Joan Madden

1932 - 2020

Joan Mayne Madden
Joan Mayne Madden of Osterville, MA and a New Canaan, CT resident of nearly fifty years, died on Cape Cod September 26th from complications due to a stroke.
Joan was born on October 20th, 1932 in Buffalo, NY, the daughter of Joseph and Dorothy (Higgins) Mayne. Raised in Ridgewood, NJ, Joan graduated from Ridgewood High School and then attended Green Mountain Junior College in Vermont. Later in life, Joan returned to school and graduated from Marymount College with a BA in Economics and Business Administration.
Joan grew up spending her summers in Wellfleet, MA and forever had an appreciation for Cape Cod. She loved spending the day by the ocean. For the past thirty years, her home in Osterville has been the setting for numerous memorable family gatherings of multiple generations.
In 1954 while working in New York City, Joan met and married Frank Madden, a special agent with the FBI specializing in espionage. The couple lived in New York City, eventually moving to New Canaan in 1964. It was at this point that her husband pioneered the nascent executive relocation industry founding one of the first multinational companies, Executrans, Inc. It was from this platform that Joan became involved in real estate, eventually becoming a broker in CT, NY, and MA. A few years later, she and her husband acquired the global luxury real estate firm Previews, Inc. where Joan became a Director and Regional Vice President.
Years later, after the couple sold their businesses, Joan started her own realty firm. She would later join national firms, earning their highest honors and awards for the business she generated. For almost fifty years Joan made her mark in the real estate business of Fairfield County. Joan mentored many young women who were first starting out in the business. This came naturally to Joan as she remembered the challenges of balancing family with her professional pursuits--she was a maverick of her time.
Always independent and resourceful, Joan weathered life's storms and when her husband was diagnosed with ALS, she not only personally cared for him while working full time but was involved in several fundraising endeavors to combat the disease. She was a devoted grandmother who would travel to her grandchildren's sports and artistic events at a variety of schools in Massachusetts and beyond. She especially loved attending Grandparents Day on many occasions.
Joan was a long-time former member of Woodway Country Club in New Canaan, CT where she had a steady tennis game for decades, The Belle Haven Club in Greenwich, CT, and the Wianno Yacht Club in Osterville, MA.
Joan is survived by her two daughters, Deborah and husband George Panaitopolous of New Canaan, Pamela and husband William Randon of New Canaan and her son Stephen and wife Annette Madden of Weston, MA , her six grandchildren Elizabeth, Paige, James, Cicely, Oliver and Natalie as well as her sister Barbara and husband Dick Schewmm of New London, NH.
As a result of the ongoing health crisis in the world and with genuine concern for the people whom they love, funeral services and burial will be private at the Massachusetts National Cemetery, Bourne, MA. Contributions in memory of Joan can be made to massaudubon.org.
For more information and online memorial please visit www.ccgfuneralhome.com.