ROCKPORT — Joan Dean Winstanley, born May 13, 1929, in Framingham Mass., died at home in Rockport Jan. 1, 2014.

To the communities of Camden, Rockport and Lincolnville, you may or may not remember us (and it is not necessary that you do, as we are from away), but we ask you to remember our mother, Joan Dean Winstanley, who passed away on New Year's Day 2014, and our sisters, Dianne O'Connell, Deborah Winstanley Djuric and Janet Ray, along with their husbands and children, who are part of your community.

We believe that our mother, Joan, might finally have been called a "Mainer" by the time of her death due to both the attitude she shared with you and her relative longevity in your community. Her attitude was that of the waitress from the comic strip Non Sequitur, but delivered as from behind the desk at Dr. Hank White's office. Her quips were sometimes sarcastic, sometimes flippant and occasionally gossip but always the truth as she knew it. Although she moved frequently during her early life, she returned to Maine in 1969, lured by wonderful memories of childhood summers spent here, and called it home.

She (and we) lived in the yellow house behind the trees and across the street from the Lincolnville-Islesboro Ferry. It was here that she continued her dedication to raising Great Danes – no small task. After many years, she moved to the small white house on Camden Street in Rockport – up the hill from Maine Media Workshop. Her children bought this house so she could live there independently, which indeed she did. It was her wish to live out her life in this house, which in the end, was the case. In spite of the relatively small size of the house, she continued her love of Great Danes there and began to support those from the rescue society. Next to her children and grandchildren, one of the great joys of her life was her Great Danes. Lobo, her last, was a 160-pound partially blind, deaf Great Dane from Great Dane Rescue.

Joan – she always pronounced it "Jo – Anne" (or Jowanne – since she was from Boston) and said that Joan Crawford had ruined the name. She was a voracious reader and eventually read everything of interest (to her) in the Rockport Library. She continued this appetite throughout her life and it was with some difficulty that her children kept it fed after she finally gave up her beloved Saab (old rattletrap car that she still drove but may or may not have passed the next inspection).

The legacy of Joan Winstanley will not be found in brick and mortar or on the land of Maine but rather in her grandchildren. That legacy is the emotional health that comes from making a supporting family. While we were certainly not a perfect family, and like all families, sometimes fought like cats and dogs, there was little dysfunction passed on to us or our children. Like many of her generation, she instead made life better for her children and grandchildren. As a result, her grandchildren have become successful in their business and personal lives, including Justin Ray and Jessica Ray Andrews, both graduates of Camden-Rockport High School and successful in Navy psychiatric medicine and banking, respectively; Keely O'Connell, still at Camden Hills Regional High School and ready to blossom like her cousins; Adam and Alex Winstanley, engineers, both like their father, and Erin Winstanley Stalzer, a true Catholic evangelist and mother; and Ian Djuric, an honorable businessman in the best sense, and his sister, Rebecca Djuric, finding her way in the paralegal profession.

Honoring her wishes, she will be cremated, and following a private memorial service this summer, her ashes scattered on the water. We will remember her in the face of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and join together to raise a glass to her when we do so.

If you would like to remember her in a special way, please consider making a contribution to Coastal Maine Great Dane Rescue, 9 Lady Slipper Lane, Topsham, ME 04086, or to the library of your choice.

With sincerity and fond memories, David K. Winstanley – Gilbert, Ariz.

Arrangements are with Long Funeral Home & Cremation Service in Camden.