Joan D. Wrightington

Joan "Joanne" Delores (DiCarlo) Wrightington, 86, of Fall River, passed away on March 8, 2026, at St. Anne’s Hospital. She is survived by her three children, Steve P. Wrightington of Fall River, Charles G. Wrightington of Cumberland, Rhode Island, and Tammy Machado of Westport, her granddaughter Grace Elizabeth Machado, and several nieces and nephews. She loved them unconditionally, and her memory remains and always will be a blessing to them.

Born in Fall River as the youngest child of Nicola and Josephine (Lancellotta) DiCarlo, Joanne was fiercely proud of her Italian American heritage and her parents who emigrated from Fornelli-Campobasso in 1911. Her father worked as a laborer, supporting his family with limited means while raising seven children in rented homes on Healy Street and later Johnson Street. Joanne entered the world as a “blue” baby, an experience that instilled in her the deep belief that each new day is a pure gift and that time lived is life’s only true wealth. This understanding moved her to pray always for loved ones taken too soon.

She carried a lifelong love for the ocean, first awakened by her parents. The saltwater renewed her, the sound of waves brought her solace, and the sea’s vast power shaped her understanding of God as healer and consoler. She treasured memories of jumping the waves at Horseneck Beach with her father, siblings, and best friend Theresa Logozzo Tidwell. Later in life she shared this joy with her daughter Tammy and granddaughter Grace during summers spent in Newport, enjoying the sand, sun, Flo’s clam shack, and Clements’ Marketplace.

Joanne worked as a homemaker and health aide for Southeastern Health and as a teacher’s assistant in early childhood daycare. Devoted to the example of St. Martha, she saw her work as a living expression of faith and love. She took great joy in watching Grace grow into an intelligent young woman preparing for college, encouraging her to surpass limits, challenge glass ceilings, do no harm, and respond to a troubled world with love rather than anger. In her later years, as chronic health conditions gradually took her mobility, she continued to give through donations to animal shelters, educational funds for Native Americans, and the Padre Pio Foundation, finding inspiration in Saint Pio’s example of prayerful presence even in illness and confinement.

Her heart, full of faith, hope, and love, remained unbroken until the end. She was able to say goodbye to those she cherished, leaving behind a legacy of cherished memories. As Grace said, “We love you and will always love you to the moon and back.”