Joanne Elizabeth Ferguson of Eliot, ME died on Friday, November 22, 2019 after a relentless battle with cancer. At her core, Joanne was an honest and loving person. Her close relationships with her family and wide circle of friends are a testament to her kind and generous nature. She loved the beach, her pet cats and ducks, and riding her motorcycle. And she could never pass up a good egg salad sandwich.

Born on December 27, 1962 in Nashua, NH, Joanne was raised in Manchester, NH where she attended St. Francis of Assisi school from first through eighth grades and then Trinity High School. Joanne was an excellent multi-sport athlete. She played soccer and softball, and swam competitively. She continued to play softball up until this past year as a member of the Loftware team in the Pease Tradeport League.

Joanne felt strongly about improving her community, especially those who were most vulnerable . She spent most of her adult work life at nonprofit organizations in the Seacoast area, in administrative and fundraising roles. For many years she was the office manager at the Richie McFarland Children's Center in Stratham, NH working with former director Miriam Stahl who she greatly admired.  She was most proud of her contribution to establishing Fair Tide, a nonprofit in Kittery, ME that provides long-term solutions for homeless individuals and families. Most recently, she was the Parish Administrator at St. John's Episcopal Church in Portsmouth, NH which connected her to a wonderfully supportive group of people who began as her colleagues and became her friends. In 2018 due to side effects of her cancer treatment, she reluctantly retired from St. John's in order to spend the rest of her life being connected to those most important to her. Rector Rob Stevens gave Joanne a great deal of comfort in her final days.

Despite dealing with several bouts of cancer over the past 15 years, Joanne led a full and meaningful life. She and her husband Jeff traveled to New Zealand, Hawaii, Greece, and Portugal as well as many of the US national parks. She took up new hobbies including cooking, rug braiding, and sewing. She mastered ACDC's "Highway to Hell" on the drums, performing in her basement for friends and family. She stretched her creative muscles by inventing several product prototypes designed to make everyday tasks easier.

Joanne's family includes her husband of 25 years Jeff Tavares of Eliot, ME; son Kyle Ferguson of Greenfield, MA; siblings Sandra Ferguson of Beasley, TX, Kathryn Strand of Seal Harbor, ME, Rich Ferguson of South Berwick, ME, aunt Janet Hinkley of Goffstown, NH, uncle Billy Hinkley of Whitman, MA, nephew Michael Strand and niece Alex Ferguson. Her parents are Judith Ferguson Kimball of Kittery, ME and Richard Ferguson of Manchester, NH.  Brothers and sisters in law Al and Debbi Tavares of Randolph, NJ, Tom and Nancy Tavares of South Burlington, VT. Aunts and uncle George and Mary Beach of Essex Junction, VT, and Janice Tavares of Dracut, MA. Nieces and nephews; Scott Tavares, Kevin Tavares, Kristin Tavares, Rebecca Rossi and Mike Tavares.

A celebration of Joanne's life will be held at St. John's Episcopal Church, 101 Chapel Street, Portsmouth, NH on Saturday, December 7 at 11:00 am. In lieu of flowers, donations in Joanne's honor may be made to Fair Tide at fairtide.org , St. John's Episcopal Church at stjohnsnh.org , or the Seacoast Cancer Center at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital at www.wdhospital.org/wdhf .