Joann L. Vacanti

JoAnn Louise Vacanti, 71, died Thursday, March 1st, 2018 at the Chautauqua Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. She was born in Dunkirk, the daughter of the late Joseph and Rose (Simonetti) Vacanti.

A lifelong resident, JoAnn lived in the Town of Dunkirk in the same home most of her life. She always supported the Dunkirk East Town Volunteer Fire Department. She was a member of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church, and sang in the Church choir.

JoAnn graduated from Dunkirk High School, and worked at Brooks Memorial Hospital for over thirty years. Her coworkers remember her as always having a smile and a joke. Many former coworkers, including doctors, nurses and various other hospital staff members, often shared their fond memories of their days working with JoAnn.

JoAnn loved to travel, including a group trip to Italy where she got to visit her ancestral homeland. She had a wonderful time and visited many places, including Valle D’olmo, Sicily. JoAnn often travelled with her mother and sister to visit her younger sister’s family, including her nephew and nieces and their families. These visits took her to Mississippi, California, Alabama, Illinois, and Texas.

JoAnn read everything she could about history, collecting books about the Titanic and World War II aircraft. She read the paper every day and would ask others if they had seen an interesting article that day.

A devoted Bills and Sabers fan, JoAnn basked in the Buffalo successes and suffered with their losses. When the Bills won, she always called her sister in Texas to make sure that they knew.

JoAnn had a generous heart. She will be sorely missed by her family and friends.JoAnn is survived by her twin sister, Annette Vacanti, and younger sister, Rosalind (Bernard) Barris. She is also survived by her nephew Brian (Margaret) Barris, and nieces Kathleen (Patrick) Dideum and Karen (Kris) Ostrowski, and seven great-nephews and great-nieces, as well as several cousins. She was preceded in death by her parents.

There will be no visitation. The family held a private internment. There will be a Memorial Mass for JoAnn at 10:30 AM on Saturday, March 10th, at St Elizabeth Ann Seton Church, followed by a reception for family and friends at the Kosciuszko Club.

Donations may be made in JoAnn’s memory to the Revitalize Dunkirk, Inc., Attn: Hanging Basket Project, P.O. Box 107, Dunkirk, NY 14048. This was a pet project of hers, and she planned to donate again this year.