HANLEY, MARGARET JOAN died recently at home in Halifax; she was born in Chatham, N.B. May 1952 to Frank and Nellie (Jones) Hanley. She was the middle child of five, sister of Anne, David, Stephen, and Douglas.
Joan grew up in Moncton and Vancouver. After graduating from UBC (1974) she worked for many fulfilling years in Yellowknife in various social service-related positions. With changes in service delivery Joan decided to pursue an MSc in Psychology at Acadia University (1996) where she had a wonderful mentor in Patrick O’Neill.
She completed her Ph.D. (Psych) at UNB (2004), Dr. Hanley was a Registered Clinical Psychologist and the last 10 years of her working life was spent at Dalhousie University, in Counselling Services. Joan made many dear friends in the department.
Joan was a serious walker and greatly enjoyed the years she was a member of the Dartmouth Volksmarch Club; she completed several marathons and had the lovely carved walking sticks to prove it. Joan also enjoyed organized walking/trekking vacations in Europe.
She was a kind-hearted soul, quietly enjoying random acts of kindness - chocolates for Metro-Transit drivers working at Christmas, bunches of flowers for Central Library staff, and socks and clothing for various organizations serving homeless people.
Joan never met a garage sale she did not like; she and her mother were partners in crime when it came to poking around sales.
Travel was almost more than a hobby, starting with her first major trip when she took a year off while working in Yellowknife and travelled around the world for 50 weeks, mainly on her own. She spent time travelling in China then (1986) and returned in 2014 with Anne when David and Cathy were living in Shanghai.
As well as her siblings, she is survived by dear sister-in-law Cathy, Braeshore, nieces Kelly (Paul Polacek), great-nephew Weston, Toronto and Brett, New York City. Predeceased by father Frank and brother Stephen (Karen) B.C.
A private family service is planned, there will be no funeral.
Please think of Joan fondly and be thoughtful of others.
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