Joan Stanley French, a summer Vineyard resident for more than six decades, died in Portland, Me., of natural causes on March 26. She was 93.

She was known for her keen wit and love of books, and will be missed by her family and friends.

A native of New Britain, Conn., she was born on June 28, 1927 to Edith White and Charles Francis Stanley. She attended Chatham Hall (a boarding school in Virginia) and Vassar College during World War II, later serving as a class agent for both schools.

After graduation, she worked as a cub reporter for The New Britain Herald until her marriage in 1950 to George William French III, who came to New Britain as a new hire for The Stanley Works. His career entailed several moves for the family, from Connecticut to Canada to the Midwest. Among several key positions, George served as president of the Stanley Works of Canada and, later, as president of AllSteel in Aurora, Ill.

Throughout her life, she was an active volunteer — as president of the Junior League of New Britain, president of the New Britain YWCA, longtime docent at the Art Institute of Chicago, and assistant at the annual Newberry Library (Chicago) book fair. She was also president of the altar guild at St. Chrysostom’s Church and served on the program committee at the Fortnightly Club, both in Chicago.

She was predeceased by her husband, who died in 1987 from cancer, and by her son Charles Stanley French, who died in 1976 while attempting to rescue a drowning friend.

She is survived by her children Elsie (Lisa), Sarah and Timothy, as well as by eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Her ashes will be interred in the Abel’s Hill Cemetery on June 26 during a family ceremony.