Joan Benoit Graham

Joan B Graham, of Duxbury and formerly of Cohasset passed peacefully with the love of her family, on February 10th, 2026 at the age of 103. Joan was born on November 26, 1922 in Cape Elizabeth, Maine to Josephine and Eugene Benoit and had an older brother Andre and sister Mitzi, who both predeceased her.

After leaving her many cousins and friends in Maine, Joan moved to Massachusetts and attended both House in the Pines and the Chamberlain School. Not long after graduating, she met her husband of over fifty years, James M. Graham Jr. of Jamaica Plain, who predeceased her.

After they wed, they lived briefly in Savanah, GA until the war ended and then moved to Hingham, MA and started a family. In 1953 they moved to Cohasset where their family continued to grow and Joan resided until the summer of 2022. Joan is survived by her sons James M Graham III (Carol) of Cohasset, MA; Gene B Graham (Charlene) of Reading, MA; Richard A Graham (Patricia) of Palm Beach Gardens FL; Peter J Graham of Sandwich,MA; and her daughter Joan (Mia) Graham Beer (Jeffrey) of Shelburne, VT. Joan also leaves her nine grandchildren: Holly Feyrer (Dave); Mia Boudreau (Sean); Michael Graham; Chris Graham; Jacquelyn MacNamara (Brendan);Jeffrey Graham; Patrick Graham (deceased); Matthew Beer; and Lindsay Beer. In addition, she is survived by eight great grandchildren.

Joan was active her entire life, playing tennis to celebrate her 90th birthday and walking a mile a day and taking part in water aerobics into her 100’s. Throughout her life she enjoyed boating, tennis, playing bridge and swimming in Cohasset. In addition, her active life style led to friends of several generations including many of the residents in her later years at The Village of Duxbury.

Organizations benefiting from Joan’s volunteer work included: The Consignment Shop, Rosie’s Place, and The Red Cross. She also served as a Eucharist minister at St. Anthony’s Parish in Cohasset for many years.

During Joan’s entire life she lived with grit and grace and her family provided her with her greatest comfort and pleasure throughout her life. She will be fondly remembered and missed by her family for her strength, resiliency, and love.

A celebration of life will be held at St. Anthony’s Church in Cohasset, on Monday April, 6, 2026 at 10:30 AM. Visitation hours at McNamara-Sparrell Funeral Home, 1 Summer Street, Cohasset are Monday April 6, from 9:00 to 10:30 AM.

In lieu of flowers donations can be made to Rosie’s Place, 889 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA 02118 rosiesplace.org

or The Patrick Graham Foundation, 58 Marina Gardens Drive, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410   patrickgrahamfoundation.com