01/28/2026
Joan Ruby (Stearns) Carey
October 21, 1931 – January 22, 2026
Joan Carey, the longtime matriarch who presided over the Carey family property she affectionately named the West Winds Farm in Springfield, Vermont, passed away peacefully on January 22, 2026. Born on October 21, 1931 in Waterbury, Connecticut to Albert and Mary Ann (Manley) Stearns, Joan attended schools in Thomaston, CT and Mt. Vernon, NY in her early years, before eventually moving with her family to Springfield, VT. She graduated from Springfield High School in the Class of 1950 and attended Ithaca College in Ithaca, NY. Upon her return to Springfield, she reunited with her high school sweetheart, Roger Carey, and after he concluded an enlistment in the U.S. Army that saw him posted to the Korean peninsula, they began their enduring 50-year marriage on April 23, 1955.
Always possessing an indominable spirit of devotion to family, friends, faith, and country, Joan could always be counted on to help out, do what’s right, and actively work at improving whatever it might be that she was involved in. Her activities included co-founding the Springfield 4-H Horse Club, becoming a Cub Scouts Den Mother along with her twin sister Jeanne, and serving in various capacities with the Methodist Women’s Society, American Red Cross, Board of Trustees of the Windsor County Farm Bureau, and Meals for Seniors. She also knitted and crocheted hats and mittens for the Springfield Santa Claus Club for many Christmas seasons.
In 1961, Joan and her husband purchased the property that would become their “West Winds Farm.” Joan saw to it that the name was affixed to the big red dairy barn that stood prominently on a hill and was easily visible to those traveling in and out of Springfield on the Chester Road. The farm featured a herd of registered Guernsey cows. Throughout her nearly 65 years on the farm, Joan enjoyed the outdoors, gardening, cross country skiing, bird watching, and nurturing animals and wildlife of all kinds – domesticated, wild, great, and small. She particularly enjoyed the companionship of her Collie dogs for many years and even persuaded her dairyman husband to stable an occasional horse or two that she would enjoy riding through the fields.
For several years during the early days on the farm, Joan and her mother operated a plant nursery, using an old chicken coop that her father Al had helped convert into a greenhouse to raise their seedlings. In the spring, a large black and white “Plants for Sale” sign would be posted on the front hill of the farm and customers would arrive in the dooryard to survey and purchase an assortment of flowering and vegetable plants.
Prior to life on the farm, Joan worked at the JJ Newbury store on Main Street in Springfield. An industrious person by nature, she also held several positions with local area businesses after moving to the farm. Prior to the advent of color film, Joan applied her artistic talent in utilizing oil paints and color pencils to meticulously hand-color individual and family portrait photos for Lashua Studio and Shirley Coutermarsh. Her creativity and eye for detail were essential attributes in her role as a kitchen designer for Springfield Home Improvement Company. She also worked at the Springfield Fence Company, National Survey Map Company, Ames Department Store, and Smokeshire Woodworks Ltd.
Family was paramount to Joan and she excelled as a loyal daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and aunt. She particularly relished her role as grandmother and great grandmother and prided herself in being the best “Nana” that any grandchild could ask for. Birthdays and Christmases were never overlooked and every one of them throughout the years would be marked by a gift and card to family members that would be accompanied by her endearments, carefully expressed in the most scrupulous of cursive handwriting.
Whether due to good family genes or the abundance of outdoor activities she engaged in life on the farm, Joan remained strong and vibrant well into her 95th year of life. She was indefatigable, always keeping busy and up-to-date with family and friends while striving to keep a tidy home and farmstead. She would perform much of the lawn mowing and landscaping chores herself and her little white farm house would always appear neat, trim, and welcoming under the American flag that she proudly flew on the front lawn.
Joan celebrated the 75th anniversary of her graduation from Springfield High School by happily representing the Class of 1950 in the annual Alumni Day Parade held in June 2025. With her characteristic good nature and zest for life on full display from the passenger seat of a classic Corvette Indy 500 Pace Car, she joyfully rode through the town she loved, waving to all along the route.
Joan is survived by her son Philip and wife Andrea (Swierczynski), son Keith and wife Elizabeth (Pippin), granddaughters Stella Carey, Emily (Thurber) Markwell and Melissa (Thurber) Doucette, as well as three great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, parents, sisters Jeanne Anderson and Enid Barr and brother William Roy Stearns.
A graveside service will be held at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Methodist Church or the Springfield Humane Society in Springfield, VT.
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