Joanne Amelia Montoro

Joanne Amelia Montoro, 76, died peacefully in her home in Waleska, Georgia, on August 1, 2012. She spent her final days in the company of family and close friends. The Funeral Mass will be at 6:30 p.m. Monday, August 6, 2012, at Our Lady of La Salette Catholic Church, Canton, Georgia, burial in church cemetery with the Reverend Victor Reyes presiding. Joanne was born in Denver, Colorado on July 25, 1936, to Joseph Slavenski and Ethel Marie Hessling. She attended Cerritos College where she earned an Associate of Arts Degree in Paralegal Studies. She valued hard work and her independence, and she remained employed until the final weeks of her life. Joanne began serving the elderly and the poor at the age of twelve when she defied her grandmother and rode the bus to volunteer for Little Sisters of the Poor in Southern California. She dedicated her life to Christ, the Catholic Church and service to the needy. Joanne was a member of Our Lady of La Salette where she served as Eucharistic Minister, Head Sacristan, Mass Coordinator, Extraordinary Minister of Communion to the Sick and Homebound, Coordinator of Alter Servers, Catechist in Parochial School of Religion, Usher, and Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion. She also participated in Emmaus Walk and Saint Elizabeth Women’s Guild. She was selected as Our Lady of La Salette Woman of the Year for 2012. For decades, she served the sick and aged in the community, administering communion to those in nursing homes, hospitals and the homebound. She enjoyed teaching alter servers and experienced great joy in sharing her love with children. Joanne was preceded in death by her son Michael Montoro and brothers Charles and Sonny Slavenski. Immediate survivors include daughter Cynthia Krewson, her husband John Krewson, granddaughters Hali and Kira Krewson, and dearest friend Belva Wadleigh all of Waleska. Other survivors include sister-in-law Ann Marie Slavenski of Oregon, brother Julian Slavenski and wife Toni of Colorado, sister Louise Callahan and husband Charles of Arizona, sister Tinsey Van Duyn and husband Donald of Wyoming, sister Virginia Tucker and husband Charles of Tennessee, Tom and Kathy Laviers, Ryan Laviers, and Brandi and Keith Fletcher of Arizona, and many more nieces, nephews, and friends.

Tributes

Joanne Amelia Montoro

August 3, 2012