Joanne M. Graziano died peacefully at home in Kintnersville, Pa., with family by her side. She fought an 11-year battle against metastatic breast cancer after being cancer free from her first diagnosis in 1998.
She is survived by her wife of 34 years, Rose Strong, her sister Jacqueline Hagerty (Patrick) of Kintnersville, and nephews, Tyler Hagerty (Michelle), of Elkton, Md., Jason Moore (Heather) of Florida, and niece Jennifer Moore (John Donohoe), great-niece Jayla, great-nephews Finnegan and Callen of Lisbon Falls, Maine. She is also survived by her three standard poodles, LooLoo, Tee and Ava and mixed breed pup, Mavis, three cats, Alice, Olive and Sucha and one tortoise named Dash.
Born in Ambler, Pa., she grew up in North Wales. She attended North Penn High School. She attended Millersville University. She held various positions at Pennwalt, French’s and Woolworth’s Department Stores.
She had attained an associate degree in fine art from Bucks County Community College. Joanne made art through various mediums including photography, metalsmithing, lithography, printmaking and drawing. In recent years she was a fiber artist with needle felting as her medium and co-owned The Felting Zone with her wife – teaching the art form with her wife throughout Bucks and Berks counties.
She was employed at a local Bucks County auction house for 26 years starting out packing houses, setting up the weekly sales and clerking for the auctioneers on sale days. She went to the Missouri Auction School, St. Louis, Mo., and became a skilled, well-admired, licensed auctioneer. She was a former member of the National Auctioneer Association. Later, she sold part time for Rook Auction and Appraisal Service in Montgomery County, during the early part of her illness until her vocal cords wouldn’t allow her to project her voice. Joanne enjoyed learning about the history of collectibles and antiques and the social atmosphere of the sales.
Joanne spent her last working years from 2006-2018 at the Bucks County Herald as the administrative assistant. It was a job she truly enjoyed and felt the old saying that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks was not true. She had never used computers or other office technology in her previous jobs and learned quick, became an asset to the organization.
Participating as a volunteer with Springfield Township, Bucks County, she was a former member on the Community Day Committee from 2006-2011 and the Historic Commission from 2011-2018.
A celebration of life will be held in March 2022. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to St. Luke’s Hospice at 2455 Black River Road, Bethlehem, PA 18015 or for her memorial totem, https://gofund.me/6a6b8500.
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