Joan (McGrath) Greve

Joan Marguerite McGrath Greve, 93, a resident of Port Chester, NY died October 5, 2022. She was born September 3, 1929 in Hollis, NY to the late Frank and Marguerite McNicholas McGrath. She moved to Port Chester at age 1 ½ and attended Park Avenue Elementary School and was a 1946 graduate of the Academy of Good Counsel in White Plains, NY. She went on to Katherine Gibbs School, the American School of Ballet and the Manhattan Dance School.  At age five, Joan began taking dance lessons at the Dorothy Kolbe Dance Studio in Port Chester, and when she was just six, she danced in short films for both Warner Brothers and 20 th Century Fox. She also modeled for the John Robert Powers Modeling Agency. At the same time, she was taking lessons in Manhattan at Jack Stanley, The American School of Ballet, Swoboda School of Ballet and Luigi’s for Jazz.
She was the owner and operator of the Joan McGrath Studio of the Dance in Port Chester for 52 years. Joan’s students number in the thousands, and she taught many mothers and then, years later, their daughters. Joan was a former member of the Our Lady of Mercy Church in Port Chester. She was also a member of the Dance Educators of America and a former member of the Board of Directors. Joan choreographed productions at Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, Port Chester High School and the “Big Little Show” at the Westchester Country Club. When she was just 18, she opened the Joan McGrath Studio of the Dance in Port Chester, taking over for her mother. She was its owner and director for 52 years. The school offered classes in tap, jazz, ballet, Irish step dance, ballroom dance, aerobics, point, creative movement and swing. A generous portion of the proceeds from her bi-annual dance recitals went to The DisabledAmerican Veterans. Additionally, Joan always brought a group of dancers to perform at Christmastime, at the Kingsbridge Veterans Home in the Bronx. Performances also took place at area nursing homes. At age 40, Joan married the love of her life, H. Gregg Greve, who helped with the management of the studio until his death on July 31, 2001. She is survived by her niece Patricia McGrath of Peekskill, NY, great nieces and nephews Frank McGrath IV, Kerry McGrath Appel, Mary Patricia Katzenback Murray, and Elizabeth Katzenback Martinez. Besides her husband she was predeceased by her brother Frank McGrath, Jr., niece Joanne McGrath Katzenback and nephew Frank McGrath III.
Visitation will be from 10:00 am-12:00 noon on Tuesday October 11, 2022 at Craft Memorial Home, Inc. A Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 12:30 pm at Saint Paul RC Church, 84 Sherwood Avenue Greenwich, CT. Interment to follow at Saint Mary's Cemetery Rye Brook, NY.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made, in Joan’s memory, to the Disabled American Veterans, PO Box 145550, Cincinnati, OH  45250.

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