Joan Cessna Piccola Carney Obituary (1949 - 2025)

Miste Pratchios '67 said:

I will always remember Joan for her kindness and loving spirit. She was one of the two girls I always considered "My friends" in high school. I spent many a Friday night at her home, and it was easy to see just why she was like she was. Her parents were the same and so kind to me each time I visited. They had money, and I came from none.

One especially touching visit that has lingered with me my entire life is this: we decided to go to the Boston store to shop (anyone remember that store?) anyway as we were getting out of the car, her father asked if Joan needed any money to go shopping, and she said no, and then I heard him say to me, "Do yoou need any money to shop Miste?" I suppose if I had admitted that I had no money, he would have generously given me some, but of course, I would never have admitted that I had no money. Each time I returned to Erie over the years, I'd make it a point to connect with her. I am sorry to learn, a year after her passing, that she is no longer on this earth I inhabit. Joan, I will anxiously look you up when it is my turn to return home. I love you and respect you as one of the dearest women I have ever met.