Joan Beauchemin Lucian

Joan (Beauchemin) Lucian, 88, passed away on June 5 at the Bailey Center at Flagler Hospital. Her loving family was with her when she went home to the Lord. Joan was born in Providence, RI, on August 23, 1934, to the late J. Francis and Helen (Fanning) Beauchemin and grew up in Johnston, RI, with her younger brother, Richard. In addition to her parents and brother, she is predeceased by her loving husband of 60 years, Bob, and her and Bob’s first child, Francis William. Joan graduated from St. Xavier High School in Providence, RI, in 1952. She attended Bryant College and worked at Narragansett Electric. On a trip to Cape Cod over the July 4th weekend in 1958, Joan met Bob Lucian from Waterbury, CT. Joan and Bob were married on June 13, 1959, and raised their four children in Connecticut and Rhode Island. Joan was the Director of Religious Education at St. Peter’s parish in Danbury, CT, in the 1970s. She was an integral part of Bob’s journey to being ordained a permanent deacon in 1978. As a couple, they were a living example of God’s faith and love. While busy raising a family, they always took time to minister to those in need, the sick and elderly, and helped engaged couples prepare for the sacrament of marriage. Bob and Joan moved to St. Augustine, FL, in 1993, where they joined St. Anastasia parish. In a continuation of their life of service, Joan and Bob together helped to develop the RCIA program at the parish, and Bob served as the parish’s first deacon. They built a wonderful life in St. Augustine filled with devoted friends and a faith-filled community. Throughout her life, Joan consistently kept in touch with family and friends, remembering birthdays and anniversaries with a thoughtful card or phone call. For 50+ years, she kept a filing system of 3x5 index cards with names and addresses of family and friends, including spouses and children, dates of births and deaths, weddings and baptisms. As people moved or families grew, she sometimes ran out of room and would start a new card stapled to the old one. Her “files” will be passed down to her children. A longtime member of the St. Augustine Genealogical Society, Joan loved researching her family’s roots and traced both her and Bob’s ancestors back a few hundred years. She was a voracious reader and an avid cruciverbalist. She loved to meet new people and learn about their lives. No matter where she was, she almost always managed to find some sort of connection to Rhode Island. Joan was a blessing to all who knew her and was a living example of God’s grace and love. She always had a kind word to share and ended every phone call or conversation with “God bless.” Her strong commitment to her family and faith shone through her lovely green eyes, and she will be missed by all who knew her. Joan is survived by her daughter Ann and her husband Joe Walsh, her son Bob and his wife Mary Beth, and her daughters Janis and Dianne, as well as her six loving grandchildren. Those wishing to honor Joan’s memory may do so by donating to the J. Arthur Trudeau Center in Warwick, RI, which was founded by her late Uncle Arthur and Aunt Evelyn Trudeau https://trudeaucenter.org/donate/. Donations can also be made to Dining with Dignity in St. John’s County. Please visit www.homeagainsj.org and click Donate. In the memo field, please indicate that the donation is being made to “Dining with Dignity in memory of Joan Lucian.” A memorial mass will be held at 1pm on Friday, October 6, 2023 at St. Anastasia Catholic Church.

Joan Beauchemin Lucian

August 23, 1934 - June 5, 2023