Obituary of Martha Joanne Bassett Stevenson

Martha Joanne Bassett Stevenson died peacefully on September 5th at the Yale - New Haven Hospital. Joanne was born on May 5, 1923 in Indianapolis, Indiana, as daughter of the late Henry Lee Bassett and Elizabeth Paige Bassett of Shaker Heights, Ohio. She attended Hathaway Brown School in Shaker Heights and graduated from Pine Manor Junior College of Massachusetts. She married Hugh Knox Stevenson, also of Shaker Heights, Ohio. Joanne is survived by her two children, William Clifford Stevenson II of Houston, Texas and Sandra Stevenson Townsend of Riverside, Rhode Island. She was the loving grandmother of three grandchildren, Stephen James Townsend, Elisabeth Anne Townsend, and Mary Paige Chisholm Stevenson. Joanne served as a member of the Junior League in three cities, on the St. Luke's Hospital Junior board in Cleveland, and as an active volunteer at the Greenwich Hospital. She was a faithful member of Stanwich Congregational Church in Greenwich, Connecticut, St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Stuart, Florida and St. John's Episcopal Church in Essex, Connecticut. She was an active volunteer in the soup kitchen ministry and with Meals on Wheels in Stuart. Her residences included Shaker Heights Ohio, Greenwich, Connecticut, Houston, Texas, Stuart, Florida and Essex, Connecticut as well as a summer home in Pointe Au Baril, Ontario. All who knew her appreciated her willingness to help others whether it be a meal taken to the sick, a visit to the hospital, or a ride to a doctor's appointment. She was always the first to respond to a need in a practical manner. She was very athletic and excelled at golf and tennis. She was a wonderful mother, grandmother and friend. She will be dearly missed. A memorial service will be held at St. John's Episcopal Church in Essex on September 19th at 11:00am. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Wounded Warrior Project or St. John's Episcopal Church. A private burial will take place in Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio at a later date. Arrangements by the Robinson, Wright & Weymer Funeral Home in Centerbrook, CT. To share a memory of Joanne or send a condolence to her family please visit www.rwwfh.com