Joanne Ronca Spadavecchia

Our dearest wife, mother, sister, aunt, and friend, Joanne Ronca Spadavecchia, embraced the moonlight peacefully, passing overnight October 10, 2023, after a long battle with breast cancer.

Joanne, 79, was born in Long Branch. She is a 1962 graduate of Long Branch High School and a 1965 graduate of Mountainside Hospital School of Nursing, where she served as a nurse in the Intensive Care Unit of Mountainside Hospital, Montclair. In 1968 she obtained a B.S. in Nursing from Fairleigh Dickinson University with postgraduate studies at the School of Nursing Fairleigh Dickinson University, Madison.

In addition to her career in nursing, Joanne owned and operated the London Motel and Residential Suites in Tinton Falls for 20 years. An advocate for small business, she served as president of the Tinton Falls Business and Professional Association.

As a founder at Tinton Falls State Bank in 1989, an eight-year member and the sole woman to sit on the bank’s board of directors, she was a leader of community banking and shepherded the bank through its acquisition by Commerce Bank Corporation, later TD Bank.

Beloved by class after class of children, she tenderly served as school nurse for 15 years at Meadowbrook School, Eatontown Public Schools.

Joanne's life is a joyous celebration of love, kindness, and compassion that fully launched in the 4th grade when her childhood sweetheart and now husband, Nicholas, stole a kiss on the girls’ side of the North Long Branch Church Street schoolyard. That kiss inaugurated Joanne and Nicky’s shared journey: growing up along Atlantic Avenue, state fairs and ankle bracelets, seaside carhops, Green Wave cheerleading, jitterbugging, cross-country trips, the Antiquer, and the London Motel. Their 55-year, loving marriage nurtured three boys and three daughters-in-law, five grandchildren, and a close-knit family of parents, sisters, nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends – all woven together by Joanne’s unconditional love.

Joanne’s lifelong dedication to caring manifested in her profession as a nurse, where she served as a constant caregiver, advisor and confidant to those in need. First diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987 she would spend the next 36 years silently extending care and counsel to those, who, like herself, suffered and survived cancer with gentle strength. Always placing others before herself, her lifetime of offering kindness and compassion for the benefit of others is a virtuous legacy of selflessness and an inspiration for generations.

Joanne was always in search of the right poem or saying to match her deep spirituality. This is a favorite saying by Stephen Grellet:

“I shall pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”

Full moons, rainbows, hummingbirds, and a glass of good champagne all enlivened Joanne’s heart. Her love of world travel and adventure was only surpassed by her passion for traveling with family and friends. Wherever in the world Joanne or her sons found themselves they would call each other to share the majesty of the same full moon. She celebrated rainbow-colored skies above Floridian waters, Adirondack waterfalls, and her beloved Lake George. On the lake, she spent endless hours swimming in the cosmic embrace of moonbeams shimmering atop pristine waters. The lake was Joanne’s refuge. It filled her with solace and joy summer after summer for over 50 plus years. It is especially at Rainbow’s End where Joanne lived a life of togetherness and joy with Nicky, her boys, family, and friends in constant celebration of unimaginable good-fortune and happiness.

Joanne is predeceased by her parents Dorothy and Vincent Ronca and sister Mary Elaine. She is survived by her beloved husband, Nicholas; her sister Dee Dee and her husband Butch; her sister Patricia and her husband William; son Jamian, his wife Wendy, and their newborn Alexander; son Darren and his wife Koren and their three beautiful daughters Victoria, Taylor, and Teddy; son Nicholas, his wife Monica and Jojo’s burst of sunshine, Gianna; nieces Cara Mia, Carey, Holly, Genevieve, and Holly; nephews T.R., Thomas, and Ross and all their respective families.

Our family would like to take this time to express our deepest gratitude to family and friends for their constant concern and support, the many gifts and kind words expressed in the innumerable letters, cards, and text messages to Joanne. We also would like to extend a special thanks to all of Joanne 's doctors, nurses, and healthcare professionals who, like Joanne, provided care to their patient with the utmost professionalism, care and dignity.

A memorial gathering will be held on Friday, October 13 from 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm at the Damiano Funeral Home in Long Branch. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Homes for Wounded Warriors, 9845 E Bell Road; Suite 130, Scottsdale, AZ 85260 web: https://homesforwoundedwarriors.com or National Breast Cancer Foundation, PO Box 676910, Dallas, TX 75267-6910 web: https://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/. The family invites you to leave a letter of condolence through the Tribute/Guestbook link above.

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