Joan P. Boelens Smith was born on January 19, 1931. She was raised in Rhode Island with her parents, Theodore and "Stella" Boelens, and her younger brothers Ted and Pete. In the early 1950s, she met David F. Smith and they were married for almost 30 years. Together they raised three children. Joan spent many years with her family living in Connecticut and Rhode Island before settling in Hingham, Massachusetts in 1970. She passed away peacefully in her longtime home on December 6, 2024 surrounded by her children, their spouses, her surviving brother Pete and his wife Maria.

Joan worked in the healthcare field as an LPN nurse and spent many years at Braintree Rehab Hospital. In her spare time, she loved tending her garden, spending time with her family, and traveling around the world learning about other cultures. She was a gold level dance skater, a ballroom dancer, and an expert skier. She made many lifelong friendships through her skiing and skating clubs.

She is survived by her children, Kathleen Liston (husband David) of Hanover, MA, Cynthia Smith of Abington, MA, David Smith (wife Robin) of Marshfield, MA, brother Pete Boelens (wife Maria) of Naples, FL, and her beloved cat Finn. She is also survived by her 9 grandchildren Caitlin, Joshua, Megan, Michael, Alyson, Kathryn, Zachary, Alexandra, and Matthew. She was called "Grammy Great" by her 14 great grandchildren.

She will be deeply missed by her family and friends. In keeping with her wishes, there will not be any services, the family will gather in a celebration of her life at a later time. Contributions in her name may be made to a charity dear to her heart, the Scituate Animal Shelter in Scituate, MA where she adopted her beloved Finn many years ago, online at: https://scituateanimalshelter.org/