Obituary of Dawn A. Piccione

Dawn Angel Piccione (née Winthrop), a longtime Madison resident, passed away peacefully on Monday, August 12, 2024 after a brave fight with cancer. She was 77.

Dawn is survived by her loving and faithful husband of 50 years, Francis Piccione, her son, Glen Ryan and his wife Tricia; her daughter, Christine (Piccione) Bailey and her husband Steven; five cherished grandchildren, Ashley, Madison, and Zachary Ryan and Luci and Norah Bailey; her many cousins and dear friends.

Dawn was born in Jersey City on November 1, 1946, to the late Robert and Helen Winthrop (née Monstery). After graduating from Dickinson High School, she earned her nursing degree from Christ Hospital School of Nursing. Through her entire career of over 50 years as a pediatric registered nurse, Dawn was passionately dedicated to caring for babies and children, seeing her job as a ministry to provide healing, hope and comfort to her patients and their families. She worked for 31 years at Children’s Hospital in Newark, then as a pediatric high-tech home care nurse with Bayada, where she won awards for her service.

Dawn met her husband, Frank, while watching him perform with the Hawthorne Caballeros Drum and Bugle Corps. They were magnetized to each other from the start and married on May 17, 1975. Dawn adored being a wife to Frank, mother to her two children, and “Mimi” to her treasured grandchildren, who she always took for walks and on dates and adventures.

Dawn was vibrant and squeezed every drop out of life. She loved all kinds of dancing, including tap-dancing in her 40s, and dancing the night away with friends at the Moonlight Swims at Madison Community Pool, where she swam almost everyday for 47 summers. She began playing piano at age 5 and loved making people happy with music. She sang in the choir and played the organ at Madison Baptist Church, where she was active for many years before attending Somerset Hills Baptist Church. Dawn loved seeing the beauty of this world on summer vacations with her family to Williamsburg, Virginia, on adventures with her daughter to Europe and the UK, and on anniversary trips with her husband to Aruba and the Caribbean. She was dedicated to planting flowers for pollinators, preserving shade trees in Madison, feeding the birds in her yard, and caring for her beloved cats and any animals in need. Dawn could often be found riding her bike around town, watching a glorious sunset from her front yard, and enjoying the beauty of God’s Creation. She encouraged everyone to take time to stop and smell the roses.

Dawn’s family will miss her deeply - she was truly one-of-a-kind. But they take comfort in knowing she is healed and at peace with her Lord and Savior, Jesus, to whom she entrusted her entire life.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held for Dawn on Friday, August 16th at 10am at North Star Club - 95 North Street, Madison, NJ 07940. Please wear bright colors to celebrate and honor Dawn’s colorful life!

In lieu of flowers, charitable contributions may be made in Dawn’s memory to ASPCA, PETA, or Best Friends Animal Sanctuary.