Joy Giordano Conhagen, 91, went home to be with her Lord Aug. 28 at the Atrium in Red Bank after a long struggle. Her life was devoted to her family, her friends and her faith. Joy was born in January 1927 in Long Branch. She grew up in Long Branch and was a lifelong resident of Monmouth County which she always considered her home even during the years she lived abroad.
A graduate of Miss Beard’s School in Orange, Joy went on to attend Chambersburg Junior College in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. She always had a love for family which was reflected in her work with the Monmouth County Old Age Assistance where she worked after completing her formal education.
Joy was the foundation and strength of the family. She had a very full life and loved to visit with and be visited by her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. In her youth she was a competitive swimmer, going on to become a lifeguard. Throughout her life her competitive nature shined through playing games of all sorts. She enjoyed many things including painting. She painted many pictures of clowns and even undertook the difficult job of painting a portrait of one of her granddaughters-in-law. She was also a great story teller, regaling her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren with stories, some even based on fact, others made out of whole cloth, all to the delight and amusement of all within earshot.
Joy was blessed with a great Presbyterian Women Circle of friends from Tower Hill Presbyterian Church. Despite her illness they continued to include Joy, meeting at the Atrium as recently as this past June. Joy delighted in drawing closer to the Lord Jesus with these friends. Joy’s church was an important part of her life and she had the privilege of serving as a deacon, as a volunteer in MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) program, as well as circle leader.
She is preceded by her father and mother, the Honorable John C. Giordano and Ruth H. Giordano, and her brother John (“Jack”) C. Giordano Jr. She is survived by her sister, Gloria Henneberry, her three children, Wyckliffe Furcron (Jeanne); Christine Treger (Henry) and Alfred (“Aly”) Conhagen III (Sandra). Much to her delight Joy had six grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held Sept. 8 at 11 a.m. at Tower Hill Presbyterian Church, 255 Harding Road in Red Bank. In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, P.O. Box 5014, Hagerstown, MD 21741. Letters of condolence may be sent at damianofuneralhome.com.
