Joan was born May 10, 1934 in the Bronx, NY to John and Margaret Juliano. She was older sister to Robert (Juliano) and Diane (Foley). They grew up in a close-knit family with lots of aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends who were like family close by. When she and her siblings were older and married, the extended families spent weekends in the summer renting a bungalow in South Beach, Staten Island. There was always a party going on at the bungalow with family and friends regularly coming and going and joining in the festivities. Eventually they would all make the move to Staten Island permanently and settle in Great Kills.
As her children got older, Joan got a job at Eltingville pharmacy where she continued to work for over 30 years. This was more than just a job. She loved working there. She loved the customers and they loved her back. No matter where she went, inevitably she would run into someone she “knew from the pharmacy”. Everyone seemed to know her and she forged friendships and connections with people that lasted through her life.
Eventually, she moved to a retirement community in Northern NJ and for the first time in many, many years she was not living with or close by extended family as she had been her whole life. She embraced the change and thrived in her new community. She joined the senior center, made friends with neighbors and they all became her family. She continued to maintain those relationships throughout her life.
Joan had many wonderful qualities, but those that know her best would say that she possessed a quiet strength, a kind and generous heart, always looked for the good in people and always sacrificed for others. Through tragedy, sickness, and loss she was a rock for her family who she loved dearly and who loved her dearly in return. She will be so greatly missed by her children, family and friends. She will also be missed by her dog, Batman who would sit on her lap while she read and kept her company during the day.
She is predeceased by her beloved husband, Robert, who she was married to for 44 years, her parents, Margaret and John, and her siblings, Bobby and Diane, her brother-in-law Patrick Foley, Sr. and her son-in-law, Brett. She is survived by her beloved children, Donna and Robert, her nephew Patrick who she loved like a son, and her cherished grandchildren and great grandchildren, Preston, Anthony, Celina and Stella.
