She told her students they were ‘wonderful, loveable and capable’
Lifelong educator Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet Giovanna Marie Marcoccia, fondly remembered for telling her students that they were “wonderful, loveable and capable,” died peacefully in Honolulu July 13 after a short illness. She was 87 and had served in Hawaii for 43 years. She was a religious for 69 years.
A fan of sports and an avid Super Bowl viewer, she introduced physical education to Carondelet-run schools on Oahu in the 1960s.
During her four decades in Hawaii, she taught or held administrative posts in six schools.
Joan Lilla Marcoccia was born on May 24, 1934, the youngest of four children of Giovanni and Angela (Perrotta) Marcoccia. Her father died two months before she was born, and her mother was left to raise her, her 7-year-old brother, and two sisters, ages 4 and 2, alone.
She attended both public and Catholic schools in Syracuse, New York. She met the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet for the first time at St. Vincent de Paul School when she was in the fifth grade. Living near the school, Marcoccia got to know the sisters well. She enjoyed helping them both in the classroom and, as a senior in high school, in their convent.
In September 1952, she entered St. Joseph Seminary to become a Sister of St. Joseph. She received the habit on March 19, 1953, in Albany, New York, taking the name Giovanna Marie. Her first teaching assignments were in schools in Binghamton and Troy, New York.
She was missioned to Hawaii for the first time in 1966, teaching at St. Joseph School, Waipahu, Holy Trinity School, Kuliouou, and St. Anthony School, Kailua. While at St. Joseph, she started the eighth grade Student Leadership Physical Education Program, at a time when schools were being asked to include P.E. in their curriculums. She later introduced the program at other Oahu schools run by the Sisters of St. Joseph, including St. Theresa School in Kalihi.
In 1970, Sister Marcoccia returned to Albany, and had various ministries in Albany, Latham, Cohoes and Troy, New York. She returned to Hawaii for good in 1982. Her 39 subsequent years in the Islands saw her teaching history and serving as the athletic director at St. Anthony Junior/Senior High School in Wailuku, Maui; as a history teacher and social studies chairwoman at Sacred Hearts Academy in Honolulu; as principal at Holy Trinity School from 1985 to 1997; and assigned to St. Theresa School as athletic director and P.E. teacher, and later development director.
Before retiring from active ministry, Sister Marcoccia also worked as a substitute teacher, volunteer, driver and caregiver. She related well to students, who loved her kindness, her athletic ability, and her ability to relate to them.
Sister Marcoccia participated on numerous diocesan and school committees during her time in Hawaii. She enjoyed sports, was an avid Super Bowl watcher, and loved to golf. Cooking, gardening, reading, acting as emcee for annual Carondelet celebrations, and running school garage sales were also among her favorite pastimes.
One of her best-remembered phrases was telling students that they were “wonderful, loveable and capable.” She also enjoyed telling a good joke. She will be remembered for her love of family and the Sisters of St. Joseph.
Sister Marcoccia was predeceased by her mother, her brother Constantine and her sister Louise Kratz. She is survived by her sister, Carmela Fitzgerald, nieces and nephews, and grand and great-grand nieces and nephews, cousins, and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet.
Funeral services will be at 11 a.m., Aug. 27 at the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa in Honolulu. A eulogy will be given before Mass, around 10:40 p.m.
