Joanne Keith Jaffey, age 73, passed peacefully away January 15, 2023 at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester. The youngest daughter of Edward G. Keith and Virginia Hewitt Keith, Joanne was born on July 26, 1949 in Camden, New Jersey. After an early childhood in Moorestown, New Jersey, she moved to Syracuse, New York where she graduated from Central High School. In 1974 after graduating from Nazareth College in Rochester, she married Richard Lewis. On completion of a Maste
Following the death of her first husband, Richard, Joanne remarried in 1988 to Stephen E. Jaffey and in 1994 welcomed a son, Craig into the family. As a long term resident of Fairport and Penfield, Joanne always felt she was part of a caring and friendly community.
Joanne relished an interest in local history and delved into her family’s genealogy with roots in the Finger Lakes region as she collected 19 th century antiques and ephemera. This melded into establishing Magpie and Sparrow, an antique shop in Palmyra and Penfield. With her drive to understand the who, what, where and when led to a friend describing her as “a curator of curious items”.
Joanne is predeceased by her parents, husbands, Richard and Stephen and sister, Mary K. Schwartz. Surviving are her son, Craig (Shannon), granddaughter, Kay den and grandson, Koda, brother, Gordon Keith (Joan), niece, Cynthia van Geer (Erik), nephews, David Schwartz (Allison), Michael Schwartz (Amy) and dearest friends, Diana Newberry and Sue Brett.
A private memorial service will be held this spring. In lieu of flowers, Joanne and family prefer memorial contributions to the charity of your choice.