As a young girl, Joanne Capolongo aspired to be an educator. Through hard work in school, she made her dreams come true, eventually forging a 35-year long career teaching first graders on Staten Island.  Capolongo passed away on May 26 at age 90. The cause of death was congestive heart failure. 

Born and raised on Staten Island, Capolongo grew up the oldest of three in the Fort Wadsworth neighborhood. Her parents were Santo and Concetta Rizzo. Her mother was a seamstress and a homemaker. Her father was a longshoreman and milk deliveryman. She and her family lived on a farm that grew crops and kept chickens. When the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge was built, a part of their farm was claimed by the government through eminent domain.