Joanne (Chicone) Ciaravino

Joanne (Jenny Chicone) Ciaravino, 95, of Overland Park, KS, formerly of Vestal, NY, passed away peacefully at Colonial Village on Thursday, December 22, 2022.  Joanne was born in Watkins Glen, NY on May 13, 1927 and never lost her affection for the town and people there.  Her parents, Domenica and Carmelo Ciccone were immigrants from Calabria, Italy, and she was blessed to be part of a large, joyful, farming family.

Joanne was predeceased by her husband, Vito Ciaravino, in 2006, by her brothers and sisters, brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, and several nieces and nephews.  She is survived by her daughters, Roseanne (Edward) Podlinsek and Fran (Kevin) Harris; her son, Peter (Joyce) Ciaravino; her grandchildren, Jason (Michelle) Harris, Jessica (Nate) McMichael, Alicia (Ben) Laxton, Ryan (Cara) Harris, Sr. Miriam Esther, OSB (Lorraine) Podlinsek, Joseph (Veronica) Ciaravino, Kevin Harris, Madeline (Nick) Occhiogrosso, Tressa (Andy) Maciag and 30 greatgrandchildren; also several special and beloved nieces and nephews, among them Theresa Shara, Roberta DiFalco, Nancy Burnett, David Chicone, and special friends, Mary Personius and Ron and Fran Occhiogrosso.

Joanne and Vito were lifelong members of Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Vestal, NY and were excited to play a small part in the construction of the new church, by their donations.  Joanne was ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­the iconic Italian grandmother, to whom, together with Grandpa, family was the central component of life, and weekly celebrations of this fact with Sunday dinners of Mom’s spaghetti and meatballs was the primary expression of the philosophy.

The family extends a very special thank you to the staff at Colonial Village for their compassionate and loving care of Mom in the final years of her life.  She will be remembered there as a favorite, for the many hugs she gave to staff and the company she kept them while they worked. The family will receive friends at Our Lady of Sorrows Church 801 Main St. Vestal, NY 13850 Friday Jan. 6, 2023 from 10 am until the Funeral Mass at 11am.