Joan Allbright Ashleydied Sunday evening, November 22nd, at her home, Kendal at Hanover.

The widow of James Wheeler Ashley, she was born on August 22, 1928 in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of John and Mary (Gendell) Allbright.

Joan attended the University of Chicago, Vassar College and Roosevelt University. After the death of her husband, she returned to finish her bachelor's degree, graduating at the age of 81 from Union Institute and University. Her grown children presented her diploma to her.

Earlier she had married Louis Lawnin Crawford and they lived in Chicago. Active in the civil rights and peace movements, Joan was a member of the board of the American Civil Liberties Union (Illinois Division). In 1965 she went to Montgomery, Alabama to bear witness to the events in Selma and Montgomery. During the Vietnam War, Joan was on the staff of the American Friends Service Committee in Chicago, coordinating draft counseling and training. Joan founded one of the early Amnesty International groups in the Midwest and helped establish the Midwest office. In the 1970s she was elected to the national board of Amnesty International.

In 1975 she married James Wheeler Ashley and in 1988 they moved to Vershire, Vermont. Joan served as a trustee of the Vershire Scholarship Endowment, and as a member of The Mountain School Advisory Board. In addition she was on the Vermont Humanities Board and the Advisory Board of the Vermont Intercultural Semester of Sharon Academy.

In 1975 Joan became a metalsmith working in gold, silver, and copper and especially in enamels. After her move to the Upper Valley she studied at the Hanover League of New Hampshire Craftsmen.

In 1994 she joined the Hanover Friends Meeting thereby becoming a Quaker. After her move to Kendal in 2006, she continued her Quaker connection through the Kendal Worship Group. Joan also served as president of the Residents Council at Kendal.

All her life she read widely and traveled broadly. Her travels took her around the world to all seven continents and 94 countries.

Joan is survived by her children, Rebecca Gray and her husband, Ed, of Lyme, NH; Constance Schmitz and her husband, Bob, of Minneapolis, MN; and Lawnin Crawford and his wife, Rita, of Bangkok, Thailand. She had seven grandchildren: Hope, Sam, Will, Ottar, Eli, Nolan and Jeremy. In addition, she was blessed by seven great-grandchildren: Madison, Scarlett, Katie, Alexandra, Gunnar, Anders and Matthew. Joan also had five step-children, including Christopher Ashley and his wife, Teri, of Norwich, VT, and numerous step- grandchildren and step great-grandchildren.
She is also survived by her brother Robert Allbright of Wayne, PA, and her sister Anne Smith and her husband, Ray, of Gardiner, NY, and their children, Becca and Randy.

Please make financial contributions to The Elizabeth Fry Fund Kendal at Hanover, 80 Lyme Rd., Hanover, NH 03755 or in support of Art classes at the Hanover League of NH Craftstmen, 13 Lebanon St., Hanover, NH 03755.

The family would like to thank the Kendal staff at Jones for their exceptional care and kindness. A memorial service is planned for May of 2016.

Arrangements are under the direction of the Rand-Wilson Funeral Home of Hanover, NH.