Jeannette Elizabeth Giuffreda

After a courageous fight against breast cancer, Jeannette Elizabeth (“Jan”) Giuffreda passed away peacefully on May 14, 2014 at the Hospice of Charleston, Mount Pleasant. She was 77 years old. The daughter of the late Hector and Barbara St. Denis, of Long Island, New York, Jan worked as a secretary in New York City as a young woman in the early 1960s, following her graduation from Port Jefferson High School. Jan became reacquainted with fellow Port Jefferson graduate and Naval Academy midshipman Robert N. (“Bob”) Giuffreda and the two quickly became inseparable. As a company commander, Bob marched in the inaugural parade of President John F. Kennedy, and Bob and Jan married in June,1961 at the Naval Academy’s Chapel. As a proud navy wife, Jan greatly valued the traditions of navy life and found that the privilege of service far out-weighed the hardships of household moves and frequent separations from Bob. Over a long and distinguished Naval career, spanning the Vietnam War and the Cold War, while Bob was often at sea, Jan raised their children, Michael and Kristen, in such diverse places as Newport, Rhode Island, Charleston, South Carolina, Guam, Northern Marianas Islands, San Diego, California, and Washington, D.C. She also traveled widely from Hong Kong to Europe and she particularly loved Italy, returning to visit many times. Jan also earned a nursing degree and touched many lives during her career as a registered nurse. She worked tirelessly in the challenging fields of critical care and cardiac care and assisted many patients through times of crisis at Capital Hill Hospital, Washington, D.C., Sharp Memorial Hospital, San Diego, California, and Roper St. Francis, Charleston, South Carolina. Jan had many life-long friends throughout the United States and around he world, and she was well-know among them for her generosity, thoughtfulness and exceptional hospitality. Jan was always fond of Charleston, and was happy to settle on Seabrook Island when Bob retired from the Navy. Jan loved the beach at Seabrook Island, she was an avid gardener and an excellent cook, and she was involved in many community activities such as Meals on Wheels, the Seabrook Island garden club, and sea turtle rescue. She organized hospitality in the parish hall at St. Mary’s Church and frequently contributed to charitable efforts at the Church. Devoted to her family and her grandsons, Jan was always the center of joyous holiday celebrations and family events. Jan is survived by her loving husband of 53 years, Bob, her children Michael and Kristen, daughter-in-law, Katie, and her grandsons, Nicholas and Robert Giuffreda, and William Chapman, as well as her brother, Hector St. Denis and his wife, Margaret. Jan was greatly loved by her family and her friends and will be remembered always. The family and friends of Jan Giuffreda are invited to attend her Mass of Christian Burial at 10:00 a.m., Monday, May 19, 2014, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Charleston, followed by a reception in the Parish Hall. Inurnment will take place at a later date at the Columbarium of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Contributions in lieu of flowers may be made to the Hospice of Charleston, 676 Wando Park Blvd., Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464, or St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 89 Hasell Street, Charleston, SC 29401.