Joanne T. Volansky

Joanne Volansky passed peacefully from this world on Monday, August 21, 2023. Hers was a

life full of faith, love and laughter. She treasured family, made friends easily, and embraced life

fully. She was unfailingly positive, even in the face of incredible adversity. Everyone who knew

her loved her, and she, them.

Joanne was born on July 2, 1932, on Glastonbury Street in Detroit. She was the second

youngest of four children. James was her older brother, and Elaine and Sylvia, her younger

sisters. Another sister, Dorothy, died when she was only three years old. She adored the family

dog, Pal. She was particularly close with her mother, Leona. Unfortunately, Joanne lost her

mother when she was only fourteen years old. The loss thrust Joanne into the role of surrogate

mother for her two younger sisters. It was likely this tragic loss and subsequent new

responsibilities that molded her into the incredibly strong woman she became. This strength

manifested early in Joanne’s life. At around 18, she got a job as a cashier at Big Bear grocery

store, and she saved enough money to travel to Europe with her best friend at the time, Betty

Ores.

Joanne loved spending time with family. When she was twenty-five, she met and married Regis

Volansky. After learning that they were unable to have their own children, Joanne and Regis

adopted two baby boys, Paul and John. For many years, this close-knit family circle, which often

included Regis’s father, Andrew and Regis’s sister, Arlene, created wonderful memories

together on holidays, vacations, birthdays, school activities and so much more. She also

treasured her sisters and brother. They would all celebrate birthdays and holidays at each

other's homes with their children. She adored her nieces and nephews and helped them

whenever she could. Finally, Joanne loved her children fiercely. Paul recalls that when he would

have nightmares, Joanne would tell him, “Just think about nice things” while holding him tight in

her arms. She fondly remembered that on Mother’s Day, John would say, “Happy Your Day,

Mom!” She always used to say that John gave her gray hair because he enjoyed taking risks. It

turned out she was correct to worry.

On the 4th of July 1982, John was racing in his car with friends. He went off an overpass and

was killed instantly. Joanne and Regis were, naturally, devastated. She spoke years later of

John’s loss as feeling like a knife in her stomach which she gradually grew accustomed to

enduring. Only six years later, Joanne’s beloved Regis was diagnosed with brain cancer, and

Joanne nursed him at home for fourteen months until he finally passed on March 6, 1989. Many

would have crumbled beneath these losses, but not Joanne. She remained a faithful Christian

and a happy person all of her life. Julie, one of Joanne’s nieces through Regis’s family, claimed,

“She carried her grief with grace” She used to say all the time when she wondered or worried

about something that she would just “say a little prayer and turn it over to God.” Because of her

beautiful soul, everywhere she went, she made close friends, many of whom remained her

friends her entire life.

Paul married Sheila in 1986 and had four beautiful children - Erica, Leah, Sara, and AJ. She

absolutely doted on her grandchildren. She took them shopping. She had sleepovers at her

condo in Michigan and flew them and their parents to Florida every year to visit her at her condo

on Longboat Key on the Gulf of Mexico. After Paul and Sheila divorced, Paul remarried

Claudia, and Joanne immediately welcomed her, as well as her children, Dan, and Sara, into

her heart. Joanne had an incredible sense of humor, and Claudia remembers how much they

would laugh together when they would meet for lunch or at one of the many events Joanne

attended for her grandchildren.

Joanne had always been a highly intelligent, independent, and fun-loving woman, which was

why it was so very painful to watch her succumb to dementia these past years. She had gotten

a degree in accounting after raising her children. She was the first female Director of Finance

for Oakland County. She loved to travel, so she joined a travel group called the Nomads with

her sister-in-law, Arlene, and together they visited incredible places all over the world. Joanne

Volansky embraced life. And she will be remembered by all who knew her. Her story will

continue through those who loved her most.