Joan Ann (Daugert) Temple

Joan Ann Temple

June 4, 1936 - November 10, 2024

     Joan Ann Temple (nee Daugert), age 88, passed away peacefully on November 10, 2024 in Tempe, Arizona at the Brookdale Memory Care Facility where she was a beloved resident for over a year. During her time in Arizona, she loved the sunny, warm weather and enjoyed frequent visits by her daughter Dr. Tara Temple D’Oria, who oversaw her care. Her daughter Tierney and granddaughter Naia loved spending time with her as well, as she embraced her new church community, her daughter’s many animals, and delighted in simple pleasures like shopping outings and ice cream treats. 

   Joan Ann had a gift for uplifting those around her, brightening their spirits and endearing her to them. She was born in Philadelphia to Margaret Mary and Emilian M Daugert, attending West Catholic High School where she was a prima ballerina and lead in many musicals, like Brigadoon and South Pacific. She attended Villanova University and began her working career as an executive secretary at General Electric in Valley Forge, where she met her husband G. Ernest Temple III, an aerospace engineer. They married in May 1961 and moved to Avon, Connecticut where she raised their three children George, Tara-lyn and Tierney, along with her teenage sister Margaret. 

   Joan was a devout Catholic and member of St. Ann’s Catholic Church, where she was a catechism teacher and served in various other volunteer capacities. A dedicated mother, she encouraged her children’s interest in music, delighting in seeing them share their gifts with others. Joan and Ernie divorced after 19 years of marriage, and Joan reentered the workforce as a real estate agent, a bookkeeper for Renbrook and The Master’s private schools, and eventually returned to college, earning her bachelor’s degree at Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell, CT. Joan pursued her passion for teaching, starting a Musical Theater Workshop for children and substituting in many elementary and middle school classrooms in the Hartford Public Schools until she retired; there, she was known to make sure every child understood they were “unique, precious and unrepeatable”. 

   Joan loved to visit “The Shore” with her family, extended family and friends at all stages of her life. She enjoyed a special bond with her “sister cousin” Jean Griffith, her high school friends and godparents to her children, Joan Hindsely and Pete Blissard. Joan especially loved spending time with her family and her sister Margaret, her goddaughters, Laura Taylor Morris and Kaileigh Morris, and their family collecting shells on the beach and enjoying the ocean breezes.

   Joan is survived by her loving children George Ernest Temple IV, and his wife Monica, of Mount Pleasant, SC, Tara-lyn Temple D’Oria and her husband Gary, of Chandler, AZ and Tierney Temple Fairchild of Charlottesville, VA, and her husband Greg, as well as her grandchildren, George Ethan Temple, Noah D’Oria, and Naia, Cole and Jude Fairchild. She is also survived by her older sister Amelia Lovell, and predeceased by her sister Margaret Taylor. 

   Relatives and friends are invited to her Viewing, Saturday, November 23, 2024, from 8:45am to 10:00am at Ruffenach Funeral Home, 4900 Township Line Road. Mass will be held at 10:30am at St. Laurence’s Church, 8245 West Chester Pike, Upper Darby, PA. Interment will follow at Media Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial donations in Joan’s honor may be made to:

  Catholic Charities USA (acknowledgements may be sent to Tierney Fairchild, 106 Stewart Circle Charlottesville, VA 22903 or Tierney.Fairchild@gmail.com)

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