Joani Whinston's Obituary
Joan Lenett Whinston (Joani) passed away peacefully on Monday, February 3 with her beloved family and her showtunes by her side. She was 76 years old. Loving wife of 41 years to Stephen Whinston. Devoted mother to Stephanie Portnoy and her husband Sean, Brian Arasim and his wife Jennifer, and Josh Whinston and his wife Liz. Devoted grandmother to Maddie, Sam, Max, Gabe, and Sadie. Dear sister to Scotti Guren and aunt to beloved nieces Debby Silverman (David), Cheri Rafferty (James), Susie Nantz (Lee), Nancy Guren Palumbo (Ken), Andrew Courtney (Dominique), Allison Clark (Kevin), and Adam Courtney. She was “mom” to many of her children’s family and friends.
Joani was a renaissance woman who had many different careers over the course of her lifetime. She was an entrepreneur, a theatre producer and director who had a play produced Off-Off-Broadway, a published author and playwright, a macrobiotic chef and owner of a children’s drama school. She was a lifelong champion for people with disabilities and was the first ombudsperson for the disabled in Cherry Hill.
A gathering of friends and family will be held at Givnish of Marlton, 398 E. Main Street, on Thursday, February 6th from 10:00am to 12:00 pm to share food and greet the family, followed by a service to honor Joani at 12:00 pm. Interment will follow the next day in Virginia. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her honor to the Amputee Coalition https://www.amputee-coalition.org/, the Special Olympics https://www.specialolympics.org/ or United Cerebral Palsy https://www.cerebralpalsyguidance.com/.
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