DRISCOLL, GIOVANNA “JOANNE”

Giovanna “Joanne” Driscoll passed away peacefully, surrounded by her daughters, at her home in Madison, CT on March 17th following a long illness. She was 87.

Joanne was born on June 24, 1933 in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of Croatian immigrants, John and Josephine Pavincich. She graduated from Brooklyn College with a degree in English in 1954 and became an editor at Doubleday Publishing in New York City. In 1960 she met her husband of 59 years, Thomas Driscoll, and they married in 1962. She and Tom had three daughters and a son, Tommy, who died in infancy. They moved to Stamford in 1974 and Joanne worked for many years at the Stamford Public Library and at United States Surgical Corporation in Norwalk. Joanne was also an avid writer. She wrote two novels, multiple short stories and countless poems. She published a novel, The Fame of their Holiness, and book of poetry, Speaking in the Light. Many of her works were semi-autobiographical and explored her life experiences including her experiences growing up in immigrant communities in Brooklyn in the 1940s and 1950s.

She was an active parishioner at St. Cecilia’s Church from 1974 until she retired to Madison, CT. in 2000. She then became an active parishioner at St. Margaret’s Roman Catholic Church in Madison

Joanne is survived by her daughters, Elizabeth Driscoll Jorgensen, Clare Driscoll and Emily Driscoll-Roe. She is also survived by her beloved siblings, Bill and Irene Pavincich as well as her seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild. She is also survived by many, many friends. She is preceded in death by her beloved husband, Thomas E. Driscoll and son, Thomas J. Driscoll as well as her brother, Frank Pavincich.

She was a loving, generous and compassionate person and will be greatly missed.

A funeral mass will be held at St. Margaret Roman Catholic Church in Madison, CT. on Saturday April 10th at 11 am. She will be interred, with her husband, at Pinelawn Cemetery in Long Island at a later date. In lieu of gifts, the family would appreciate donations in her honor to be made to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation https://themmrf.org/