2009
A Tribute to Aunt Joanie
The Last of our aunts

(The sisters with Mickey in April 1991)
( Eileen, Joanie, Mickey, Mary, and Rita)
My Aunt Joanie was something special. She was my mom's favorite sister since they were close in age. Her other two sisters Eileen and Rita were pretty awesome too. But there was something special between my mom (Mary) and Joanie. They both were a great pair to draw to. I can still remember going with them to poker casinos and bingo halls on a regular basis. When I was young I think the two took turns babysitting the kids (my brother, Mickey and my cousins Danny and Candi: Jimmy hadn't come along yet) while the other one took off for Vegas. Later in her years, I did meet her with my mom on a yearly basis in Vegas. Trips I really enjoyed. My brother and I had a special sign for Aunt Joanie. I don't think you'll find it in the deaf sign language books. It simple was putting our hand in front of our stomach and making a curve (to indicate she was pregnant with Candi) and then placing our two hands together to show we were diving into a pool. Aunt Joanie always had a pool and I owe alot of my swimming successes to her. The funniest thing is she basically was responsible for me being born. You see in high school she double dated with her sister Mary (my mom) and these two high school football players. My mom's date was a guy named Don Schenigee and his teammate was Joanie's date. His name was Harry. It was my dad. Thats how my folks met, and the rest is history. She was a very special, special person. We love you and will miss you.... By the way did I mention she was like Miss Pasadena and a real cutie.