Thanksgiving was always one of the top holidays for Joanne. She would plan numerous side dishes for a massive Thanksgiving feast for Jacquelyn and I, but honestly all I wanted was the turkey, potatoes and gravy. And of course, the pumpkin pie! But she and Jacquelyn loved sides, and if she forgot to make or serve one or two of them, they still had plenty to choose from. All from old family recipes and all delicious.

Of course the real meaning of the holiday is to be thankful for what you have. Unfortunately the other lesson is that we're reminded of what we once had, but no longer have.

I am thankful that I was able to love and be with Joanne for 35 years, but frankly it's miserable without her.

Happy Thanksgiving Joey. Enjoy those sides at your feast and don't worry about forgetting the green beans.

This picture was taken, I believe, at Christmas time 1985. Both Joanne and Jacquelyn are so beautiful in it.

Of course Joanne loved cats, and they loved her. She found this poor little black kitten abandoned in Tucson Mountain Park, the little thing stuck with many cholla cactus needles. She immediately named it "Cholla" and a good home was found for the little fellow. It wasn't the last stray that she would take in.

Few people know that Joanne spent time in jail with the notorious Colombian drug lord, Pablo Escobar.

Elaine Modiest was one of Joanne's cousins, the one farthest away geographically in California but perhaps her closest in terms of their mutual bonds. Elaine and her husband Les, and their daughter Alison were in so many ways near to Joanne's heart, as well as to mine and Jacquelyn. I think this photo is from 2001.

Nancy Clare was always a very special and good friend to Joanne, and later, to me. When Joanne made a trip back East with her cousin Elaine to reconnect with people and places there - I think in 2001 - she met with Nancy and the two rekindled their friendship.

It was one of the hardest things I ever had to do, telling Nancy of Joanne's passing.

Joanne loved Christmas more than any other holiday, I think, though she was always excited about all of the Fall and Winter occasions. In this picture you can plainly see the happiness that the Christmas spirit of love and kindness brought to her, almost childlike but so, so very beautiful radiating from her face.

Every family starts with two individuals, and grows from there. Our wedding was our formal agreement that we two would be together forever. I've posted a slide show under "Stories" that shows the whole wedding, but I wanted to share this photo again here, because Joanne was the most beautiful bride I've ever seen.

Death is nothing at all...

Inside DeGrazia's Chapel where Joanne and I were wed, January 1998

Unknown date, living in Tucson AZ.

Christmas time, 1986 in New Jersey.

Unknown date

December 1986

May 1986

10/31/87

"my hair isn't white or grey - I don't know why those few strands in the front look the way they do."

May 1986. I originally wrote 1985, but that can't be right or else Jacquelyn was - 1 month old!

...or sand.

At Hollywood FL Beach 2/86

Beautiful mother and daughter whether in snow...

But there was always time to play.

9/13/86

Nothing was more important to Joanne than family.

In a sense, Joanne and Jacquelyn grew up together. Joanne had to transition from her professional life and fewer family type responsibilities, to the role of loving mother who had immense love for our daughter, and a fierce sense of caring.

Upstate NY at family gathering 7/12/86

Mother and daughter, December 1985. Both so beautiful.

Three generations - Wawee Julia Melnichak (her father's mother), Joanne, and Jacquelyn, April 1998.

In Tucson, probably late 1985 or early 1986.

Celebrating surviving nearly a full year of parenthood in May 1986.

Joanne and Jacquelyn during a visit by our close friends the Monck family in June 1986. Margherita's passing in 2014 crushed Joanne, she was such a very good friend and mentor starting at the Village Voice and for decades after. I imagine they're catching up on things now. Oddly, they both passed at age 66.

Joanne wanted to be a good mother, but as it turned out she was a great one! Here she is with Jacquelyn in February 1986 at Hollywood Fl beach - "Please notice my T shirt". She always loved Old Town Artisans (Courtyard) in Tucson, or as she'd jokingly call it, Old Town Courtesans Artyard.

Joanne and Gene were married in 1971, and as an older husband for the young woman of 21, they had a lot of social activities, many centered on sailing. This is the couple on their skipjack, which was sunk mysteriously and which Joanne and I later donated to an environmental organization, Monmouth County Friends of Clearwater in 1984.

Gene Fidler (Joanne's first husband,) loved photography and took a bunch of portrait type pictures of a young Joanne. She kind of always hated these because she thought most of them didn't make her look that great, but I love them. The good thing is that the large number of these made certain that some would survive the vagaries of life and bad storage. The bad thing is that there's a lot of other pictures to comb through, as he took pictures of nature, cars, people who I have no clue about, etc. Anyway, I like her Mona Lisa smile in this one.

Before there was a Jacquelyn, there was a Village Voice staff AND Joanne's much loved step daughter Jennifer (Gene's daughter) to keep entertained in our New Jersey "estate." It featured an ancient farmhouse that was always under repair, and an inground pool. So naturally, we hung out by the pool, barbecuing and drinking beer, and having fun! Jennifer is seated in the center, Joanne at the right side. I apologize for not remembering everyone else's name, but you'll see that a LOT from me.

One of Joanne's favorite places in the world when she was growing up was Oak Creek Campground in Lancaster, PA. She and her family spent more leisure time there than anywhere else - even in the winter!

Jo spent a large part of her life in New Jersey - with her parents for a short while, then married to Gene and finally, married to me. One thing that she absolutely loved about the East Coast was THE SNOW! And when she had a little daughter to share it with, to show new snowy and Christmassy things to...well, that was pure heaven for Joanne.