Sorce, Joanne was born in Santa Flavia, Sicily on November 12, 1932 and was born to Eternal Life in Shorewood, Wisconsin on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. Joanne was the only daughter born to her parents Agata Affatigato and Francesco Orobello. Joanne cared for her brothers growing up and learned her incredible cooking ability from her Papa. Her parents and her brothers, Francesco (Gemma); Vito; and Guglielmo; preceded her in death. She is survived by her dear sister-in-law, Ina Orobello; nieces: Agata (Michele) Piazzolla; Catia (Lillo) Burgio; and nephews: Francesco Orobello; and Giovanni (Irena) Orobello; cousin Catherine San Filippo and other extended family who reside in Sicily, Italy, and the United States.
Joanne was a loving mother to her two sons, Salvatore and Vito (Andrea). She was always helping with cleaning, decluttering, and cooking for her boys and their friends, and there was always an extra seat at the table for any meal. Joanne could whip out a gourmet meal in minutes and just needed to know when to “drop the pasta”. Joanne was also at the ready with “to go” meals for Vito and ALL of his coworkers if it was pans of lasagna, pans of Sfioncione, or platters of Arancini or Spiedini. Andrea could not have wished for a better mother-in-law and will always be grateful for Joanne’s love & support as well as her willingness to teach her all of her authentic Sicilian recipes and “little tricks”!
Joanne was so excited to be a Nonna to her two grandsons, Vito and Marco. She was the best Nonna they could have asked for, one who ruled with a firm hand, warm smile, and a fork full of pasta to “stuff them full“. Since the majority of Joanne‘s “sangu miu” still reside in Sicily and Italy, she has made many special friendships over the years and adored her special relationship with Zoy and Suzanne Maholias,Juan (Christina) Vargas; Amy, Pram, Coco, and Rocco; Andy, Liz, and Parker Hahn; and many other close friends who were like Famiglia.
Joanne was truly one of a kind. She was feisty and independent with a sparkle in her eyes and as she used to say, “nobody do what I do, honey.”
The family would like to thank Dr. Timothy Goggins for thinking “ outside the box”! We truly appreciate the incredible care, compassion and respect he and his whole team in Germantown showed Joanne and our family while navigating her oncology care.
We would also like to thank Lexi Oswald for her compassionate care and friendship when caring for Joanne; and Kathleen Hanson and the whole staff at Aurora Home Hospice.
Please join us on Thursday, June 12 at Schmidt & Bartelt Funeral Home, 10121 W. North Avenue in Wauwatosa from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM to celebrate Joanne‘s life. There will be a Catholic prayer service at 7:00pm. A private interment at Resurrection Cemetery will occur on Friday.