Joanna Savini passed away on September 17, 2021 at Waltonwood Main assisted living in Rochester, MI, where she lived the last year of her life.
Born Giovanna Maria in Detroit on August 1, 1925, her parents felt certain that city air was not conducive to their only child's health, so they moved to the "country," to the Wayne-Westland area. She resided there almost continuously until 2020. As a teenager, she met Ralph Savini who she "knew from day one" was the only one for her; together they started and raised a family and supported Ralph's career as a fireman which culminated in his appointment as fire chief in Nankin Township and later, the City of Westland in the early 1960s. Starting in the mid-1960s, Joanna served many years as the school secretary at Hoover Elementary in Wayne. She enjoyed friendships and connections because of Ralph's service as fire chief, her school system employment, and as a long-term parishioner at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Wayne. She loved gatherings of all kinds and considered herself blessed with wonderful neighbors, having lived in the same home for nearly 60 years. Above all, however, she relished and nurtured tight family bonds, a legacy her children continue among their families.
Joanna was preceded in death by Ralph, her husband of 52 years, her daughter Nancy Savini Goldshlack, and sister-in-law, Victoria Savini. She is survived by: daughter Mary (Robert) Morian, son Steven (Diana), and son-in-law Paul Goldshlack; grandchildren Tony Morian, Juliane (Oliver) Thornton Morian, Maria (Josh) Schoonover, Sara (Peter) Freddolino, Joseph (Lauren) Goldshlack, Hannah (Kevin) Goldshlack-Wolf, Angela (Alessandro) Savini, and Nicholas Savini; and great-grandchildren Miles and Emilia Thornton, Sonia, Tobias and Seth Freddolino, Atticus, Ralph and Poppy Schoonover, and Finneas Wolf.
A funeral mass will be held Saturday, September 25, 2021 at 10:00 AM, St. Mary's Church, 34530 W. Michigan Avenue Wayne, Michigan 48184. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Capuchin Soup Kitchen or St. Jude's Children's Hospital in her name.
