Joan F. M. Binger was born on November 23, 1935, in Marlie Hill, St. Catherine, Jamaica. She was the last of eight children born to the Rev. Stephen Binger and Frances (Thompson) Binger. She attended Binger Preparatory School, the Swallowfield School, and the St. Hugh’s (Anglican) School for Girls where she excelled academically, graduating with outstanding passes in four A-Level subjects. After leaving St. Hugh’s, she went on to Clarendon College where she would teach and complete three additional A-Level subjects that were not offered at St. Hugh’s at that time.

She subsequently matriculated at the University College of the West Indies, then a part of the University of London, to study natural science and then subsequently medicine. Upon graduating from medical school, she worked at the Kingston Public Hospital, Savannah La Mar Hospital, and ultimately at the Bustamante Hospital for Children – where she spent 23 years as a resident pediatrician, and where she was known and beloved by all for her medical prowess as well as for her humility and love for all whom she encountered.

In July 1968, she married the Rev. Gervais Clarke. They had two children, John-Paul Clarke, and Michael Clarke. In 1987, she retired from medicine and moved to Orange, New Jersey, where she worked at the YWCA as an administrator and caregiver for children. Upon her husband’s retirement from the Diocese of Newark in 2008, they returned to Jamaica where they would live until moving to Miami in 2018.

Joan died on April 6, 2019, after having succumbed to complications of multiple myeloma.

Dr. Joan F. M. Binger Scholarships are awarded to the students with the highest academic average in their respective cohort entering grades seven (formerly referred to as First Form) through eleven (formerly referred to as Fifth Form) at the St. Hugh’s (Anglican) High School for girls in Kingston, Jamaica. These full scholarships have been established in her memory by her family, to recognize students at St. Hugh’s High School who have demonstrated the same dedication to academic excellence that she demonstrated while at St. Hugh’s High School.

2021 Binger Scholars: Denique Anderson (Grade 7), Na Jaeda-Ann Barnes (Grade 8), Reyanne Campbell (Grade 9), Oriana Thompson (Grade 10), and Brianna Passley (Grade 11)

2022 Binger Scholars: Trisann Hurlston (Grade 7), Leandra Bell (Grade 8), Savannah Shaw (Grade 9), Kadeidra Green (Grade 10), and Oriana Thompson (Grade 11)

2023 Binger Scholars: Alexis Fagan (Grade 7), Trisann Hurlston (Grade 8), Camelia Howell (Grade 9), Nashara Forrest (Grade 10), and Kadeidra Green (Grade 11)