Joan Gonzalez, 82, of Marblehead, Mass., passed away June 1, 2019. Born in Guayanilla, Puerto Rico, she was the daughter of the late Augustino Irizarry and Maria de la Cruz Pagan. She lived in Ponce, PR, until her family moved to New York City when she was 12 years old.
After marrying and raising 3 children, she returned to school and received a degree in Early Childhood Education from Bronx Community College. She loved her family and was active in the PTA while her children were young, holding many positions there over the years, including President. She was also very close to her cousin’s daughter, whom she thought of as her fourth child.
When her own mother became ill, she cared for her at home until her last days. Joan even took care of her neighborhood, as a member the Tenant Patrol in New York City, a role that earned her a Citizen’s Certificate from the New York Police Academy. Even with a limited budget, she made sure to take her children to museums and parks and to instill in them the beauty and importance of education. She may have been small in stature, but she was large in spirit, laughter, love, and strength. In her last two years, while living at the Lafayette Nursing Home in Marblehead, her humor stayed with her as did her strength.
Joan will be most remembered as the “go-to” person in any emergency, happily helping her family, friends, and neighbors with anything they needed, and doing so with an infectious sense of humor and insurmountable love. In a world that can some days shake in even the slightest wind, and other days feel fully knocked down as if pummeled by a hurricane, Joan was fiercely protective of her family and friends; she was the most solid of rocks, holding on in any weather, and she will be just as fiercely missed.
Joan is survived by her son, Victor Gonzalez Jr., of NYC, her daughter Joan Gonzalez, of NYC, her granddaughter, Ashley Kern; her daughter, Dr. Wanda Gonzalez and Wanda’s husband, Gregory Benner, of Marblehead; her granddaughter, Amelie Benner; her cousin, Alma Thompson, of St Louis, MO; and her former husband, Victor Gonzalez, Sr. of Fajardo, Puerto Rico.
Visiting hours will be held at Eustis and Cornell of Marblehead, 142 Elm Street on Friday, June 7th, from 4-7PM. A Funeral Service will be held on Saturday, June 8th at 2:00 p.m. at St. Andrew's Church, 135 Lafayette Street, Marblehead. Interment will be private. To share a memory or leave an online condolence, please visit www.eustisandcornellfuneralhome.com. In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to the Parkinson's Foundation (www.parkinson.org).
