JoAnne P. Spencer, a long-time resident of Naples, FL, passed away peacefully with family by her side after a courageous nine-year battle with metastatic breast cancer on June 10, 2024. Despite the years of ongoing cancer treatment, she maintained her resolve, along with her warmth and smile, largely because she wanted to continue to be present in the lives of her loved ones and to enrich the life of anyone whom she met.
JoAnne was born on March 23, 1947 to Rocco and Philomena D’Amato in Haverhill, MA.
She graduated from Lesley College (now Lesley University) in 1969 and immediately began her career in the 1970’s as an elementary school teacher in Massachusetts. The lessons she not only taught the students, but more importantly that she learned as a person during those years, she would later credit with much of her success in business and in life.
Upon moving to Naples, FL with her previous husband, David Spencer, and after the birth of her only child, Eric, in 1979, she spent the first five years at home raising him. Once Eric began elementary school, JoAnne officially embarked on her real estate career as realtor at John R. Wood Realtors, where she would thrive for the next two decades. She infused her kindness and genuine interest in others into her role. So many of her clients from all over the world became close friends, and she was so proud of the level of success she achieved, but not nearly as proud as she was that she had positively impacted couples and families—as they built houses into homes and raised families.
Even though JoAnne retired from working in real estate full-time in the early 2000’s, she was far from done with being active and having an impact in the community. She volunteered for thousands of hours and for over a decade in the Cardiology department of the Naples Community Hospital (now Naples Comprehensive Health), where she was adored by the medical staff and patients.
She was beloved by many because she was kind to everyone, remained humble, and showed genuine interest in their lives. She could make a family member feel like the most important person in the world, a friend feel like a close family member, and she could turn a complete stranger into almost an old friend in the span of minutes. And if there was a baby within a one-mile radius, you could bet that JoAnne was trying to make them smile and the mother feel special at the same time.
She loved spending quality time with family and friends, long walks along the beautiful Naples beaches, and seemingly all entertainment related to the British monarchy. An avid reader, you could always find JoAnne at home no more than a few feet from her latest read (and often several at once). She always kept a calm, composed demeanor, except when the New England Patriots or Duke University’s basketball team were playing important games—in which case she would nervously sit on the edge of her seat, the passion for those teams coursing through her veins, as she willed them to victory.
Church attendance and aiding the church’s ministries were always a priority in her life. In her first two decades in Naples, she was a devoted member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, and in the more recent years she was actively involved at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Bonita Springs, FL.
JoAnne embodied what it means to live in the present moment each day and to lovingly put others before herself—picking up the spirits of anyone around her.
She is survived by her son, Eric Spencer, of Naples, FL; her sister, Anita D’Amato, of Salisbury Beach, MA; step-daughters Kristin Cassidy (Scott) and Marcy Hesseling (Ryan) of Pensacola, FL; sister-in-law, Nancy Eberhardt (Eric) of Naples; brother-in-law, Dan Norris (Kathy) of Marietta, GA, in addition to extended family members and loved ones in both the United States and Italy.
She was preceded in death by her late husband, Ted Norris of Naples, and her parents, Rocco D’Amato and Philomena D’Amato of Salisbury Beach, MA.
From the all-time classic novel and one of JoAnne’s personal favorites, The Prophet, by Kahlil Gibran:
“In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.”
A celebration of JoAnne’s life is being planned in Naples, FL with a likely date in early September—with more details to follow. There will also be a private family ceremony in Massachusetts later this summer.
In lieu of flowers, please see the donation information below for a favorite organization of JoAnne’s, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital - https://www.stjude.org
Posted online on June 26, 2024
Published in Naples Daily News
