended stays: from Nigeria, the USSR, France, and the UK. Their love of people from around the world included a joy in travel as well. They planned family trips introducing their children to the world, such as Martinique and France. They continued to travel, especially to French speaking nations around the globe and to visit their far flung children.
Joan was a talented watercolor painter. After a hiatus as an artist, she resumed painting in retirement. Her body of work includes over 300 watercolor paintings of still lifes, landscapes, and scenes from her surroundings. She was a member of the Essex Water Color Club. She was an excellent cook and threw holiday parties for relatives and friends that are remembered to this day.
She is survived by three children, Samuel S. Weiss (Judith Garb Weiss); Wendy R. Weiss (Jay B. Kreimer), Benjamin J. Weiss; six grandchildren, Schuyler S. Weiss; Bryony Weiss; Ben J. Kreimer; Lee M. Kreimer; William J. Weiss; Nathanial O. Weiss; and four great grandchildren. Joan was preceded in death by her husband Jay K. Weiss and son William D. Weiss.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Montclair Women's Club, please follow this link https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=BNH4NBYZ3HQBE and then to select Donate in Memory of Joan Weiss from the pull down menu or the Essex Water Color Club addressed to the Essex Water Club % Jill Vondervor, 7 Field Road, Maplewood, NJ 07040. Please write Joan Weiss in the Memo section.