Joanne E. Connell

Joanne E. (DeMello) Connell of North Attleboro, MA, passed away peacefully at home on Thursday January 19, 2023, surrounded by family. She was the beloved wife of Philip Paul Connell, Jr., whom she married in 1965 and has missed dearly since his passing in 2017.
Born on April 27, 1943 in Scituate, MA, Joanne was daughter to Florence and Joseph DeMello. She met Paul as a teenager, while working at an A&P grocery store with his sister Celia. This was often described to family as love at first sight, and they remained each other's soulmates thereafter.
As a young woman she completed nursing school, and she continued to care for patients in various hospitals and nursing homes during the decades that followed. However, her deeply rooted traits of selfless kindness and compassion were best experienced firsthand within her family and circle of friends. She always put the interests of others ahead of her own and never expected anything in return.
Joanne most enjoyed spending time with family whether around the pool, sailing, weekending in Vermont and New Hampshire, her steadfast good nature and easygoing personality could always be counted on by all in attendance She was a master knitter, and nearly everyone in the family has one of JoJo's beautiful creations. Just last week, her grandson Ryan was seen wearing his favorite blue stocking hat that she made eight years ago. Joanne loved to eat, especially when it was one of her daughter's homecooked meals or fresh breads. She was not known to pass up the homemade baked sweets or ice creams that frequently followed.
She is survived by her loving children: Susan M. Kane and her husband, Sean E. Kane, of Seekonk, MA; Pamela A. Lumnah and her husband, Richard J. Lumnah, of North Attleboro, MA; and Philip P. Connell III and his wife, Melissa S. McMahill, of Chicago, IL. She was the proud and adoring grandmother of Jake, Ian, Seamus, Ryan, and Delaney. Joanne was sister to Jean Molinari and her husband, Arthur Molinari, of Duxbury, MA; Michael DeMello and his wife, Donna DeMello, of Scituate, MA; and Linda Cass and her husband Edward Cass, of Scituate, MA. She also leaves numerous nieces and nephews and many dear friends.
Joanne will be celebrated in a small private service among family, just as she preferred to live her life.
For additional information or to send the family a written expression of sympathy, please visit an online guest book at www.dyer-lakefuneral home.com
Arrangements are under the direction of the Dyer-Lake Funeral Home, 161 Commonwealth Avenue, Village of Attleboro Falls, North Attleboro, MA.508-695-0200