Joan Ferrari

1936 - 2019

Joan Ferrari
May 5, 1936 - August 1, 2019
Atherton
Joan Rae Ferrari, a resident of Atherton and beloved member of the community since 1969, passed away on August 1st. She was 83 years old.
Joan was born in Salt Lake City, Utah and her family moved to California when she was a child. While attending Palo Alto High School, she met her soulmate Clarence "Bud" Ferrari on a blind date. They fell madly in love and were inseparable from that moment on. Following her graduation from San Jose State, Joan married Bud in 1957. She was an elementary school teacher for several years and later worked in her husband's law office as a paralegal. Her family was her main focus and greatest joy.
With their daughters, Mary Lynn and Lisa, Joan and Bud enjoyed idyllic summers in Tahoe, family tennis at the Menlo Circus Club, and adventures overseas. While her daughters attended local schools, Joan was active in the Junior League, Art in Action, and Kappa Alpha Theta alumni activities. In later years, when she and Bud were enjoying their home in Palm Desert, she tutored children in the "Read with Me" program.
Joanie adored being a grandmother. She faithfully attended her granddaughters' activities, including Alyssa's diving meets and Lauren's tennis matches. Experienced travelers, she and Bud loved to take their children and grandchildren on trips. They ventured to faraway places including Africa, Italy and the Galapagos, though The Alisal Guest Ranch and Hawaii were always Joan's favorite destinations. In recent years, she was delighted to attend Alyssa's wedding and was very much looking forward to Lauren's nuptials in the fall. In 2018, she enjoyed the incredible gift of becoming a great-grandmother to Alyssa's son, Gray Berardi.
Joan's friends and family members will miss her warm heart and quick wit, her happy smile and contagious laugh, and the twinkle in her beautiful blue eyes. They will miss seeing her on the golf course, at the bridge table, and out to dinner surrounded by her friends. Most of all, they will miss her devotion and unconditional love for her husband Bud and her family. Joan lived a colorful, fairytale life, which was reflected in the bright artwork and vivid flowers in her inviting home.
Joan is survived by her husband of 62 years, Bud; her daughter Mary Lynn Robinson and son-in-law Kyle; her daughter Lisa Marie Ferrari; her granddaughter Alyssa Ann Berardi, Alyssa's husband Matt Berardi and her great-grandson Grayson Kar Berardi; her granddaughter Lauren Claire Robinson and Lauren's fiancé Barron Swope. She is also survived by Lupe and Ricardo Orozco and their three children who have been a part of the Ferrari family for over thirty years.
In lieu of contributions in her name may be made to: Read with Me or East Palo Alto Tennis (EPATT)
Her funeral will be held on Friday, August 23rd at Nativity Church at 1:30PM


View the online memorial for Joan Ferrari