Joan Elizabeth Skellie

Joan Elizabeth Goodson was born on November 16th, 1946, to Orrin D. and Alice C. (Mitchell) Goodson at home on Patten’s Mills farm in Hudson Falls, New York, because after 5 other children and decades of calving seasons, how hard could it be to deliver twins at home?

She grew up on the farm and often liked to tell stories of her horse, Peanut, and other interesting tales of life in a rustic farmhouse without running water. It’s hard to say how many of the stories were meant more in the context of “appreciate what you have” versus pure entertainment but we enjoyed them anyway.

As a young adult she cared for children as a nanny which is when she was introduced to the Skellie family, including Stephen who was the uncle of the children she watched. She loves to tell the story of the first time she met him because he stopped by while she was watching the children and she told him he could not come in and locked the door.

She married, so did he, and they both moved away from their hometown. She had 3 children, he had 2, and due to a series of unfortunate events they both found themselves back home as single parents. They reunited in 1967 and spent that Christmas together with all of their children. On June 29th, 1968, they married and subsequently adopted each other’s children (Brady Bunch references abound).

Together they moved to Grand Isle, Vermont where they raised their children and ultimately settled in Essex, Vermont as empty nesters (kind of) working at IBM. They celebrated 5 grandchildren together and retired to Orlando, Florida where they lived for several years before returning to Vermont to be close to their great-grandchildren.

Joan had a very special relationship with her granddaughters, Nicole and Lauren, and her great-grandsons, Conor and Logan. She was Grammy to them and made it her mission to always be their loudest cheerleader. She was a ball of energy until her last day, always ready to take on any challenge that came her way. She was an animal lover, a fashionista, a master of home décor and renovation projects. If you wanted to know how to clean it, paint it, fix it, or make it, she was your girl.

Joan is survived by her husband of 57 years, Stephen L. Skellie, her twin brother Barry Goodson (Jean), her sons John R. Mosher (Claudia) and Russell P. Skellie (Diane), daughter Sharon M. Damron (Brad), granddaughters Nicole Dubuque (Justin) and Lauren Skellie, and her great-grandsons Conor and Logan Dubuque.

Joan was predeceased in death by her parents, brothers Paul and David, sister Dorothy, and by her sons Stephen L. Skellie II and Donald A. Skellie both in 2022. On November 26th, 2025, Joan passed away at her home in Milton, Vermont. Although we miss her very much, we find peace in knowing that she was able to reunite in Heaven with her sons and other loved ones.

In lieu of flowers please consider donating to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in her name. A celebration of life will be held at a later date and time in the spring.