Joan Douglas Robinson, active for many years in the greater Boston psychotherapeutic community and a long-time Lexington, MA resident, died unexpectedly of a cardiac arrhythmia on the evening of February 26, 2023, hours shy of her 78th birthday. Her husband David and daughter Sarah were at her side.

Joan was born in San Francisco, California on February 27, 1945 to Marshall and Ynid Robinson (nee Rankin) of Berkeley. She grew up moving all over the US, but her most beloved spots were Sweetbriar, California, near the headwaters of the Sacramento River, and Bannockburn, an intentional community in Bethesda, Maryland, where she met a fellow swim team member named David Pollack. In high school she was a Spanish exchange student in Uruguay, and went on to major in Spanish at Oberlin College. There she made several lifelong friends, graduating with the class of 1967.

After a brief stint in New York City, Joan moved to Boston to pursue a master’s in social work at Boston University. In 1969 she married Jim Saalfield of Akron, Ohio, and in 1976 they brought their daughter Sarah home to a new house in Lexington, MA. After a divorce, Joan was briefly married to the late William Keough and became stepmother to Leyla and Sean Keough. Then, on June 7, 2003, after completing a long-dreamed-of home renovation together, she married David Pollack of Bethesda, MD in their new living room, surrounded by 66 friends and family members.

Joan began her career as a licensed independent clinical social worker at the Cambridge Court House, later establishing a long-lived private practice in Porter Square and later in Lexington. She also served as social worker for Lynnfield High School during that time. She was an active participant in the greater therapeutic community around Boston throughout her career as a member of the boards of RePlace, the Improbable Players, and Lexington Youth and Family Services (now Youth Counseling Connection).

In 2007 and 2011, respectively, she was delighted to become grandmother to Adeline and Malachi Lavalle, caring for them regularly and deeply. Joan will always be remembered for her love of her family, her generosity of spirit, love of a good road trip, and delight in the beauty around her, especially peonies. She brought a unique combination of a quick wit, a great sense of humor, and deep wisdom to her relationships and to her work.

Joan is survived by her husband, David Pollack of Lexington, MA; her daughter, Sarah Saalfield and her husband, Brian Lavalle, of Lexington, MA; her brother, Rick Robinson, and sister-in-law Nadya of Port Angeles, Washington; her sister, Margaret Robinson of Oakland, CA; her two grandchildren, Malachi and Adeline Lavalle, of Lexington; her stepchildren Leyla and Sean; and her wide circle of friends, family, and colleagues, who will miss her, her humor, and her very tangible love.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Daniele Agostino Derossi Foundation. Joan served as a Board Member and Vice-President of DADF for many years. To learn about the work of the foundation, please go to dadfound.org. If you wish to donate, please send a check to Daniele Agostino Derossi Foundation, 25 Drummer Boy Way, Lexington, MA 02420.