WILMINGTON — Joan Ann (Maturi) Prenda, 84, of Wilmington, NC and formerly of Bristol, RI and Fall River, MA died on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, following a long, courageous battle with cancer.
A private family service will be held at Andrews Funeral Home in Wilmington on Friday, July 18, 2025, with a burial service at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Bristol to be determined.
Joan graduated from Bristol Colt High School in 1959 where she was active in photography and field hockey and was a member of the National Honor Society.
She married Joseph Prenda, Jr. in 1960 in Bristol, RI and is survived by her husband, and four children: Brian J. Prenda and his wife Coleen of Fernandina Beach, FL, Bruce J. Prenda and his wife Amy of Lincoln, NE, Kimberly A. Prenda and her fiance Stephen Moore of Wilmington, NC and Bradford J. Prenda and his wife Jenn of Chapel Hill, NC. She is also survived by her grandchildren Matthew, Garrett, Meaghan, Tim, Cody, Zoe, Sadie, Hadley, Charlotte, Miles, and Logan, and her two great-grandchildren Gavin and Emery.
She is preceded in death by her parents Peter and Eva (Motta) Maturi, her sisters Marie Dallaire and Antonetta Murphy, and her brother Antonio Maturi. She is survived by her sister Patricia Bullock.
Joan raised her four children and worked as an administrative assistant at the YMCA in Fall River, MA. She spent her life nurturing and caring for those she loved. She enjoyed spending time at the ocean, and the birds and flowers in her backyard. She loved to travel to new places. She liked to read and play board games, and discovered a joy for painting later in her life. She was a dedicated and selfless wife and mother for over 65 years whose influence on everyone she loved or encountered was deep and personal. She was always smiling and made everything more beautiful in her time.
We are thankful for the years of our lives together and for God watching over all of our family and blessing each day of it in some way. We are thankful for her wisdom, patience, understanding, and forgiveness. She was an example to all of us of what it is to be strong, honest, and compassionate. She loved unconditionally. She supported and committed to everyone with her whole heart, day and night, to the end. She was a true blessing all the days of her life and we pray for her peace and comfort in everlasting life with God the Father and all of our loved ones in Heaven. She will be greatly missed.
Memorials can be sent in her name to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation or the American Cancer Society.
