Joan D. Schiavone, 96, Oceanport passes

Joan D. Schiavone (West), 96, passed away peacefully in her sleep in her home of 65 years in Oceanport, NJ on Sunday, April 18, 2021. She was born in North Long Branch on August 2, 1924 to Lester A. West and Mary Currie of Scotland and attended Long Branch High School, Monmouth Junior College, and Montclair State.

Before becoming a teacher, she worked at McMillen, Inc., a design firm in Manhattan. While taking the commuter train to NYC, she met her future husband, Joseph Schiavone, and they were married in 1951. Buying a lot in the future neighborhood of Port-Au-Peck in 1955, they built their home and raised a family of four children. Joan took 10 years off from teaching to stay home with her children and then went back to teaching fifth grade until retiring in 1984 after 26 years.

She spent summer days taking her children to the beach with a picnic lunch and awaiting her husband’s arrival with the dinner basket. Crispy and tired and rolled in towels, the family made their way home, only to do it all over again the next day. What memories!

Joan was a member of the Monmouth County Retired Educators Association, a member of the American Association of University Women and National Education Association. She was a parishioner of St. Michael’s Church in West End, Long Branch and volunteered at Saint Vincent de Paul of Saint Michael’s Church. She was a voracious reader and was always in a book, even to her last days. The New York Times crossword puzzle was another hobby and for a season, she wrote poetry. Her travel journals are fascinating, regaling the reader with colorful stories of travel guides, scenery, and experiences.

Joan is predeceased by her husband of 65 years, Joseph Schiavone. Surviving are her four children, JoAnne Schiavone and her husband Drew Mearns of York, Pennsylvania; Susanne Metaxas and her husband Eric of Manhattan, NY; Joseph Schiavone and his wife Caroline of Tinton Falls, NJ; Thomas C. Schiavone and his wife Lauren of Oceanport, NJ; her eight grandchildren: Elizabeth, Andrew, Theresa, Norma, Brittany, Annemarie, Jonathan, and Annerose; her brothers Frank West of Eatontown, NJ; William West of Augusta, Maine; sister Leslie Schmidt of Tinton Falls, NJ, and longtime friend of 79 years, Connie Comberg of Eatontown, NJ.

The funeral mass will be held on Saturday, April 24, 2021, at 9:15 am at St. Michael’s Church, 800 Ocean Avenue, Long Branch. Interment will follow at Woodbine Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Saint Vincent de Paul of Saint Michael’s Church. The family invites you to leave a letter of condolence by selecting the Tribute/Guestbook link above..