Obituary of Joan Anne Keegan
Joan Anne Keegan (née Catterall) of Watchung, NJ, died on March 1, 2023, at the age of 71, after a hard-fought battle with metastatic breast cancer. Joan was born on September 19th, 1951, in Glen Ridge to Joseph and Helen Catterall. She was raised in Bloomfield, across the street from Kevin, the man she would ultimately marry.
She graduated from Mount St. Dominic Academy in Caldwell, and she received a Bachelor of Science in Theoretical Mathematics from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. After graduating from college, she joined Bell Labs, where she had a long career as a Computer Scientist and also received her MS in Computer Science from Rutgers University. She took an early retirement to pursue an MS in Library and Information Science from Rutgers University and had a second career working in competitive intelligence research at Novartis Pharmaceuticals. Aside from her professional accomplishments, her greatest joy came from watching her daughter grow into the woman that she is today, which is a testament to how wonderful a mother she was.
She was predeceased by her father, Joseph, her mother, Helen, and her brother Joseph.
She is survived by her husband of 49 years, Kevin, also of Watchung, and her daughter, Maureen of Boston, MA, as well as her sisters Barbara Catterall of Edison and Ellen (Ray) D’Amato of Westfield and her nephew Alex of Austin, TX, as well as many extended family members and friends who will all miss her deeply.
Donations honoring Joan's memory may be sent to the Keegan Family Fund for Faculty Excellence at the Darden School Foundation.
You may give online at https://drdn.mba/keeganfund or send a check payable to Darden School Foundation at the address below. Please note “Keegan Family Fund” in the memo section.
Darden School Foundation
c/o Whitney Wilson, Senior Director of Advancement
P.O. Box 7726
Charlottesville, VA 22901
Please direct any questions to Whitney Wilson at +1-434-924-0706 or WilsonW@darden.virginia.edu.
Cremation services were held privately, and there are no funeral services scheduled currently.
