Joan Fontana, 88, passed away peacefully on Sunday, November 8, 2020, at her home in Brick NJ. Joan was raised in Jersey City, NJ and attended Ferris High School. She married Joseph Fontana in 1953 and together they raised their family in Cresskill, NJ.
In her early life, Joan was a professional singer with the Jack Constance Band. She performed at various venues including the famed Atlantic City 500 Club alongside the likes of Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis and other stars of her day. However, her greatest joy and success came as wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother.
Joan was universally known to her family and friends as “Mamo”. She is now reunited with her loving husband Joe, and is survived by her two beloved sons and their spouses, two grandchildren and two great grandchildren. Vic and Christine Fontana, Victor Fontana Jr., Fia, Jason, Nico and Sabina Spindel; and Andy Fontana and Donna Trocchio and family.
No memorial would be complete without mentioning Joan’s great Italian cooking. Her ability to continuously create delicious massive meals from her tiny 8x10 foot kitchen amazed all that were lucky enough to sit at her table. With Joan's passing, the world has lost one of its most loving, caring and supportive souls—and a die-hard Yankees fan. Her warm personality and great sense of humor endeared her to everyone she met. Her spirit, legacy and recipes will live on through her family and her many friends in NJ and her extended family in Atlanta who all came to know and love her.
A private burial will be held at Hackensack Cemetery. A memorial mass will be held at a later date. O'Brien Funeral Home, Wall, NJ is in charge of arrangements, www.obrienfuneralhome.com.
In lieu of flowers and in memory of Joan Fontana, the family requests donations to: Eva’s Village of New Jersey www.evasvillage.org , 393 Main Street, Paterson NJ 07501.