Joan Marie Ranucci

Joan Marie Ranucci

Peru, IN - On the afternoon of Saturday, December 5, 2020, time froze for an instant when Joan Ranucci, proudly of Peru, Indiana, died peacefully at the generous age of 87, holding the hand of her only child, and soothed with thoughts and prayers of her many friends and family members.

Joan was born to Marion (Vanderpool) Monahan and Gerald Monahan in the summer of 1933, in Binghamton, New York. She was a smart-as-a-whip student in her aunt's one-room schoolhouse, near the Monahan family dairy farm, the only girl and oldest of four siblings. She attended Montrose (Pennsylvania) High School for two years, graduating from Binghamton (New York) Central High School at the age of 16.

Joan blazed through young adulthood with her brothers Jerry (Gerald Monahan, surviving), Jimmy (James Monahan, pre-deceased) and Michael (Michael Monahan , pre-deceased). She met a handsome war veteran nine years her senior, Richard (Ric) Rocco Ranucci, and they married in 1955, staying happily wed for 56 years until Ric passed in 2011. In 1957, outside Cambridge, England, she had her only child, Richard (Rick) Ranucci, and for life these two were "thick as thieves", as Joan might describe them.

Joan lived the far-flung life of a military retiree's wife, including assignments in Wisconsin, Indiana, North Carolina and Alaska. In the Sixties, she ascended to general manager of three popular bar restaurants in Peru. After maintaining an office at the Westward Hotel in Anchorage, Alaska she returned to Peru to manage the Tally Ho Steakhouse. Ultimately, she became the first woman (it is said) to manage a military golf course, the one at Grissom Air Force Base, which she subsequently leased and ran. Joan was good and successful in business.

Joan organized holiday parties for children with intellectual disabilities. She belonged to the Moose and Eagles. She was an active member of the VFW and an officer of the Ladies' Auxiliary. She belonged to St. Charles Catholic Church in Peru. In over 20 years, she never missed a single school Grandparent Day in Indianapolis. Her kind actions were legend among her friends.

In addition to aforementioned family, Joan was survived by: great-granddaughter Nell Chan-Ranucci; granddaughter Jessica Ranucci (and her partner Chris Chan); grandson Marc Ranucci; grandson Jack Ranucci, daughter-in law Barbara Burcope (and her children Emily, Tyler and Justin); sister-in-law Joann Monahan; niece Lisa (Monahan) Zikuski (and husband Joseph, sons Matthew, Nick, Danny and John, and daughter Ashley); nephew Sean Monahan (and wife Nadine, and children Brett and Sydney); nephews Michael and Rocco Ranucci (and families); nieces Jennifer, Julie and Janie; cousin James "Joe" Monahan (and family); cousins Betty Ann, Michelle, Gigi, Patricia, Dennis, Cathy (and families) (all Monahans or formerly Monahans); cousin Marty Vanderpool (and family); former daughter-in-law Kathy St. Louis (and her husband Dale St. Louis) - among other extended family members.

Joan was pre-deceased by these additional family, among others: in-laws Armando and Anna Ranucci, aunt Gert (Monahan) Brewer (and Husband Morris and son Corky); uncle Bernard Manahan; Uncle Francis Monahan (and wife Maureen); Uncle Joseph Monahan (and wife Betty); Uncle Martin Vanderpool (and wife and daughter Margie); and brother-in-law and sister-in-law Armando (Steve) and Laura Ranucci.

She adopted golf as a mainstay - "that or lose a husband", she quipped. She performed slapstick in a community theatre tent and rode on a Circus Parade float in a bubble bath. Her sense of humor was indelible, evidenced by a frequent and crinkled laugh. Reader's Digest selected her quips for publication. She liked playing at casinos but cautioned, "Don't bet what you can't lose." She had a gift for gab and wise advice.

In her earlier days, Joanie was no enemy of grasshoppers (the cocktail) or crooners. She saw Tony Bennett perform live near Atlantic City in 1952, then again live at the Palladium in Carmel, Indiana, sixty-seven years later, in 2019. She sported purple hair at the second performance. She enjoyed life.

Joan succumbed to Covid-19. She called it a "terrible disease" and warned us to "please take it seriously and be very careful." In this spirit, there will be no service soon in Peru. However, friends and fellows can expect future notice of a safe party celebrating her life in July, 2021, her birth month. She will be laid to rest with her husband, mom, and dad in St. Augustine's Catholic Cemetery in Brackney, PA on Saturday, December 12, 2020 at 12:30pm near the family farm in New York State - just as she wanted.

To her friends and family, and especially her son, Joan Ranucci was a force of nature. Her absence is as sad as the memory of her is joyous, which is very much.