Toni Mayfield D'Alessandris

1954 - 2022

Toni Mayfield D'Alessandris

November 17, 1954 - May 4, 2022

Toni Mayfield D'Alessandris, 67, of Baltimore, Md., passed peacefully Wednesday, May 4, 2022, surrounded by family, after a seven year fight against MSA-P, a rare form of Parkinson's disease.

Toni was born Nov. 17, 1954, in Concord, to the late Henry Gilbert Mayfield and Sue Safrit Mayfield, and was raised in Hickory.

Toni attended Western Carolina University, where she graduated with a political science degree and worked as a high school history teacher in Alabama. She married Joe D'Alessandris shortly after college and moved frequently, following his football coaching career. Toni never met a stranger and had an amazing ability to develop lifelong friendships at each stop, to care for their girls with each move, and to hold the family together through each transition.

Toni was an avid tennis player who had a competitive spirit and loved to be on the court with her friends. She was a wonderful friend to so many and held her friends across the country very close. Toni was known for her love of sports, time spent outdoors, long walks, and trips to the North Carolina beaches. She was also actively involved in a number of community service organizations and cherished her involvement with Third Avenue Charitable Organization in San Diego, Calif.; Family Promise at Northminster Presbyterian Church in Roswell, Ga.; and Buffalo Dream Center in Buffalo, N.Y.

Through the challenging times battling the devastating disease of MSA-P, she worked so hard with Delgado Boxing in Atlanta and Rock Steady Boxing in Baltimore. A special thank you to the physical therapists, speech therapists, caregivers from 2nd Family, Dr. Andrew Tucker, and the neurologists at Johns Hopkins, in particular Dr. Alex Pantelyat. While the list of names is too long to mention here, thank you to all of you who helped Toni.

Above all, Toni's greatest joy was her family. She was a proud wife, mother, and grandmother to her three girls and four grandchildren, whom she dearly loved and brought exceptional happiness to her life. Toni is survived by her husband, Joe D'Alessandris; daughters, Anna Thomas and husband, Allen of Raleigh, Kelly Olsen and husband, Eric of Wilmington, Del., and Emily D'Alessandris of Washington, D.C.; grandchildren, Maxwell, Ella Murray, Mayfield, and Violet Thomas of Raleigh; sister, LeAnne Mahaffey and husband, Vernon of Hickory; brother, Rick Mayfield and wife, Barbara of Southport; sister-in-law, Linda Schoedel and husband, Tony of Portersville, Pa.; uncle, Bob Mayfield of Union City, Ga.; and her beloved nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m., Friday, May 13, at Northminster Presbyterian Church, 2400 Old Alabama Rd. in Roswell, Ga., officiated by the Rev. Patrick Day. The family will receive friends, at the church, following the service.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations in her memory be made to The MSA Coalition, 7918 Jones Branch Dr., Suite 300, McLean, VA 22102, www.multiplesystematrophy.org, or Northminster Presbyterian Church Pastors Discretionary Fund, 2400 Old Alabama Rd., Roswell, GA 30076, www.onrealm.org/NPCRoswell/-/form/give/now.