Obituary of Joanne Ferrara Staropoli

March 13, 2024

Joanne Ferrara Staropoli passed away at home in Philadelphia on March 13, 2024, after living with kidney cancer for nearly nineteen years.

Joanne was a loving wife, mother, nonna and friend who radiated love and kindness in all she did. She enjoyed spending time with her family and dear friends more than anything, especially with her grandchildren in recent years. Joanne and her husband Pat were together for fifty-three years, forty-eight of which they were married. They were lifelong partners and best friends. Her daughters, Ashley and Alex, are grateful for all of the milestones in their lives Joanne was able to celebrate with them. She was the heart of her family.

Joanne believed strongly in fighting for women’s rights and equality for all people. She was a dedicated employee of Planned Parenthood of Hudson-Peconic for twenty years, working her way from center assistant to regional director. She went back to school to pursue her masters in social work and was a hospice social worker at Calvary Hospital Hospice for thirteen years. Her work and values live on not only in the many patients and families she helped but also in her children and grandchildren who will try their best to make the world a better place just as she did.

Those who were lucky enough to know Joanne were touched by the unique way she cared for all of those she loved. She had a way of making everyone she interacted with feel special, from those most intimate relationships in her life to those she only met once or twice. Joanne was steadfast, confident and brave. She challenged those around her to think deeply and to question themselves and others. Her calming presence, her hugs, the way she always listened, her cooking and her love of life will be missed. While her loss is an unimaginable one, her love and light will live on in all of those she loved forever.

Joanne is survived by her husband, Pat; her daughters, Ashley and Alex; her sons-in-law, Mike and Andrew; her grandchildren, Sophie, Mason, Penelope and Marlow; and her sisters, Patricia Guglielmo and Florence Ferrara, and their families.

Her family would like to extend its gratitude to all of those who provided care to her over the years, in particular Dr. David M. Nanus and his team at the New York Presbyterian Hospital - Weill Cornell Medicine Healthcare Systems Cancer Program.

Details on a memorial service celebrating Joanne’s life will follow. At Joanne’s request, please make any donations in her memory to Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania at 
https://www.weareplannedparenthood.org/onlineactions/cOJVhOyrzkq4uBcxVekXFA2?sourceid=1000065&affiliateID=091460&_gl=1*61d52l*_ga*OTQwODQxOTEuMTcxMDUyMjYyNQ..*_gid*MTM3NDc5NzE1OS4xNzEwNTIyNjI1*_gac*RUFJYUlRb2JDaE1JOGJpZXBlSDJoQU1WemxCSEFSMnY4UW5mRUFBWUFpQUFFZ0tGUV9EX0J3RS4xNzEwNTIyNjMx 
or to New York Presbyterian Hospital - Weill Cornell Medicine Healthcare Systems Cancer Program by writing a check payable to: “Weill Cornell Medical College – GU Oncology Research” in care of Dr. David Nanus, 1305 York Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10021.