Joan Agnes Close Dyson-Hogan

Joan Agnes Close Dyson-Hogan, beloved descendant of one of Greenwich’s founding families, passed away peacefully on October 22, 2024. Born on May 24, 1935, Joan traced her heritage to Thomas Close, one of the original patentees named in the 1642 Greenwich town patent granted by the General Assembly.

Raised in Newtown, CT, Joan graduated from the Hawley School and later attended the University of Connecticut, where she met her first husband, Charles Edward Dyson. Together, they had three children: Hilary (deceased), Lesley, and Brendan.

Joan’s life was marked by her commitment to education, community, and a deep love for nature. While raising her children, she returned to the university to complete her bachelor’s degree in horticulture and a master’s degree in plant and soil sciences. She was an active member of several professional organizations, including the Connecticut Horticulture Society, the American Rock Garden Society, the Royal Horticulture Society, the Alpine Rock Garden Society, and the Scottish Rock Garden Society. Joan was also dedicated to her alumni chapter, serving as treasurer, chapter president, and executive board member.

Joan took immense pride in her family’s rich Greenwich legacy. Upon learning that her grandchildren would attend Greenwich Academy and Brunswick School, she eagerly shared a genealogy, showing that that over a dozen ancestors—dating back to the 1800s—had also attended Greenwich Academy. Her son, Brendan, and daughter-in-law Katelyn, reside on Lake Avenue, just south of the Close Family Cemetery and the historic Tompkins-Close Homestead.

Joan’s father, Emmett Barrett Close, was born in the Tompkins-Close House, a home imbued with generations of Close family history. According to family lore, every generation from the 1700s through Joan had been rocked in the same wooden cradle within the Tompkins-Close House, with Joan being the last in this cherished tradition.

In 2000, Joan married George Hogan, and they shared 20 treasured years together at Heritage Village in Southbury, CT. After George’s passing in 2020, Joan moved to Darien to be closer to family. She is survived by her daughter, Lesley, and grandson, Ian; her son Brendan, and daughter-in-law Katelyn, and their children, Emma and Julian; and her sister, Ruth-Ann, along with Ruth-Ann’s children, Robert and Mark.

A private service will be held in Greenwich for family and close friends. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to the Parkinson’s Foundation.