Online Obituaries

Joan passed peacefully into our Lord Jesus’ Hands on October 2, 2023 at Holyoke Medical Center. She was surrounded by family and loved ones. Joan was born in Berlin, NH on July 23, 1938 to Olivette (Theberge) and Gerard Thibodeau. She attended Saint George’s School and graduated from Chicopee High School. Joan worked for Zayer’s Dept. Store for many years before retiring from Ames Corporation. Joan will be remembered as an extremely loving and caring woman who often put others needs before her own and sometimes to her detriment. She was the most generous caring person, always wanting to help and doing so with a smile. Thinking of others before herself, Joan was the social beacon of her neighborhood always welcoming new faces that she saw, especially those she saw walking their dogs. If she saw a dog, no matter where, she had to stop and pet it. She made Taylor Street a truly special, lively place to live and will be missed deeply by all her neighbors. Joan is survived by her beloved son, Bryan Jon Zajchowski and his partner, Sheleen Schiera; her daughter, Diane Marie Zajchowski, her niece, Jasmine (Thibodeau) Cooper and her husband, David. Joan will also be missed by her grandson, Elijah Zajchowski and his wife, Amanda and their three children Katiana, Remi and Ivan; as well as her granddaughter, Eden Zajchowski. Joan’s best friend, Holly Peloquin misses her and will continue to miss her deeply. A memorial service will be held for Joan at the Cierpial Memorial Funeral Home at 69 East Street Chicopee, MA on November 24^th  2023 at 9 am followed by a service at the Massachusetts Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Agawam at 11 am.