Joseph Stefanizzi

Joseph Stefanizzi, 71, passed away on Tuesday, December 10, 2024, at home surrounded by his family. He was born September 6, 1953, in Brooklyn, New York to Nicholas and Amelia. From his time working at Rite Beer to his summers spent visiting their home in Smithtown, to the time his older brother Nicholas coached him and his fellow 5th graders to victory over their 8th grade counterparts on the gridiron, Joe was wealthy with fond memories of his youth. 

Though he held a number of jobs in his life, including serving as President of the Community School Board in District 14 of Brooklyn and working for the Florida Lottery which he retired from in 2019, Joe found none more fulfilling than his time as Assistant Executive Director of the Northside Senior Citizens Center.

Time with family was all Joe ever really wanted. He found unequaled joy in the occasions, momentous or mundane, that brought those he loved together. A family vacation to Disney, an afternoon around a television cheering on the Yankees or Giants, a wedding, or a quiet night playing Trivial Pursuit with his sons filled his heart.

 A man of immense kindness and deep humanity, Joe is survived by his wife, Joanne, who he shared 40- years of loving marriage with, his two sons Joseph and Daniel, his siblings Nicholas, Roseanne, and Robert, their spouses and children, and his sisters-in-law Theresa and Lisa, their spouses and children.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made towards pancreatic cancer research. The following are some suggested leading research centers: Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund at Johns Hopkins University (pathology.jhu.edu/pancreas/donate), Pancreatic Cancer and Surgical Oncology Fund at Stony Brook Cancer Center (stonybrookmedicine.edu), Pancreatic Cancer Research at Moffitt Cancer Center Foundation (fundraise.moffitt.org/give/563959).

Memorial Mass: December 30, 2024, 11am St. Stanislaus Kostka Church, 607 Humboldt Street, Greenpoint, NY 11222

Interment: St. John Cemetery, 80-01 Metropolitan Avenue, Middle Village, NY 11379