Joan Poinsett Carr Bennett, 84, of Shipyard Lane died June 10 at Newfield House in Plymouth.  Mrs. Bennett was the daughter of Frederick Beaumont Carr and Esther Elizabeth (Fink) Carr of Valley Forge, Penn.  Her middle name is derived from her great-uncle, physician and botanist  Dr. Joel Roberts Poinsett, who served as envoy to Mexico under President Van Buren.  He brought back to the U.S. a flower named Flor de Nocha, renamed the Poinsettia in the U.S., and was a founder of the Smithsonian Institute.

Mrs. Bennett attended school in Philadelphia and worked as a radiology technician where she met and married Dr. Lansing H. Bennett.  The couple moved to Duxbury in 1955 where Dr. Bennett established his medical practice and they raised four children.  In 1980, the Bennetts moved to Jakarta, Indonesia when Dr. Bennett began a tour of duty as chief medical officer for the Central Intelligence Agency.  They also lived in Tokyo and Frankfurt and travelled extensively.

Mrs. Bennett was an enthusiastic sailor, exploring the islands of Maine and the Elizabethan Islands.  She also raced with her husband with a winter group of sailors who founded the Duxbury Frostbite Society.

Mrs. Bennett loved animals and horseback riding.  She enjoyed cooking, played bridge, and played tennis as a member of the Duxbury Yacht Club.  She also worked at the Learning Disabilities Network, an organization providing resources for families with dyslexia.

Mrs. Bennett leaves her sons, Mark Ainsworth Bennett and his wife Jennifer Harris of Trivoli, N.Y. and Andrew Hunter Bennett and his wife Suzanne Keller of Nantucket; her daughters, Holly Bennett Morris and her husband James Morris of Duxbury and Susan St. Clair Bennett and her husband Jonathan Shanker of Corbett, Ore.; and three grandchildren.  In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Duxbury Art Association.