JoAnne (Giovanna) Chrisohon, 98, peacefully passed away at home on October 23, 2023.
She was born on January 2, 1925, in New York City, to the late Francesco and Lucia Maffei, the third of six children. She was first generation American and proud of it! She also was proud of her Italian heritage and in later life used her given name of Giovanna with family and friends.
As the child of immigrants, the value of education and doing a job well were instilled at an early age. She graduated from Washington Irving High School and then continued her “education” through a range of jobs from a teenager through adulthood.
She was a salesgirl at Wannamaker’s Department Store, a secretary at a brokerage firm, an administrative assistant in a firm in Puerto Rico and ultimately served as a registrar at New York Hospital and NYU Medical Center. She enjoyed the work so much that for a period she worked days at New York Hospital and weekends at NYU.
After she retired from both hospitals, she later was offered another NYU position. This last position at NYU was truly her “dream job” of serving as a patient advocate, helping patients navigate through the process of obtaining tests and procedures. She retired a second time from NYU when she was near 80.
As a native New Yorker, she enjoyed the many cultural offerings that the City provided frequently going with family and friends to dance performances, jazz concerts and museums. She was a woman of beauty and wit with a sharp sense of style. “An Educated Consumer” with a keen eye and excellent taste, she ferreted out extraordinary values in the fashion aisles. Many through the years were the beneficiaries of her sartorial gifts and advice which never waivered or declined.
She is predeceased by her parents, and three of her siblings, Carmela Dittberner, Michele Torcivia and John Maffei. She is survived by her daughters Michele Chrisohon, Greenwich residents Cheryl Dunson and her son-in-law Dan Dunson, her “granddaughter” Katarina Warnick, her siblings Marie Maggio and Nicholas Maffei and many family and friends. Her family is extremely grateful to Lovely Humphries, Fatima Hydara, Josephine Jones, Lara May Mananquil, and Rosario Perena for the skilled and loving care that they provided Giovanna.
Viewing hours will be held on Thursday, October 26, 2023 from 2-4:00pm and 6:00-8:00pm at Frank E. Campbell Funeral Home 1076 Madison Avenue at 81st Street New York, NY 10028. The evening hours will include a small service of “remembrance.”
Burial will be on Friday, October 27 at 11:00am in St Raymond’s cemetery, Bronx, New York.
Memorial contributions in Giovanna’s name may be made to: St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital or to Memorial Sloan Kettering .
For more information, to sign the online guestbook or to leave online condolences visit at: https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/new-york-ny/joanne-chrisohon-
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