Obituary of Joy Carter Luke

Joy Carter Luke, 91, long time resident of New Canaan, CT, passed away peacefully on January 5, 2019 surrounded by her loving family.

Joy will be remembered as a fun-loving, gracious, generous and compassionate person who was a life-long learner. She was always interested in, and deeply cared about, her many friends, new and old, and her extensive family—the youngest of whom loved to share their stories and pronouncements in order to hear her joyful response “That’s simply divine, dearie!”

Joy was born October 11, 1927 in New York City to the late Rachel and Herbert Carter. One of four daughters, Joy spent much of her childhood in Hawthorne, NY, where her father was Headmaster of The Harvey School. She was a graduate of Milton Academy, and attended Briarcliff College.  Joy is survived by her three sisters: Ann Carter and Susan Harris, both of Westwood, MA, and Hope Sperry, of North Branford, CT.

In 1946, Joy married her childhood sweetheart, John A. Luke. They celebrated 60 years of marriage shortly before John died in 2007.  Married at 19 and 21, respectively, Joy and John were true partners, starting with their early years while John was at Yale University, and continuing as John’s career took them to Charleston, SC, Luke, MD, and Bedford, NY, before moving to New Canaan. Together they raised their four children, one of whom, the late Jane Murphy of Fairfield, CT, predeceased them.

Joy was always a devoted member of the Episcopal Church. While living in New Canaan, Joy returned to school and earned a Masters of Divinity from Yale Divinity School.  She was an active member of her beloved St Mark’s Church, where she served on the vestry, was a lay eucharistic minister, was involved in lay pastoral care, sang in the choir for 25 years, and was a regular volunteer in the church store. The Rector, Peter Walsh, noted that “Joy was a saint of St. Mark’s. She was always loving and graceful and we felt blessed by her presence.”

Joy was actively engaged in the New Canaan community. She was a founding member of Staying Put in New Canaan, an active member of the New Canaan Sewing Group and a member of the Country Club of New Canaan. She was also devoted to the Mink Meadows and West Chop communities on Martha’s Vineyard where she spent virtually every summer of her life.

In addition to her many friends and extended family, she will be sorely missed by her immediate family: son John A. Luke Jr. (Kathleen), daughter Hope L. Hetherington (John), and son William Luke (Cindy), as well as her late daughter’s husband Jon Murphy (Roza); her grand-children Kells Hetherington (Alison), Jane Hetherington Loop (Greg), J. Luke Murphy (Claire Leonard), Whitney Luke Thomas (Will), Lindsay Luke Gates (Scott), Gordon Murphy, Elizabeth (“Betsy”) Luke, and John A. Luke III and her great-granddaughter Charlie Loop.

A memorial service will be held at 11:00 am on Saturday, February 2, 2019, at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church.  Should friends desire, Joy’s family would welcome contributions in her memory to Waveny LifeCare Center, 3 Farm Rd, New Canaan, CT 06840.

To leave online condolences please visit www.hoytfuneralhome.com