Joan Richards-Barber, of Princeton, died suddenly at home on December 26, 2011. Born in Princeton on April 9th, 1959, she attended Princeton Public Schools. From age seven until 16, she was a swimmer and a competitive diver, competing in AAU diving for a number of years. After finishing school, she worked for two years at Carrier Clinic, Skillman, NJ.

Joan moved to Florida in 1980, where she became well known for her fishing. She appeared several times on television, and held multiple records for catching the most fish in one day. She was a member of Sandsculptures International, and helped build a castle on Treasure Island that earned a place in the 1986 Guinness Book of World Records, as well as winning 1st prize for an individual sand castle the same year.

Returning to Princeton in 1988, when her father became critically ill, Joan drove to the University of Pennsylvania Hospital every day to be with him. After he passed away, she decided to become a dialysis technician in the Helene Fuld Dialysis Unit. Joan was kind and compassionate, and was well known by the patients to be one of the most driven and dedicated technicians in the unit.

These qualities also made her marvelous with both animals and children, who adored her immediately. She had a gift with birds in particular, and owned multiple large, talking parrots throughout her lifetime. She was also skilled at administering first aid to animals; multiple times she cleaned wounds, set bones, and saved lives.

Soon after having her daughter, she sustained a back injury that, after two major surgeries, left her physically disabled and in constant, debilitating pain. As her suffering worsened, she became unable to do the things she loved, and eventually, it became difficult for her to even leave the house.

Joan was predeceased by her father Raymond Richards and a brother Mark Richards. She is survived by her daughter, Lindsay Barber and her mother, Doris Richards, both of Princeton, along with her brother, Ray Richards, his wife Tina and their two daughters all of South Carolina.

A memorial celebration was held Monday, January 2, 2012 at the Kimble Funeral Home, Princeton. In lieu of flowers, donations are asked to be made to the family, to help pay her daughter's college tuition.

Joan could relate to others in a way that was contagious; she was funny, but honest, and always spoke her mind. She lived her life exactly as she wanted to, and never asked permission or made compromises when it came to the things she cared about. She taught everyone around her to do the same, and in that way, she lives on.