OBITUARY: Joanne Priscilla Reynolds

Joanne Priscilla (Dulac) Reynolds, aged 80, passed away on June 18, 2025, in Cookeville, Tennessee. She had been living in McMinnville with her son and daughter-in-law, far from the familiar echoes of the New Hampshire Lakes Region, where she spent most of her life.

Born on February 16, 1945, Joanne was a restless child, often seen speeding across frozen ponds in Laconia, chasing her sister, Betty Jane. They competed in skating derbies throughout New England, including Boston Garden and Hartford Civic Center.

Soon after graduating from Sacred Heart Academy in 1963, she was a single mom with a son in tow, navigating a winding path through various towns-living, working, and reinventing-as a retail clerk, factory worker, secretary, and hand-painter for Annalee Dolls. In the 80s, she eventually settled into homemaking with a craftsman she met wearing a wedding dress at a singles costume party. They later married and built a home in Meredith, enjoying driving their 1931 Model A Ford, boating on Lake Winnipesaukee, and taking unhurried motorcycle rides.

Watercolor painting became a steady outlet-a ritual where the room could exhale. Joanne’s work hangs in friends’ homes-quiet testaments to easing her often-restless mind. She loved the outdoors, frequently hiking in the White Mountains, and remained an avid skier in her early 70s.

As a widow and never one to follow the rules, she wove her way into a retirement community in Laconia, where she and her neighbor Barb launched an impressive Veterans’ Flag display-one that still ripples up the drive each year. A stained glass light now casts a warm glow over memories of her stories, like the infamous blue poodle skirt she once wore. Her little dog, LuLu, often stole the show in pageants and brought smiles to residents.

Joanne is survived by her only son, Eric Jon Taylor, and his wife, Lynne Talbot-Taylor, of McMinnville, Tennessee; her brother, Richard J. Dulac, and his wife Carol of Rhode Island; and her nieces, Caitlin Dulac and Britta Winters. She was preceded in death by her devoted husband, Bruce Arthur Reynolds; her parents, Josephat ‘Pit’ Richard Dulac and Violet Gladys Daoust Dulac; and her siblings, Betty Jane Dulac and Ronald David Dulac.

A graveside service will be held at 11 am on August 25, 2025 at Greenwood Cemetery in Kingston, New Hampshire. To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Joanne, please visit our floral store. To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.