Joan Jessup-Rolli

Joan Dorothy West was born in 1925 in Weston Super Mare, England, where she enjoyed living by the seaside. She learned the art of sewing at the tender age of five and refined her skills while attending an all-girls school until age fourteen. Joan met her first husband, Lt. Commander Edwin Jessup, then in the Merchant Marines, and was married in 1945. They lived in Plymouth, England, moved to Antwerp, Belgium, and eventually settled in Germany where they raised six children. Joan became a naturalized citizen of the Unites States in 1960. Upon Edwin's passing in 1970, she moved to the United States with her two youngest children. Joan settled in Litchfield for ten years until she met her late second husband, Steven Rolli, of Torrington. She lived on Hayes Street until moving to the Rose Haven Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center where she passed away after a prolonged illness.

While raising her children in Germany, Joan became an expert seamstress, knitter, needle worker, and quilter. She made many of her daughters’ clothes, and knitted her children sweaters from wool sent by her mother, Rose, at Christmas time. Her house was decorated with many of her needlepoint pictures, mostly of lighthouses of Maine. Her latest art was that of quilting. She made over 25 quilts of all sizes and shapes. One year she won the American Women’s European Skeet Shooting Championship and collected many trophies throughout the years. In 1949, her love of fishing and hunting won her the record of having shot the largest Hirsch (14 points) in Germany. When fishing, she never came up empty-handed. Joan and Edwin were often invited by the mayor of the town to join him in hunting which was considered an honor. She also loved to garden and had beautiful flowering bushes around the perimeter of her home.

Her children have concluded that perhaps Joan's greatest gift was her generosity as a caregiver. Joan always put the needs of her family and friends first, and was a very thoughtful person. Over the years, she donated many of her special knitting, quilting, and needlepoint projects to family and friends. She also donated knitted hangers to the Christmas fair at Rose Haven.

Joan will be missed by her surviving brother Roy West of Bristol, England, and her six children: Robert Jessup of The Villages, FL; Elizabeth Roth of San Martin, CA; Thomas Jessup of Palmer, AK; Nancy Jessup of Fairfield, CT; Philip Jessup of San Antonio, TX; and Diane Matulis of Torrington, CT. She also leaves behind 13 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. She is predeceased by two sisters and one brother, all of England.

A private burial service will be held in the spring.

 Service Information