Joan DiSalle
Joan DiSalle, 92, of McMurray, passed away peacefully Wednesday, September 21, 2023, with members of her loving family by her side.
She was born to the late John and Regina Lauritis Malinowski September 8, 1931, in Mahanoy City, Schuylkill County, one of nine children.
Joan graduated in 1953 from Duquesne University, where she starred in seven plays with the Red Masquers Theatre Troupe and was crowned “May Queen” by bandleader Woody Herman. She went on to Graduate study in drama at the Catholic University of America, where she starred in three productions.
She taught elementary education at Silver Spring, Md. and at St. Bernard’s Academy in Mt. Lebanon.
During her time at Duquesne, while visiting her sister, Eleanor, who was then a nurse at Canonsburg Hospital, Joan met her future husband, Richard DiSalle. The couple were married January 7, 1956, remained together for 64 years until Richard’s passing February 16, 2020, and raised six children.
Joan was a voracious reader of classic literature and history, and she and her husband, Richard were devoted patrons of the Arts. They generously supported the Pittsburgh Symphony, Ballet and Opera, as well as the Washington Symphony Orchestra, and other Arts organizations. Joan was a founding member and past president of Symphony South, a non-profit auxiliary of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
In 2010, Joan and Richard established the DiSalle Music Fund with the Washington County Community Foundation, endowed to support music education and the Washington Symphony Orchestra.
Joan is survived by her children, Elizabeth DiSalle of McMurray, Francis (Linda) DiSalle of Upper St. Clair, John (Diane) DiSalle of McMurray, Robert (Zanita) DiSalle of Oakville, Ontario, Joseph DiSalle of New York, N.Y., and Michael (Lynn) DiSalle of Rochester, N.Y. Also surviving are her brothers, Daniel (Maura McDowell) Malinowski of Allison Park, and Jack (Debbie Frazer) Malinowski of Philadelphia; seven grandchildren, Brian, Jonathan (Lauren Pearlman), Emily, Stephen (Jill Steier), Christopher, Sofia and William DiSalle; great- grandchildren, Josiah and Vale; and many beloved nieces and nephews.
Deceased, in addition to her husband and parents, are her sisters, Eleanor, Rose Mary and Delores; and her brothers, Fr. Francis, Leonard and Conrad.
Friends will be received from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, September 23, in St. Patrick Church, 317 West Pike Street, Canonsburg, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial to be celebrated at 11 a.m. in St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church.
Arrangements are in the care of Mario L. DeAngelo Funeral Home in Canonsburg.
Interment will follow in the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies at a later date.
A tribute wall is available at www.deangelocare.com.
In lieu of flowers, charitable contributions may be made, in her memory, to the Mental Health Association of Washington County, and the Washington Symphony Orchestra.