HAVERHILL - Joanne (Ursano) Kennedy, 81, passed away peacefully on Thursday, August 17, surrounded by loved ones. Joanne was born in Haverhill to Louis and Sarah Ursano. She and her twin, Patricia (Ursano) Deroian, were the youngest of five children in a close-knit Italian-American family.

Joanne graduated from Haverhill High School in 1959 and took pride in all the jobs she held, working for over twenty years at Public Finance in downtown Haverhill and later for Modern Age Travel where she eventually became a travel agent. She loved to explore new places and enjoyed helping others make the most of their travels. She made friends at all of her jobs and kept many of them for the rest of her life.

Joanne was easy to be around, always interested in the well-being of others and quick to give a compliment or make a joke. She was an attentive listener which is one reason that her nieces and nephew thought of her as a second mother, never wavering in her devotion and support for them and the rest of her family.

Her love and friendship will be sadly missed by her beloved sisters, Patricia Deroian of Bradford and Gloria LaBonte of Newton, NH, as well as by her many close friends. Her memory will live on through her nieces and nephews and their families: Terry and Basil Nimry of Des Moines, IA, and their sons, Nadir and Ziad; Sarah and Andrew McBride of  Midlothian, VA and their children, Stephanie, Ian and Sean; Callie Cardamon and Eric Rawson of Charlottesville, VA; Laurie and Michael Willett of Newton, NH, and their son, Zachary; Debra and Eric Anderson of Dartmouth, MA and their son, Nicholas; and Steven and Patricia Deroian of Needham, MA and their children, Sarah, Danielle and Andrew. Joanne was predeceased by her sister, Marie Cardamone and her brother, Anthony Ursano.

Visitation will be held on Thursday, August 24, in the Driscoll Funeral Home, 309 S. Main Street, Haverhill from 10:00 to 11:30 AM. Funeral Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Sacred Hearts Church, 165 S. Main Street, Haverhill at 12:00 PM. Interment in Elmwood Cemetery, Haverhill will follow. For guestbook, visit www.driscollcares.com