ABEL, JOAN ROBERTA

A celebration of the life of Joan Roberta Abel will be held at her home, 107 Monroe Street, Hoboken, on June 6 beginning at noon. She passed away May 26 surrounded by family at her winter home in West Palm Beach, Florida, as a result of a chronic lung condition compounded by lung cancer.
She was born at Margaret Hague Maternity Ward in Jersey City, the eldest of four children born to John Robert Abel and Cecilia Estelle Abel. Joan grew up in Nutley. Pursuing her interest in design, she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture in 1981 from Pratt Institute, and later studied architecture under Glenn Murcutt at his International Master Class in Sydney, Australia. In 2002 she received her Masters in Environmental Studies from the University of Pennsylvania.
An art lover and collector, Joan made Hoboken, her home in 1980. A passionate historic preservationist, she assisted those working to restore Hoboken’s Public Library and chaired the Hoboken Historic Preservation Commission. Her concern for the environment caused her in 2010 to create and actively promote a plan to alleviate flooding in Hoboken. Parts of that plan are reflected in Rebuild by Design, a study done in response to the devastating flooding caused by Hurricane Sandy.
Joan practiced architecture at Applied Housing and Lindemon Winkelman Architects, and worked as a planner for Columbia Presbyterian, and as an archivist for Liberty State Park. While living in Annapolis, Md., she served on its Historic Preservation Commission, and contributed extensively to the restoration of the Charles Carroll House.
Joan was a bicyclist throughout her adult life for both fun and transportation and as her health declined could often be seen about town on her electric scooter.
Survived by her second husband, James Davis Vance of Hoboken, two children from her first marriage, Denise Joan Fahmie of Boston, Massachusetts, and Steven Michael Fahmie of Brooklyn, New York, and two sisters, Judith Ann Abel and Joyce Ruth Abel. Preceded in death by her parents, her firstborn, Thomas Carl Fahmie, Jr. and her brother John Robert Abel, Jr.
If so inclined, please make a donation to Pratt Institute at giving.pratt.edu or send a check to the Institute at 200 Willoughby Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11205. Kindly designate your donation specifically to “Fund for Pratt – Architecture” in memory of Joan Abel.