Joan Acitelli

She was born in Rochester, N.Y., in April 1933, the youngest of three daughters of Frank and Angela Salerno, Sicilian immigrants who worked in the city’s tailoring factories. Joan grew up in Rochester, and graduated from the University of Rochester School of Nursing.

She quickly rose to become a head nurse at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, specializing in surgical nursing. It was while living and working in Rochester that she met Mario Acitelli, a chemist born and raised in upstate New York, in late 1959. They married in November 1961, and would have eight children.

The family relocated first from the Rochester area to the Binghamton, N.Y., area, and then to Charlotte in 1979.

Joan left nursing to raise her children, and volunteered frequently during that time, including through marriage encounter and as a Eucharistic minister through Catholic churches in New York and North Carolina; as a precinct manager on election days in southeast Charlotte; and at her children’s various Catholic schools.

She was an avid reader, a keen diarist, and a very versatile cook; and had a sharp eye for interior design and landscaping, as evidenced by the evolution of her and Mario’s Charlotte home during the past four decades.

Joan is survived by her husband of 56 years; her children, Catherine Picone (Larry) of Matthews; A.J. Acitelli (Beth) of Weddington; Maria Kassouf (Jeff) of Welcome, N.C.; Carrie Stoehr (John) of Charlotte; Liz Roberts (Jason) of Waxhaw; Mark Acitelli of Charlotte; and Tom Acitelli (Elizabeth) of Cambridge, Mass.; 19 grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; nephews, nieces, and numerous other relatives.

Her siblings and parents died many years ago. A daughter, Nancy Acitelli, died in 2017. Joan acted as caregiver to most of them.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated Friday, March 16, at 10 a.m. at St. Gabriel’s Roman Catholic Church in Charlotte. Visitation will be in the church chapel on Thursday, March 15, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Joan Salerno Acitelli’s name to Novant Hospice and to St. Gabriel’s RespectAbility Ministry.