Date of Birth
September 22, 1977
Date of Death
April 8, 2021
Location
Manchester, New Hampshire
Who She Was
Her Story
Dr. Joanna (Baxter) Lerner of Raymond, NH, died Thursday at Elliot Hospital, Manchester, due to complications following childbirth. Born in Stoneham, MA to Wilfred and Malvena (Cangiano) Baxter of Andover, MA, Joanna was a 1996 graduate of Andover High School. In 2001, she graduated from University of Massachusetts-Lowell with a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Physiology with a minor in Computer Science. Following graduation, she worked at Andover Animal Hospital where she continued to nurture her love of animals and became determined to return to college for a degree in veterinary medicine.
Joanna left Andover to study at Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, earning her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Degree in 2012. Upon graduation, she worked for a period at both Banfield Veterinary Hospital and Andover Animal Hospital. She eventually moved back to New Hampshire and joined her dream veterinary practice at Hampstead Animal Hospital. Joanna met her husband, Jeremy Lerner, while an undergraduate at UMass-Lowell. They married in the Chapel at West Parish in Andover on a sunny, warm October day in 2014, and settled in Raymond, NH with their favorite island dog, Spongie, and an ever-expanding menagerie of pets, including beloved Gracie, Sebastian, Mater, Clarice, and most recently Bowe.
Joanna leaves behind her beloved husband of six years and best friend for twenty-one, Jeremy, and her much anticipated and loved-from-conception newborn twins. She also leaves her parents, Wilfred and Malvena Baxter; her stepfather, Paul Blake; her mother and father-in-law, Mary and Roy Lerner; two brothers-in-law, and an extended family. Joanna was predeceased by her favorite, and only, younger brother, Stephen. Joanna lived a rich life filled with learning, love, people, and animals.