Obituary of Joan S. Mallick

Joan Stephanie (Pawela) Mallick, of Trumbull, CT died peacefully on Sunday, June 16, 2024, with her daughter Caroline Mallick-Wood of Red Hook, NY and her husband of 63 years, Dr. Arthur C. Mallick beside her. Born in Chicago Illinois on August 10, 1935, she was a daughter of the late Steve and Gertrude (Urbanski) Pawela.

She is survived by her sister, Nancy Carlson of Ocracoke, North Carolina, who recently visited her in Trumbull. She was predeceased by her brother Steve Pawela of Chicago. Joan was a gifted and vibrant soul in many ways. She received a double major in Fine Art and education from Rosary College in 1957 so she could support herself and make pottery in her basement. During college, she was the Drum Major for the Norwood Park Imperial Drum & Bugle Corp. She started teaching primary grades in Chicago after graduation. At age 25 with limited income and hungry to see the art treasures of Europe, Joan answered a newspaper ad and was hired as an overseas teacher for the children at the RAF Croughton Air Force Base, Northants, England. There, she met her husband Arthur, who was the base dentist and they were soon married.

In England she attended Oxford University courses, jumped young hunter horses,and learned to ski with her husband in the Alps. In returning to the states so Arthur could attend Colombia Orthodontic School, she taught at PS 100, Harlem. After receiving his ortho degree they moved to Trumbull. There, she taught the first experimental kindergarten program so successful it was a model for the University of Bridgeport teaching program. For this, Joan was declared a master teacher by School Principal Jane Ryan. Joan left teaching to become a mother of Stephanie Mallick of Franconia, NH and two years later, Caroline Mallick-Wood. In addition, Joan was a private pilot, master gardener, and most passionately, a clay artist. She continued her pottery, showing at art fairs, museums & galleries until her husband bought and rehabbed a 1790 building where the business Block Island Blue Pottery began. In 1986, Joan sold her pottery until Arthur's retirement, when he joined her in both creation and sales. She continued to throw pottery even with diminished health and receiving oxygen until last November, 2023. She is cherished by the Trumbull community, Block Island Community and the Franconia, NH community where she taught her children to ski on Cannon Mountain and rode her daughter Stephanie's horses.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday, June 22, 2024 at 10:30 am at St. Theresa Church, 5301 Main St, Trumbull. Interment will be in a family plot in Franconia, NH.

Friends May greet the family on Friday June 21, 2024 from 4:00- 7:00 pm at the Abriola Parkview Funeral home, 419 White Plains Rd, Trumbull.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project, PO Box 758516 Topeka, KS 66675-8516 or St Vincent de Paul Thrift Shop and Food Bank, 237 Roosevelt Dr., Derby, CT 06418. For online condolences, visit www.abriola.com.