Joan Aitken, 88, of Madison, died Sept. 15 at Yale-New Haven Hospital. She was born June 24, 1925 in New York, New York, to the late Thomas and Helen (Langdon) Brown. Joan lived in Madison, near the beach, for more than 60 years and loved taking long swims in Long Island Sound. During the summer, she could be seen almost every day swimming hundreds of yards straight out from Seaview Beach and back again, using a graceful, slow motion crawl stroke.

She was an early sympathizer with the civil rights movement and contributed to civil rights causes in the fifties and sixties. She then became involved with the A Better Chance (ABC) program, which enables children from educationally disadvantaged neighborhoods to attend high schools in wealthier neighborhoods, such as Madison. She served as treasurer for the ABC program for several years.

Joan is survived by her two sons, Montgomery Aitken of Madison and David Aitken of Santa Cruz, California; her grandchildren Alyssa Aitken, Christopher Aitken, Ian Aitken and Laura Aitken; ten nieces and nephews; and numerous grand-nieces and nephews. In addition to her parents, Joan was predeceased by her four sisters. 

Family and friends may join for a memorial service on Sunday, Sept. 22 at 1 p.m. at St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Madison. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in loving memory of Joan may be made to either the ABC Program, P.O. Box 371, Madison, CT 06443 or online at www.madisonabc.org or to Wilderstein Preservation Society, P.O. Box 383, Rhinebeck, NY 12571 or online at www.wilderstein.org. The Swan Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. For online tributes and condolences, visit www.swanfuneralhomemadison.com.