Lasting Memories

Joan Rae Ferrari
May 5, 1936-Aug. 1, 2019
Atherton, CA

Joan Rae Ferrari, a resident of Atherton since 1969, passed away on August 1st. She was 83 years old.

Joan was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, and her family moved to California when she was a child. While attending Palo Alto High School, she met her soulmate and the love of her life, Clarence “Bud” Ferrari on a blind date. They fell madly in love and were inseparable from that moment on. Following her graduation from San Jose State University, Joan married Bud in 1957. She was an elementary school teacher for several years and later worked in her husband’s law office as a paralegal. Her main focus and greatest joy was her family.

With their daughters, Mary Lynn and Lisa, Joan and Bud enjoyed idyllic summers in Tahoe, family tennis at the Menlo Circus Club, and adventures overseas. While her daughters attended local schools, Joan was active in the Junior League, Art in Action, and Kappa Alpha Theta alumni activities. In later years, when she and Bud were enjoying their home in Palm Desert, she tutored children in “Read with Me” programs.

Joanie adored being a grandmother. She faithfully attended her granddaughters’ activities, including Alyssa’s diving meets and Lauren’s tennis matches. Experienced travelers, she and Bud loved to take their children and grandchildren on trips, including Africa, Italy and the Galapagos, though The Alisal Guest Ranch and Hawaii were always Joan’s favorite destinations. In recent years, she was delighted to attend Alyssa’s wedding and was very much looking forward to Lauren’s nuptials in the fall. In 2018, she had the gift of becoming a great-grandmother to Alyssa’s son, Gray Berardi.

Joan’s friends and family members will miss her warm heart, her contagious laugh, her happy smile and the brilliant twinkle in her beautiful blue eyes. They will miss seeing her on the golf course, at the bridge table, and at dinner surrounded by her pals. She lived an incredible fairytale colorful life, which is illustrated by the bright artwork and fresh flowers in her home.

Joan is survived by her husband of 61 years, Bud; her daughter Mary Lynn Robinson and son-in-law Kyle; her daughter Lisa Marie Ferrari; her granddaughter Alyssa Ann Berardi, Alyssa’s husband Matt Berardi and her great-grandson Grayson Kar Berardi; her granddaughter Lauren Claire Robinson and her fiancé Barron Swope. She is also survived by Lupe and Ricardo Orozco and their three children who have been with the Ferrari family for over thirty years.