Joan Bock Brew made it her life’s work to care for children and uplift women. After attending Penn State during World War II, Brew ’45 Lib married H. Richard “Dick” Brew in 1951, the same year she finished her master’s degree from Columbia and founded Hillandale Nursery School in Trumbull, Conn., which she ran for over 30 years.

“She did not run that business for profit,” says her son Jonathan. “It basically broke even.” The school, which grew to have a waiting list, was housed in a converted barn; in its early years, Brew served as director and driver, picking up several of the young students whose families couldn’t provide their own transportation.

Described by loved ones as witty, fun-loving, and genuine, Brew raised three children amid a slew of volunteer work. She founded programs for children at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Bridgeport, Conn.; chaired the Women Rallying for Women tennis event to raise funds for shelters for abused women and their children; and established a garden therapy program for seniors in nursing homes.

As president of the women’s staff for the children’s ward of Bridgeport Hospital, Brew arranged for a child from Kosovo to receive multiple spinal surgeries at the hospital pro bono and hosted the child’s family for the duration of their stay. “Her proudest accomplishment was helping that child from Kosovo,” Jon says. Years later, an acquaintance in the States tracked down the family in Kosovo, updating Brew on the girl—who by then was a university student in Germany. “It made her really happy.”

Brew died Nov. 3, 2022, in Nashua, N.H. She was 98. Besides Jon, she is survived by son Dwight, daughter Betsey Boyd, five grandchildren, and three great-grandsons. —Robyn Rydzy '95 Com