Joan Marie Conicelli, 89, 02 March 1935 – 16 February 2025

Joan Marie was born was born to Bill and Madeleine Thurlow on March 2, 1935, in the Bronx. She would be the couples’ only child at a time when big families were en vogue. Joan was very close to her mother and, because she had no siblings, built incredible, lasting friendships from a very young age. Joan attended Niles Junior High School (PS-118) in the Bronx, where, one afternoon, she was walking to class with a girlfriend and locked eyes with Anthony Conicelli as he came down the stairs. Joan knew the instant their eyes met that she had seen her future husband. Beyond his looks, Tony’s big, Italian family- something Joan had never had- drew her to him. Shortly after her beloved mother passed away in 1952, Joan Thurlow became Joan Conicelli, and the young couple settled into married life in New York. Joan and Tony welcomed their first son, Anthony, in 1953 and, just 14 months later, a second son, Robert (Bob), made his entrance, completing the family. In 1956, The Conicellis sought warmer weather and more opportunity in Miramar, Florida, where they raised their boys surrounded by their big, extended family.

Joan was a devoted wife, mother, and friend. She stayed home with her sons for most of their childhood and was actively involved in their lives. Joan joined the other “Little League Moms” to run the concession stand during games, hosted Thanksgiving each year for the very large, and growing, Conicelli clan, and traveled the world, including Japan, Germany, Portugal, Spain, and Belgium, to name a few destinations, with her husband. Joan had always wanted to be a nurse and had volunteered as a Big Sister while she raised her own children. When her sons were in high school, she went back to school and became a nursing assistant at a psychiatric hospital. She absolutely loved her job working with vulnerable patients- particularly the elderly- and worked at the hospital for a decade after her children were grown. In 1982, a terrifying incident on their boat in the Florida Keys shifted Joan and Tony’s perspective and led Tony to retire from his career at the bank. They began splitting their time between the mountains of North Carolina and a retirement community in Lakeland, Florida. Shortly thereafter, Joan left the hospital, and the couple began to take advantage of all that retirement had to offer. They traveled, cruised, visited friends and family, played bingo, hosted game nights, and lived a life filled with love. Throughout her life, Joan never lost touch with her friends- even friends from her days growing up in the Bronx. She had regular calls with her best girlfriends, sent cards and letters, and frequently hosted friends in both of their homes.

Joan had also become “Grandma” as her sons started their own families, and she could not have been happier or better-suited for this new role. Anthony welcomed two daughters, Laurie and Jennifer, and Bob and his wife, Karen, added granddaughters Jessica, Angela, and Lisa to the growing family. Joan made sure that she and Tony were a big part of their grandchildren’s lives from the start. They spent birthdays and holidays with their sons’ families and visited often in between- no matter how far away they lived. Joan’s granddaughters share fond memories of day trips in the North Carolina mountains, eating homemade waffles and ice cream for dinner, taking the golf cart out for a spin, and asking for “just one more story!” before bedtime. Joan was truly an incredible grandma, and her grandchildren feel lucky to have had so much time and such a special relationship with her.

Following Tony’s death last year, Joan struggled move forward with a piece of her heart missing. Nonetheless, she continued to stay in close touch with family and friends and even added many friends. She enjoyed playing bingo and trivia and attending Friday happy hours with her new friends at Arbor Oaks.

Joan wore her heart on her sleeve- she smiled and laughed when she was happy, cried when she was sad, and grieved when her friends and family grieved. She was kind, generous, warm, and genuine. She married the love of her life and spent 71 years showing him how much he meant to her. She raised two incredible sons and, with Tony, built a life she loved. Joan will be remembered as a loving wife, mother, grandmother, and friend, an avid reader and traveler, a lover of hummingbirds, a Christmas cookie baker, a storyteller, and a light in this world. She and Tony believed in fairness, humility, and inclusion, and they reflected their beliefs in everything they did. Joan lives on through her strong relationships and the fond memories of her friends and family, but, more than that, her memory endures through the lives she impacted.

Joan is preceded in death by the love of her life, Anthony Conicelli, as well as her parents, Bill and Madeleine Thurlow, and her stepmothers Estelle and Constance. She is survived and adored by her sons and daughter-in-love, Anthony, Bob, and Karen, as well as 5 granddaughters: Laurie, Jennifer, Jessica (Marc), Angela (Charlie), and Lisa, and 8 great grandchildren: Stephanie, Joshua, Preston, Parker, Everly, Easton, Max, and June.  

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