Joan Marie Ricci Mazurek passed away peacefully into eternal rest on the early morning of April 9th, 2024 at St. Raphael’s Hospital. She was 82. She is finally reunited with her husband of 50 years, Robert A. Mazurek Sr., who passed away last year on April 25th.

Joan was born on January 9th, 1942, also at St. Ray’s, to Anthony Ricci and Marie Josephine Bristol Ricci. She is survived by brothers Robert (Marilyn) Ricci and Richard (Ann) Ricci, and predeceased by brother George (Helen) Ricci (“Donny”), and sister Elizabeth (“Uncle Bob”/Alphonse) Gaudio. Joan was a loving aunt to Mark Gaudio, Lisa (Joseph) Gaudio Turecek, Deborah Gaudio, Melissa (Matthew) Ricci Cadorette, Pamela (John) Roach, and Laura  (Dennis) Ricci Pincheck. She is predeceased by nephew Michael Ricci. On the Polish/Lithuanian side, she is survived by nephews Peter Kurtin, Chris (Christina) Kurtin, Robert (Kristen) Kurtin and niece Kimberly (Sean) Walsh. Joan is also survived by many cherished grandnieces and nephews whom she loved very much.

Joan grew up in Fair Haven on Clinton Avenue. She graduated from Wilbur Cross High School in 1960, then attended the University of New Haven. She worked in the accounting departments first at Shartenberg’s, then for several years at General Motors in North Haven. About this time, on a chance encounter at Malone’s in New Haven, Joan met the man of her dreams, Bob. After marriage, they had two boys, Robert Jr. and Drew, and the happy family moved from Chatham Street in Fair Haven to North Haven in 1980.

Joan was a dedicated and loving mother from that point on, sacrificing a good career to devote all her time, love, and energy to her home and family. She was also the ultimate hostess. She loved tailgating at the Yale Bowl (rooting for the Bulldogs), where her tables were something to behold, each and every home game, rain or shine! Her favorite occasion, though, was Christmas Eve, where she would decorate the whole house inside and out, starting right after Halloween! Those are the nights we will never forget… most parties lasted until dawn.

Joan also enjoyed the yearly summer vacations, starting on Lake Arrowhead in Limerick, Maine; then on to Cape Cod; then to California to visit her son Drew at Stanford several times; then down to Florida for a night launch of the Space Shuttle, ending in Key West.

Everyone who knew Joan knew that she had a definite gift of gab, to say the least! She used this gift and her high energy to spearhead several town crusades. Joan was the main reason sewers were finally connected up in the Cloudland area in the mid 80’s. And nine times out of ten, if you opened a local paper you were destined to see one of her hundreds of “Letters to the Editor”! Her toughest fight was saving Peter’s Rock and turning it into the gem it is today. She created the group, “Citizens for the Preservation of Peter’s Rock, LLC.” Through numerous petition drives, teaming up with local, state, and government officials, the Army Corps of Engineers, and Yale scientists, Joan and her group defeated low income housing, condos and even a golf course. Any one of these proposals would have destroyed the natural beauty of Peter’s Rock and the Montowese area. She was a true conservationist!

Joan was larger than life (all 5 feet of her) and truly a fearless woman! She will be sorely missed by all those who are blessed to have known her. May she rest in peace. But as for the souls who were already at peace…?

Visiting hours will be Friday, April 12th from 4 to 7 PM at The Havens Family North Haven Funeral Home, 36 Washington Avenue.  A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated on Saturday, April 13th, 2024, in St. Elizabeth of the Trinity Parish at St. Therese Church, 555 Middletown Avenue, North Haven at 10:00 AM.  Interment will follow in All Saints Cemetery.