JoAnn Matraxia Cacciarelli

JoAnn Matraxia Cacciarelli died peacefully in Goodyear, Arizona on the 22nd of June 2024 at the age of 78.

She is survived by her husband of 59 years, Dr. Alexander A. Cacciarelli, her three sons Tony and his wife Julie Miller, Guy and his wife Dusty Bjorklund Cacciarelli, and Alexander and his partner Christine Johnson, and three grandsons Jack, Joey, and Rogie. She also leaves behind her brother, Vincent "Tanky" Matraxia, and his daughters, Danielle Jeannetti and Natalie Campbell, her sister-in-law, Elaine Cacciarelli, and brother-in- law, Robert Cacciarelli, his daughter Julia Ann Horner & her husband Jeff and his son Anthony Cacciarelli & his wife Jennifer, as well as many beloved cousins, relatives, and friends.

JoAnn was born in Jersey City, NJ on September 1, 1945, the child of Rose (Feltz) and Guy (Guido) Matraxia.

She was raised in Belleville, NJ and graduated from Belleville High School in 1963, where she was a member of the National Honor Society. She was also active as a cheerleader, participated in Student Council, and Junior Senate.

JoAnn then attended Katharine Gibbs Secretarial School in Montclair, NJ, and subsequently worked for Titanium Metal Corporation.

She married Alexander A. Cacciarelli on June 12, 1965, in New Jersey, and afterwards moved to Forbes AFB in Topeka, Kansas for two years and then St. Louis, Missouri for four years. During these times and afterwards, she was active raising her 3 sons.

JoAnn spent the next 30 years with her family in West Bloomfield and Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. While there, JoAnn enjoyed her career as an experienced realtor and became regional and then state President of The Woman’s Council of Realtors.

In 2005, she and her husband retired to Thousand Oaks, California to be closer to their sons and grandchildren, all of whom at the time lived in California. Three years ago, they relocated to a 55+ community in Goodyear, Arizona.

JoAnn was an avid tennis player and golfer. In Arizona she played on a competitive Bocce Team. To all who knew JoAnn, she was a smiling, fun-loving, up-beat person. While in high school, she was one of a group of young women who formed a “social club”, Pi Gamma Sigma, that continued into adulthood, gathering regularly at various locations to enjoy their life-long friendship.

We’ll all remember JoAnn for being a terrific cook and loving to be surrounded by family and friends, especially celebrating holidays with good food and playing long, drawn-out card games.

A visitation of her ashes will be held on Friday, July 26, 2024, between 5 and 9 p.m. at the Ippolito-Stellato Funeral Home at 425 Ridge Road, Lyndhurst, NJ.

Placement of the ashes will be held on Saturday, July 27, 2024, at 11 a.m. at the Holy Cross Cemetery & Mausoleum at 340 Ridge Road, North Arlington, NJ.

In lieu of flowers, and if you wish, please donate to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, or a charity of your choice.