Joan Black / Photo from Heather Black
UPDATED June 3: Joan Catherine (Kavanagh) Black — mother, grandmother, wife, sister, friend, teacher, carer of children and pets, community member, advocate and so much more — died peacefully surrounded by her loving family on Sunday, April 20. She was 77.
A celebration of life was held Sunday, June 8, at Arlington Town Hall. Email
Visiting hours were held Friday, April 25, at the Keefe Funeral Home, 5 Chestnut St., Arlington. Flowers can be sent directly to Keefe.
Providing the following information is Heather Black, Joan’s daughter.
Family background
Joan was born on May 25, 1947, to Frances Julia (Alt) and Francis Arthur Kavanagh Jr., at Symmes Hospital in Arlington. She grew up in her family home in East Arlington with her brother, Francis Arthur Kavanagh III. She graduated from Arlington High School in 1965 and from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1970, where she received a degree in education. She eventually returned to Arlington, where she lived for the rest of her life.
During her college years, she created a vibrant community of lifelong friends, attended Woodstock and immersed herself in building community and experiences that helped cement her values, including falling in love with child-centered philosophies. Many of her social connections grew out of these values, from A-DOG to Mothers Out Front, animal-rescue groups, gardening, book groups, soup groups and supporting children and their families.
Throughout her life, she was a powerful advocate for justice, accessible education, women’s rights, animal rights and the environment, as is clear to anyone who passes her front yard. She honored and openly shared the beliefs and values important to her.
While sharing stories in recent days, Joan’s brother said, “Sticking up for what I thought was right always worked out for me,” and his sister shared that same optimistic moral compass. She instilled in each of her children that they are their own best advocates along with a strong sense of compassion, a responsibility to make the world a better place, and the value of friends as family and vice versa.
She was particularly delighted to gain two sisters: Lyssa Black Fassett and Cathleen Kelly, who became lifelong friends.
Knew she wanted to be a teacher
Since she was 4 years old, Joan knew she wanted to be a teacher. After graduating from UMass and a few cross-country adventures driving a Red Sox player’s car, that’s exactly what she did. During her 30-plus-year teaching career, she touched the lives of countless children and their families, many of whom stayed connected to her.
She was fond of saying, “I never graduated from the third grade.” She nurtured her child-centered teaching approach with sparkle and creativity, enriching the classroom by bringing wolves to school and taking yearly trips to “The Nutcracker.”
Growing up in Arlington, Joan’s own children felt like celebrities because her students were everywhere, eyes wide with awe when they said, “Your mom is Mrs. Black?!” Her impact went beyond the classroom, instilling the curiosity in her students that would make them lifelong learners.
In 1973, Joan married fellow UMass graduate and cross-country road-tripper Dana Atwood Black. They welcomed four children: Heather Jean Black, Johanna Catherine Black, Eric Atwood Black and Emily Frances Black.
Magic, adventure
Joan brought magic, adventure, music and nature into their family life with more cross-country roadtrips to Canada (affectionately known as “Forced Family Fun”), folk-music festivals, camping in Maine and visiting National Parks across the country.
She instilled in her children a deep respect for the natural world (when leaving a campsite, the children’s assignment was always “pick up five pieces of trash”). Joan was a consummate storyteller and educator, sharing her immense love and knowledge of music and music history with her children, often during car rides.
The house was always filled with music, and at any given time you would hear the acoustic sounds of WUMB drifting through the house — sometimes during “Off the Tracks,” an electrified music radio program Joan titled through a naming contest.
After completing her public school teaching career, she became Noanie Cabbage with the arrival of the first of her beloved grandchildren, her “Adventure Girls,” Lila Catherine Bailey and Nora Jane Bailey, later joined by Sebastian Atwood Black and Miles Francis Black, with whom she shared endless activities of creativity and discovery, a love of books and stories, the importance of magic, special time together and lifelong lessons, which included, according to one grandchild, “Have compassion, don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty, love all animals and glitter is great.”
She also began caring for infants and toddlers in her home by word-of-mouth, becoming Noanie thereafter to a generation of local families. She provided the young children in her care with an environment of creativity, curiosity and love until it was time to start kindergarten. To this foundation she added a generous helping of sparkle and silliness.
Passion for dogs
In recent years, she transitioned her attention full time to a passion for dogs with “Puppy Play Care,” where she cared for dogs ranging from exuberant to fearful, from 7 to 70 pounds. As with the children she nurtured throughout her life, she loved each dog for their uniqueness, making them feel safe and loved, and in return, they and their families loved her completely.
A lifelong animal advocate, Joan supported countless animal-rescue and -education organizations, including taking her children on whale watches and later bringing her grandchildren to the MSCPA to read books to dogs. Her first dog, Gypsy, remained in her heart throughout her life. Family dog Dakota was formative to her children’s love for animals. Later in life, she adopted her first husky, Bella, her “spirit dog,” and her final companion was her husky, Aoife, her “sweet girl.” Anyone who knew Joan knew she had a special love for dogs (and especially underdogs) since childhood, and she taught her children to respect their pets as beloved members of the family.
Joan’s values shaped the lives of her children. Heather and her husband, Mark Bailey, live in Bedford, settling there after a search centered on community and education, and where they are deeply involved in the UU church, social action, civic life, loving their cats and dog and growing alongside their children. Johanna and her husband, David Dunlap, live in Longmont, Colo., where they are mental health professionals and advocates, growing their family, filling their home with music from the record player, and tending to the flower garden our mom helped them plant.
Eric and his wife, Nichole Black, moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, a place Joan and Dana loved deeply that celebrates the imagination, innovation and social change. There, they are living their dream of exploring the natural wonders of the left coast and realizing the true passion of their lives: having a family. Emily lives in Boulder, Colo., where she has found a home fulfilling her life purpose as an artist, musician, therapist and professor alongside her own husky “puppy for life,” who lives freely among the mountains, rivers and trees.
Rare cancer diagnosis
In February 2024, an unrelated scan led to the diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma, a rare and challenging bile duct cancer. Over the last year, her community rallied around her and she was beautifully supported by family, friends and her medical team as she underwent treatment. A lifelong teacher and learner, she navigated her treatment with love, support and generosity, determined to contribute all she could to further research. After a year of treatments going well, an overwhelming and unexpected infection triggered by the tumor proved to be too much.
It is impossible to sum up a life as large as the one Joan lived, so in her words, “That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.” Her words and phrases continue to wrap around her children everywhere they go, some funny and some soulful. And now Joan’s children reflect back to her the words of wisdom she often shared in recent years, “Stand on your feather and fly, Mom. Magic is afoot.” In the words of Simon & Garfunkel, we say, “There but for the grace of you go I.”
Our mom was passionate about making the world a better place and supported countless charities throughout her life. Here are several representing the causes closest to her heart. If you’d like to make a donation in memory of Joan, please follow your heart to the one that speaks to you:
This news obituary, published April 25, 2025, was written from information provided by Heather Black. It was updated May 7.
