Support Joanna's Family in Their Time of Loss

I have a big heart when it comes to family and loved ones and wanted to take a moment to recognize my beautiful and loving mom and best grandma, Joanna Vogliazzo-Reale. 

Unfortunately, on Saturday August 17th, Joanna passed away, losing her battle with cancer. She left behind many family and loving friends. She is survived by her loving husband, Pasquale Reale, her son and daughter Joey Guglielmino and Brittany Difalco-Washington, and three beautiful grandchildren she loved unconditionally, Raine Logan Guglielmino, Adaly Marie Washington and Jamari Joseph Washington. 

She had a massive heart and loving soul and created a loving and caring environment for her family and kids. She was just an all-around caring and loving person who was loved by many. As a mother, she always made sure her kids were taken care of. Her children were everything to her and she had unconditional love for them both. She was the best grandma she could be to her grandchildren and loved them unconditionally. Her grandchildren were everything to her and she always made sure she put them first before herself. She was also Adaly's godmother. She loved spending time with her grandchildren especially after retiring.

Joanna lived a modest life but worked hard and always put her family first. She loved the things her kids loved. She was passionate about the things her children loved and found so much joy in her children's lives. She worked for 20 years at A&P and Acme, 10 years at Mahopac Middle School and spent the last few years at Little Feet Childcare and Pine Grove. She worked so hard and sacrificed so much for the ones she loved. On July 3rd, 2020, Joanna married her loving husband Pasquale. When Joanna met Patsy, they both fell in love and were both ready to retire and enjoy their lives together. She spent 4 wonderful years married and caring for her grandchildren Raine and Adaly.

This summer, Joanna started to have abdominal pain and went to the emergency room. Things moved so fast after that it was all a blur for her husband and family. She was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic liver cancer and set up with an oncologist for treatment. Three days into treatment she was hospitalized due to severe abdominal pain and yellowing of the skin. She was put on a ventilator, and life support and we were told there was massive internal bleeding and that the cancer either started in the pancreas or had spread to the pancreas from the liver causing the bleeding from an endocrine tumor. Then we were told that she also had an ulcer, hernia, and blood clot in her lung which she was on blood thinners for which probably made the bleeding worse. During this traumatic time, her daughter, Brittany gave birth to Joanna's third grandchild, Jamari. Tragically Joanna only met Jamari briefly on Facetime before the cancer took over. She was very excited to meet and take care of her grandchild until her life was unfortunately cut short. This was a very hard time for her daughter being that she just was having a newborn and not having her mom here to support her is even worse. No family wants to go through this.

Joanna had just turned 64 and was preparing for the next stage of her life with her beloved husband and grandchildren when her life was quickly and tragically cut so short. No one is truly prepared to lose a loved one, especially when the circumstances happen so quickly and rapidly. As we mourn her loss, we can find some sense of peace knowing she did not suffer a long time and is no longer in pain. Her loss is also a stark reminder to all of us to treasure each and every moment of every day, to spend time with the ones we love because none of us know what our future holds or when our time is up.  

Due to the rapid pace of these tragic circumstances, our family was put in a position to accommodate her passing instead of having her in all our lives. Her husband Patsy is planning his wife's funeral, instead of planning time together with him and her grandchildren.  We all have struggles and challenges in life. Right now, Joanna's family is readjusting everything to mourn the loss of a cousin, a wife, a mother and grandmother. We want to be able to give her a sendoff she deserves. This unexpected loss has left Joanna’s family in a state of deep grief and financial burden. We are asking the community for any help and support to give her a beautiful memorial that she deserves. No donation or contribution is too small everything will be greatly appreciated.

Any contributions or donations to make this happen would be greatly appreciated. Thank you again for your support