Joan Howland Carpenter McElhinney passed away in her sleep on April 6, at the age of 96. A resident of Medford Leas retirement community, and a member of the congregation of Trinity Episcopal Church in Moorestown, NJ, and St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Medford, NJ, McElhinney had previously resided in Moorestown; Doylestown Pa.; Frenchtown; Lower Merion, Pa. and Swarthmore Pa.
Born June 27, 1922, at Wilmington, Del., to Edith Foote Carpenter and Allan Wallace Carpenter, she attended Swarthmore High School and Beaver College (now Arcadia University) earning a baccalaureate degree, magna cum laude. Entering the teaching profession in Montgomery County, Pa., Joan Carpenter focused on elementary education.
On August 14, 1948, she married James McElhinney (1918-1981) of Malvern, Pa. Widowed in 1981, McElhinney later entered into a domestic partnership with widower John Wolcott. They remained together until his death in 2000.
Joan McElhinney is survived by her sister, The Rev. Alison Carpenter Lucas, of Saratoga, Ca.; three children: James Lancel McElhinney of New York; Peter Howland McElhinney of Richmond, Va. and Catherine (Kate) Delano McElhinney Montgomery of San Francisco, Ca. and three grandchildren: Alice Corinne McElhinney, Suzanne Perrine Montgomery, and Joseph Delano Montgomery.
During her lifetime, McElhinney was a dedicated elementary and kindergarten teacher. She co-founded two private pre-K schools in Doylestown. Relocating to Moorestown 1964, McElhinney became active in the local school system, teaching in elementary education before focusing on kindergarten. Engaged in many community activities, she wrote articles for the Moorestown Chronicle and the Burlington County Times.
After her retirement, Mrs. McElhinney lived during the summers on a sailboat, traveling from Georgian Bay to the Caribbean and the Maine Coast. She was an accomplished watercolorist, an active volunteer working as a counselor for crisis management hotline CONTACT and tutoring ESL students. The last two decades of her life she lived at Medford Leas.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 8 at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church located at 1 Hartford Road in Medford. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to whatever charity you prefer. If it makes this world a better place, she would approve.
Condolences may be left at www.lewisfuneralhomemoorestown.com
