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Joanne May Delnero passed away this past
summer. She had been diagnosed with
Alzheimer’s Disease in September of 1999.
She was later diagnosed with Parkinson’s
Disease as well. Joanne was kept at home with
her family right up to the end. It was not easy
for any of her children or grandchildren to see
her suffer with this illness, but it was the
right decision to honor her this way. She had
wonderful, compassionate care from her family
and also from her doctors, the visiting nurses
and hospice. She passed away only two days
after her husband’s and father’s
graves were moved from Southampton to Ostrander
Cemetery in New York. This was something that
we promised her before we moved.
Joanne May Delnero, the daughter of June
Kenyon Gerrish and the late Floyd E. Gerrish,
was born on July 4, 1939 in Brattleboro Vermont
along with her twin brother Jerry who passed
away in 1991. She graduated from Baystate
Nursing School. She met her husband when he
came in to the hospital as her patient with a
ruptured kidney. Robert
J. Delnero soon became the love of her
life. They were married on June 4, 1960 in
Woodbury, Connecticut. There were very few
times that this couple would be apart. In 1963,
Bob and Joanne started Agawam Pine Furniture in
Feeding Hills with the help of Joanne’s
dad who had come to live with them. In 1976,
the business and family moved to the former
Swazey place in Southampton. Visitors were
treated to 18 rooms, mostly decorated in
Joanne’s favorite color of red, and with
beautiful flower gardens chock full of tiger
lilies. Often they were welcomed with a cup of
coffee and some kind of cake. She was indeed
“the hostess with the mostest”.
Joanne's 1959 RN
graduation picture. Mom
graduated from Baystate
School of Nursing.
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Bob and Joanne enjoying a coffeebreak.
Many a customer bought their furniture
at this table while enjoying a cup of
coffeeand a homemade snack.
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Joanne was a driving force in the
business. Some say she was the reason for its
success throughout the years. Her duties
included all the bookkeeping and daily
operations of the business. She kept her homes
in showroom condition at all times. In truth,
we enjoy the prosperity of our business because
of the sweat of our parents. We consider this
to be our inspiration as we seek to do the
same.
Joanne, or Nonny as she was preferably
known by, had a special fondness for children.
Her scrapbooks contain programs from
performances and ceremonies, newspaper
articles, thank-you notes, stories and
hand-drawn pictures. They were all important to
her. Of course, her grandchildren were her
gems. She delighted in everything they did. We
think her “cheerleading spunk”
stayed with her for her whole life.
Joanne holding Hunter
Leveille. Nothing brought
her more pleasure than
being around babies.
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Bob and Joanne in a one horse open
sleigh. Westfield Massachusetts
January 1998.
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Nonny loved Christmas, and kept its
spirit with her throughout the year. This
Christmas is a sad reminder for us of all the
fun years we all had together. Mom’s
love, caring and enthusiasm fills us with
wonderful memories that will remain in our
hearts forever.
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