Joan A (Marshall) Tofferi, 91, of Essex, VT died on July 12, 2020 at the McClure Miller Respite House in Colchester, after a long illness. She was born October 31, 1928 in Windsor, VT to Alfred & Iola (Kendall) Marshall of Reading. Joan attended school in Reading and graduated from Springfield High School in 1946. She married Harold Tofferi in 1947 and moved to South Hill in Ludlow where they farmed for several years, selling eggs and milk. Through the years Joan worked many jobs including being a Lister for the Town of Ludlow, Britts Dept. Store, Cota & Cota and the Vermont National Bank. She was a member of the South Hill Community Club for years, serving as its president at one time. Joan was an avid gardener taking pride in her beautiful flower gardens, including a rock garden studded with alpine and dwarf flower varieties that she created at the family home on South Hill. When her children were young, each fall Joan would collect a wild partridge berry plant and some moss to put in a terrarium to keep alive the fragrance of the woods and the beauty of nature throughout the long winter months. She was an expert knitter who was always working on a beautiful, intricate sweater for her family or relatives. In her later years Joan learned to quilt and paint, creating several quilts and paintings of locales from her childhood. The Tofferi family were expert skiers and Harold taught Joan to ski, so their family spent weekends in the winter skiing on Okemo. In the summer Joan and Harold worked on the mountain clearing trails or cutting brush as a means of earning their season passes. After Harold’s death in 1983, Joan re-met Bruno Maki, who had been a childhood friend. They moved to Ocala, FL, where they married in 1990, and spent winters for many years before returning to Vermont permanently in 2002 and settling in Rutland. In her retirement, Joan learned to play golf, playing in the ladies’ league at the Marion Oakes Country Club in Ocala as well as the ladies’ league at the old Fox Run Golf Course in Ludlow for many years. Holidays and family birthdays were especially memorable for Joan and her family. There was “the cake” that appeared at everyone’s birthday and holiday feasts spent with her children and grandchildren. She enjoyed a good laugh—often at her expense. Joan’s dry wit enabled her to see the humor in many situations and she often got into “giggle fits” with her kids. After Bruno’s death in 2008, Joan was able to live on her own for several more years. But as advancing age and memory issues progressed, she moved to Essex to live with her daughter, Jan who has been her primary caregiver for the past four years. Joan is pre-deceased by her parents; her brother, Rodney Marshall; sisters, Martha Marsh and Lorraine Eastman; and husbands, Harold Tofferi and Bruno Maki. She is survived by her children, Robert (Denise) Tofferi of Apache Junction, AZ, Jill Tofferi of N Springfield and Jan Epstein of Essex. Her grandchildren: Cara Tomasini of Rutland; Todd (Jennie) Suydam of Parish, NY; Jenna (Mark) Brisson of Milton; Colby and Betsy Epstein of Essex; great-grandchildren, Robert, Nick and Ryan Tomasini, Mia Suydam and Bryce Crossman; and her brother, Rollin Marshall of Apokpa, FL, as well as several nieces and nephews. An informal memorial gathering will be held at the Pleasant View Cemetery in Ludlow, VT on Saturday, August 1 at 11:00 a.m. There will be no calling hours. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the McClure Miller Respite House, Colchester, VT or the Alzheimer’s Association.