Joan E. Kearns

Joan E. (Powers) Kearns of Hull passed away peacefully on April 2, 2018, surrounded by her family. She was 82 years old.

Originally from Dorchester, Mrs. Kearns graduated from Archbishop Cushing High School in Boston, and was the daughter of the late Jack and Grace Powers.

She moved to Hull more than 53 years ago when she married her sweetheart, the late Charles R. Kearns, Jr., and enjoyed raising their children on Nantasket Beach surrounded by friends and neighbors. Mrs. Kearns welcomed everyone into her family’s home, whether to chat, have coffee, or celebrate at her annual Christmas Eve open house.

Over the years, Mrs. Kearns worked at Blue Cross-Blue Shield, Talbots, and Hingham Business, and enjoyed volunteering in the community. She was involved with the Friends of the Marching Pirates, served as treasurer of the Hull Democratic Town Committee, a troop leader for the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, a catechism teacher at St. Mary’s Parish, and volunteered in the schools when her children were young.

She loved to travel with her husband to many places, but their favorite and best was their last trip to London, England.  She loved watching the Red Sox and the Patriots, going to the movies and karaoke, and Wednesday Night girls’ night.  Her favorite thing to do, however, was attend her grandchildren’s activities, whether locally in Hull or in Virginia.

Mrs. Kearns was the mother of Cyrille Donlan and her husband, John, and Chris Kearns and his wife, Sherry, all of Hull, Cynthia Mills and her husband, Wayne, of Virginia Beach, and the late Charles R. (Chuck) Kearns, III. Her favorite name was “Nanny,” given to her by her five grandchildren, Samantha, Abigail, Jacqueline, Evan and Caroline.

Mrs. Kearns was the sister of Dorothy Buchanan of Alabama and the late John Powers, and was the sister-in-law of Charlotte Powers, Donald and Joanne Kearns, Ruth Kearns, and Linda Kearns, and the niece of Katherine Cudmore. She is survived by many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews, and is missed by her many friends throughout Hull.

Visiting hours are scheduled for Sunday, April 8, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the McDonald Keohane Funeral Home, 3 Charles St. (corner of Charles and Middle Street), East Weymouth. A Celebration of Life Service will be held in the funeral home at 8:30 a.m. on Monday prior to the Funeral Mass in St. Ann’s Church, 208 Samoset Ave., Hull, at 10 a.m. Interment will follow in Hull Village Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in honor of Mrs. Kearns’s late nephew, Ronny Hennessy, Jr, may be made to Brantwood Camp, Annual Appeal, P.O. Box 3350, Peterborough, NH  03458.