Joanne M. Wilde, 83, of East Boothbay died in her home on Ocean Point Road on Aug. 19, 2015, surrounded by family and friends following a long battle with cancer.

Joanne was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1932 to Preben W.M.A. Menzel, a solider in the King's Royal Palace Guard, and Phoebe Ebling of New York City, a member of the family which owned the Ebling Brewing Company founded on Saint Anne's Avenue in 1868. Her father Preben served as a leader in the Danish Resistance movement during World War II, and after being captured in 1943, he survived 18 months in the Frøslev concentration camp until Denmark was liberated from its German occupiers in 1945.

She moved from Copenhagen to New York City as a young girl, and grew up on Charles Street in Greenwich Village. She attended Smith College in Northhampton, Massachusetts, where she earned a degree in English literature.

In 1952, Joanne married Wilson "Bill" Wilde, a WWII Navy veteran and graduate of Williams College. The couple settled in West Hartford, Connecticut, where they raised four children. The family spent part of every summer on the Wilde family property on Linekin Bay in East Boothbay.

In the 1980s, Joanne and Bill built the first of two year-round houses adjacent to the original Wilde properties on Linekin Bay. The couple moved to their home in East Boothbay full-time after Bill retired from his work as chairman and CEO of The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection & Insurance Company in Hartford, Connecticut.

Joanne was a devoted and passionate reader, as well as a dedicated fan of classical music and ballet. Following her husband's death in 2013, she enjoyed the company of many close friends and relatives across the Boothbay region and was an avid supporter of Smith College, the Opera House at Boothbay Harbor, the Boothbay Region Historical Society, and Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences.

She is survived by her children, David W. Wilde, Elisabeth L. Wilde, and Richard A. Wilde; a son-in-law, Dr. Steven D. Smith; and seven grandchildren, Tucker, Eben, Kyle, Skyler, Ryan, Tyler, and Christopher. She was predeceased by her husband, and by her son, Stephen W. Wilde, who died in 2006.

In lieu of flowers, Joanne requested donations be made to support the work of the opera house, Boothbay Region Historical Society and Bigelow Labs. 

Her family will hold a private memorial.

You are welcome to send condolences at www.hallfuneralhomes.com.

Arrangements are entrusted to Hall Funeral Home and Tribute Center of Boothbay, 975 Wiscasset Road, Boothbay.