Realtor Joan Shaw Passes Away at 86

Joan T. Shaw, a longtime resident of White Plains and Scarsdale who was a leading real estate broker in the Village for half a century, died on August 24 at the age of 86.

In the mid 1960s, when the local real estate market was dominated by men, Joan made her mark as a new breed of realtor at the office of Raymond R. Beatty and then joined the office of Cleveland E. Van Wert where she became the top-earning agent. In the mid 1970s, she joined the office of Julia B. Fee and eventually became one of the firm’s co-owners during its heyday as an independent brokerage with offices in Scarsdale, Rye, and Larchmont.

Known for her enthusiasm, optimism, generosity, wit, and sparkling blue eyes, Joan could not walk down the sidewalks of the Village for more than a few feet without running into friends, colleagues, or one of the hundreds of people whom she helped to buy or sell their homes. Many of her early clients’ children when they became adults bought their first homes with Joan’s assistance.

Born on January 10, 1936 to Edith and Max Tart, Joan grew up in Manhattan and attended Hunter College High School where she made lifelong friends who would move along with her in the 1960s to the Heathcote section of Scarsdale, where they raised their children together. After graduating from Barnard College in 1957, she wed Martin M. Shaw, a lawyer, in 1959. They were happily married until his death in 2016.

Joan was a devoted, loving, and supportive mother to her son, Daniel, and daughter, Nancy Shaw Chochrek, who both graduated from Scarsdale High School. Nancy, a lawyer, eventually followed her mother into the real estate business, and she is currently the manager of the Scarsdale office of Houlihan Lawrence.

Even as Joan lived with dementia in her final years, she continued to delight her family with her biting sense of humor and appreciation for the meals they shared together. Having many friends whom she’d known for more than 50 or 60 years, she remained in touch and concerned about their lives until her final days.

In addition to her son and daughter, Joan is survived by her beloved grandchildren—Ella, Ian, and Anna Chochrek—and sons-in-law, James Chochrek and Ramon Montala.

Contributions in her memory can be made to Planned Parenthood or the Alzheimer’s Association.