Joan Socolof

Joan Socolof, née Gallagher, age 95, of Pompton Plains, NJ, died Wednesday, July 20, 2022.  She was the daughter of Dr. John Wesley Gallagher and Edith Gallagher. She grew up in Perry, NY with her sisters, where her father was the small-town doctor.

Joan’s father died shortly before Joan’s 17th birthday, leaving behind Joan and her two younger sisters weeks before Joan graduated from Perry High School where she was salutatorian. She left Perry to attend Occidental College in Los Angeles where she received a scholarship, but moved back east after 3 semesters. Joan quickly plunged into work as an assistant to the publicity director for Asbury Park, NJ. This laid the groundwork for a job at “Park East” magazine in New York City where she had the opportunity to conduct interviews and write copy, and was given a much-loved 6-week leave of absence to attend the Bread Loaf campus writer’s conference of Middlebury College. Subsequently, Joan worked as the advertising director of Steinbach Company, Asbury Park, NJ, where she enjoyed using her talents in writing and art. During this period of her life, she met and married her husband Murray Socolof, who predeceased her in 2013.

She raised her children with Murray in Bethesda, Maryland, where she finished her college and law degrees. Joan received her Bachelor of Arts from American University and her Juris Doctor from Catholic University in Washington D.C., while at the same time raising her 5 boys, staying active in the local Presbyterian church, and continuing to write. The family moved to Franklin Lakes, NJ in 1973, where they lived until Joan and Murray moved to Cedar Crest Village in Pompton Plains, NJ in 2005. During her many years in Franklin Lakes, Joan remained actively engaged with the community by working on the environmental commission, serving as president of the League of Women Voters, and founding The Decorative and Fine Arts Society of Bergen County.  She constantly read about and corresponded with scholars and artists that she might convince to come and speak at monthly lectures, and to discover events at museums, galleries, sculpture grounds and historic homes that might engage members for excursions.  She arranged many greatly appreciated lectures by scholars and experts in the arts as well as numerous fascinating trips to galleries, historic homes and sculpture grounds. She would recruit her children to help with stuffing envelopes to send out the newsletters and announcements she was constantly writing. She also practiced family and real estate law in Franklin Lakes as Socolof Associates. While doing all this, she also enjoyed cooking wonderful meals for her husband and five sons. She enjoyed spending her time with friends who shared her many interests, especially in music and the arts, regularly went to concerts and plays, and also enjoyed lunch gatherings with her “French Club” friends practicing French together.

Joan continued to write throughout her life from age 9 when she shocked her family by ghostwriting the autobiography of the family’s housekeeper full of poverty, abuse, children in prison, and children born out of wedlock for a competition in “True Story Magazine,” which earned Joan a concerned visit by the magazine publisher to her parents.  She continued memoir writing into her 90s. She always made sure to honor any occasion for friends and family with homemade cards including clever line drawings and humorous poems.

Joan is survived by her children Stephen Socolof and his wife Cristina Corona and their children Giulia and Vittoria; Elias Socolof and his wife Roslyn and their children Rachel and Thomas; David Socolof and his wife Maria and their children Michaela and Camille; Jonathan Socolof and his wife Christine; and Joseph Socolof and his wife Virginia Lolley and their daughter Eve. She is also survived by her nieces Pam Davis and Marsha Yarbrough.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory to one of her charities would be appreciated:  the Scholar’s Fund at Cedar Crest Village, 1 Cedar Crest Drive, Pompton Plains, NJ 07444; the Adler Aphasia Center, 60 West Hunter Avenue, Maywood, NJ 07607; or West Bergen Mental Healthcare, Development Office, 120 Chestnut Street, Ridgewood, NJ 07450.