Joan Carol Halle, 79, died peacefully at home in Gouldsboro, PA on May 18, 2023 after a two-and-a-half-year fight against cervical cancer. Joan was born on January 26, 1944, in Long Branch, NJ, to Howard A. and Gertrude P. Bradley. She grew up in West Long Branch and was a graduate of Long Branch High School and Drew University. After working in the pharmaceutical industry and spending some time as a stay-at-home mom to her daughter, Kathleen, Joan began working for the Messenger-Press in Allentown, NJ, in the early 1970s. There, Joan met the love of her life, her future husband Robert C. Halle. Together, Joan and Bob built the Messenger-Press into a successful and well-respected local weekly newspaper. She worked tirelessly at the Messenger-Press as managing editor as well as “chief cook and bottle washer,” touching every part of the business until they sold and eventually retired from the paper in 1992. Joan then continued working in the newspaper business for a few years as an advertorial editor for the Asbury Park Press.
Joan and Bob had varied interests. They traveled and skied all over the world, and they also rode their motorcycle all over the East Coast. Most of all, Joan and Bob built and enjoyed their second, and eventually permanent, home in Big Bass Lake in the Poconos. Joan took an active role at BBL, serving on the board as chair and on several committees over the years. When Bob died in 2006, Joan started her third chapter.
Joan became an ardent supporter of several local arts and environmental organizations, thoroughly enjoyed her Poconos home, and continued to serve on the BBL board and committees. She also spent even more time traveling the world, often with her best friend and fellow BBL resident, Dolores Wozniak. She also made sure to visit her daughter in her Seattle area home at least once a year. When she wasn’t traveling, Joan attended concerts and lectures, gardened, tended to her home, and made the most of every day. She had a green thumb, was a gifted sewist and crafter, read voraciously, and enjoyed films, TV, music, and just about all life had to offer.
Joan is survived by her daughter and son in law, Kathleen (Walling) Demaree and her husband Philip; stepson Kenneth Halle and his wife Marie; stepdaughter Susan Halle; sister Judy Helms and her husband P. Timothy; niece Elizabeth Wallace and husband Barry; nephew Andrew Helms and wife Amanda; best friend Dolores Wozniak; three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren; and one grandnephew. Joan was predeceased by her husband, her parents, and her sister Patricia.
Donations in her memory may be made to Scranton Jazz Festival, 621 Colfax Ave., Scranton, PA 18510 or to North Pocono CARE, P.O. Box 856, Gouldsboro, PA 18424.