Joan Behre

1931 - 2025

Joan Behre
Oct. 1, 2025
Joan Behre, loving and beloved daughter, sister, aunt and friend, passed away Oct. 1, after a long, full and graceful life. She was 93.
Born in Weymouth, Mass., to Karl Harold and Dorothy Hall Behre, Joan was baptized at the Congregational Church in New Canaan and attended local schools before leaving to study at Abbot Academy in Andover, Mass. She graduated from Smith College in 1953, with a degree in government.
A paralegal by trade, she spent most of her career working with Arthur D. Little in Boston and helping steer the company's philanthropy. She opted to retire early and return to New Canaan to help her mother enjoy her final years in the comfort of their longtime home on Woods End Road.
She never married, but served as a loyal and doting aunt to her brother, Merrill's two children and their seven children.
Joan also loved traveling, reading, playing bridge, visiting tag sales, solving crossword and Sudoku puzzles, engaging in charitable work, particularly volunteering with the New Canaan/Darien Smith Club's annual book sale, and enjoying the occasional martini.
Joan was predeceased by her parents, as well as her older brothers, Robert Hall and Merrill Clifford Behre and his wife, Joan Butler Behre (the similarity of whose name provided the family with long-running amusement).
She is survived by nephew, Robert Fuller Behre of Charleston, SC, husband of Laura Behre and father of Dorothy, Henry, Joseph, Fuller and Hall Behre, and niece, Jennifer Behre Moccia, wife of Daryl Moccia and mother of Merrill and Celia Moccia.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the New Canaan Museum & Historical Society.
The family wishes to extend its sincere thanks and appreciation to Joan's many caregivers, including those at Norwalk Hospital, Waveny LifeCare Network, The Residence at Westport, and Solace Care, all of whom helped make her final years comfortable, peaceful and dignified.
A memorial service will be held at a future date; interment at Lakeview Cemetery will be private.