Joanne Piano Polster

Joanne Piano Polster, 79, passed away October 25, 2017 at the Terracina Grand Senior Living Facility in Naples, Florida.

Mass of Christian burial will be 11:00 AM Monday in St. Patrick’s Church in La Salle with Rev. Jacob Valle officiating. Burial will be in Oakwood Cemetery. Visitation will be 10:00 AM until time of services in the church on Monday. The Hurst Funeral Home in La Salle is assisting the family with arrangements.

Joanne was born December 17, 1937 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Raymond and Helen (Bott) St. Mary, and grew up in Downers Grove, Illinois. In 1955, she graduated from Nazareth Academy in LaGrange. While on a class trip to Starved Rock State Park, she met and later married Anthony Piano Jr. of Oglesby. They wed on December 27, 1958 and raised 4 children in Naperville, Illinois, where she was a homemaker taking great pride in her home and garden. Mr. Piano preceded her in death on March 1, 1992.

On May 27, 2000, she married Vern Polster, and the couple divided their time between Wisconsin and Florida. They enjoyed a devotion to ballroom dancing, often traveling with the Johnnie Kaye Orchestra, until Joanne sustained a spinal cord injury in a severe accident in 2008, making it impossible to continue this beloved pastime. Mr. Polster passed away November 25, 2012.

In recent years, Joanne treasured the companionship of Wyatt McDaniel at the Terracina Grand Facility, and she was blessed by a very special 35-year friendship with Tom Conklin of Panama City Beach, Florida. This friendship was the foundation for Joanne’s permanent relocation to Florida from Illinois.

Joanne is survived by her children, Renee (Michael) Toomey of Princeton, IL, Theodore (Toni) Piano of Lombard, IL, Elissa (Martin) Flaska of Oak Brook, IL, and Annette (Richard) Cosentino of Kennesaw, GA; her siblings, Raymond St. Mary of Hampshire, IL, Kenneth St. Mary of Portland, OR, Christine (the late Lynn) Schrader of Lansdowne, VA, and Phyllis (Russ) Kintrea of Seattle, WA; and numerous grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

Joanne loved flowers, but as an alternative, would also appreciate a Mass offered in her memory, or consider a Memorial Tribute in her honor to Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago Foundation, 225 E. Chicago Ave, Box 4, Chicago, IL 60611. Formerly known as Children’s Memorial Hospital of Chicago, this institution is credited by the family for saving the life of one of Joanne’s grandchildren, who was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma as a baby.

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