Joan M. (Canning) Lane

Joan M. Lane of Mayfield Heights, OH, formerly of Bradford, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, surrounded by family at Hillcrest Hospital in Ohio.

Joani was born in Boston, MA on August 14, 1946. She was the daughter of Andrew “Red” and Lillian Canning, and grew up with her two sisters, Bobbi and Nancy, in the Lower Mills neighborhood of Dorchester, MA.

She met her husband, Chuck, while working at a restaurant in Osterville, Cape Cod, near the small cottage where she spent summers with her family growing up. They were married shortly afterward and enjoyed 44 years of loving marriage until Chuck’s death. They resided in several communities ultimately making their home in Bradford, where she lived for over 30 years before moving to the Cleveland area to be closer to her son, daughter in-law and grandchildren. She and her family returned to that small cottage many times over the years.

After being a stay-at-home mom for a few years, she became the guidance secretary at Georgetown High School, where she continued to work until her retirement. While working and raising a family, she obtained an associate’s degree from Northern Essex Community College. After retirement, she volunteered at the Sacred Hearts food pantry in Bradford and the Cor Unum Meal Center in Lawrence.

She grew up as a parishioner of St. Gregory’s in Dorchester and maintained that connection through family for her entire life. She attended Sacred Heart’s Parish in Bradford until moving to Ohio.

Mrs. Lane’s surviving family members include her son Randy Lane and wife Yin Mei Lim; grandsons Oliver and Geoffrey of Cleveland, OH; sister Roberta “Bobbi” Skillin and husband Mike; and many nieces and nephews. She is predeceased by her husband, Charles “Chuck” Lane, and Anne “Nancy” Lee.

Visitation will be held on Tuesday, March 24, in the Driscoll Funeral Home, 309 So. Main Street, Haverhill, from 4:00 to 7:00 PM. Services will begin on Wednesday in the funeral home at 9:00 AM. Funeral Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated in Sacred Hearts Church, 165 So. Main Street, Haverhill at 10:00 AM. To livestream services, please visit the Sacred Hearts Church website. Interment will follow at Elmwood Cemetery, Haverhill. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in honor of Joani’s to Cor Unum Meal Center or send checks to Cor Unum Meal Center, 118 So. Broadway, Lawrence, MA 01843; or to The Sacred Heart Food Pantry. Monetary donations can be made via PayPal by emailing svdpbradford@gmail.com, or by checks to St. Vincent DePaul, 48 South Chestnut St., Bradford, MA 01835 and “Food” in the memo. For guestbook, visit www.driscollcares.com

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Joan M. (Canning) Lane, please visit our floral store.