Joan Elizabeth (Arsenault) Parker – 73, of Orleans and formerly of North Reading, passed away on Saturday, May 13, 2023. She was born to the late Ronald and Rita Arsenault, April 8, 1950, in Winchester, MA. Joan graduated from North Reading High School in 1968 and was married to the late Forrest Parker in 1976. She is pre-deceased by her older sister Ellaine Goodsell and younger brother Ricky Arsenault, and survived by her 3 siblings, Ronnie Arsenault, Susan Davis, and Kelly Malecki, her three sons Todd, Kyle and Brendon Parker, stepson Patrick Parker, her grandchildren Madeline, Bowdie, Finnegan, Sam and Meara and many cousins and close relatives in the Arsenault family who were dear to her heart.

Joan raised her children on Cape Cod and worked in the beauty care industry, eventually opening hair salons of her own in the 1980s. Her entrepreneurial spirit eventually led her to warmer climes in Florida to try new vocations in sales and finally to the insurance industry where she became a catastrophe adjuster, responding to Hurricane Katrina for several months in 2005. She is well known for her devotion and hard work, outgoing personality, her ability to make others laugh and received national recognition for her accomplishments in her role as marketing manager for CRDN, handling a large number restoration claims with great success. She retired in 2018, returning to Cape Cod to be closer to family, but often received calls from her peers for consultation and was urged to return to work in her adopted home in Florida.

Throughout her life, Joan was known for her generous and kind spirit, always ready to help those in need and offering encouragement to the young and old alike. Her stories, laughter and sense of humor will be missed and remembered by all of us who were lucky to share our lives with her. Please join us for a celebration of her life at the Croswell Funeral Home, 19 Bow Street in North Reading on Wednesday May 24th, 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM with a reception at Kitty’s restaurant afterwards. Her ashes will be returned to the warm beaches of Florida that she enjoyed so much in life.