Joanne L. McCormick

Joanne Lyons McCormick died on April 5, 2022 at HCR Manor Care in Boulder, just shy of her 92nd birthday. She was a loving and devoted daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, niece, cousin, and friend, and will be greatly missed by all who loved her. Rest in peace and love Mom/Joanne/Maga.

Joanne was born to Angela Collins Lyons and John E. Lyons on April 17, 1930 in Salem, Massachusetts.

She grew up in Salem as part of the large and close-knit Collins clan, sharing a home with her mother, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousin. She graduated from Salem High School and earned a degree in English literature from the College of Mount Saint Vincent in New York City. She then worked as a copywriter for the Hilton and Riggio advertising agency in Manhattan. A proper New England young lady of strength and fortitude, she developed an effortless sense of grace and style.

Joanne met the love of her life, David Wallace McCormick, during freshman year of college, on a blind date arranged by their close mutual friends in Albany, New York, Dave’s hometown. Joanne and Dave were sweethearts through college and married on April 25, 1953 at Our Lady Chapel in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan. Dave was then a Lieutenant JG and gunnery officer on destroyers in the U.S. Navy, and Joanne became a Navy wife in Norfolk, Virginia, where Dave was stationed. They were married for 55 years until Dave passed in 2008.

Joanne and Dave’s first child, David W. McCormick, Jr., was born in Salem, Massachusetts, and their second child, Kathleen, was born in Syracuse, New York. After leaving the Navy, Dave’s job with Connecticut General Life Insurance Company took them to Washington, D.C, where their third child, Angela, was born. When Dave was transferred to Manhattan, they moved to northern New Jersey and reared their family in Allendale, were they built a lovely home, were active in civic life, and enjoyed many close friendships.

Joanne’s greatest joy was in nurturing her family. She was a warm, attentive, and active mother who met challenges with a great sense of kindness, purpose, and duty as well as humor. She was a substitute teacher in the public elementary schools and a longtime volunteer for the Allendale Public Library, the Girl Scouts, and the Red Cross of Bergen County Meals on Wheels. A passionate liberal Democrat, Joanne enjoyed a good political debate, and was a member of the League of Women Voters. Inspired by Julia Child, she became an excellent gourmet cook and baker. She was an avid reader and played competitive tennis for many years. She and Dave enjoyed traveling the world.

In 1994, Joanne and Dave moved to Boulder to be near their two daughters and grandchild, Nora, and soon welcomed another grandchild, Vito. Joanne and Dave became members of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Boulder, and she later attended Sacred Heart of Jesus Church. She was also a member of the Boulder Newcomers Club and the American Association of University Women. She enjoyed playing bridge with several groups of friends in Boulder. She loved gardening, watching her grandkids compete in sports, and spending time with friends. Some of her fondest memories were of Cape Cod, where she and Dave spent summers with family and friends at their cottage in Chatham.

Joanne provided strong steady support to her family after her son David died in 1997 and through her husband Dave’s two-year battle with cancer before he died. In her final years, through the challenges of dementia, she was both feisty and kind, offering a smile and thanks to nurses and other staff at Manor Care and Tru Community Care hospice. Her family is most grateful for their care.

Joanne is survived by her two daughters, Angela McCormick (husband James McCutcheon) and Kathleen McCormick (husband Michael Leccese), and grandchildren Nora and Vito Leccese, all of Boulder, as well as many cousins, nieces, and nephews on the East Coast.

Crist Mortuary handled cremation. The family will arrange a memorial Mass this summer. To honor Joanne’s memory, please consider a donation to Tru Community Care Hospice.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.cristmortuary.com for the MC CORMICK family.