COCONUT CREEK, Fla. – Joanna Garland Campanelli, formerly known as Joan Sleeper, 88, passed away peacefully on August 12, 2020.

Prior to moving to Florida, Joanna lived for more than 25 years in Maine, and raised her family, in Cape Elizabeth.

Born in December, 1931 in Brooklyn, New York to Dorothy Garland and Harold Gustavson, Joanna grew up in Garden City, New York. She attended college at the New Jersey College for Women in New Brunswick, New Jersey, later to become Douglas College as affiliated with the Rutgers University college system. She received her BA degree as a nutritionist. Years later she returned to school at the University of Southern Maine and obtained an MBA with honors.

While in Maine Joanna worked primarily for the federal government’s Department of Labor and with respect to the consumer price index. She was known as a very independent and strong willed woman who also persevered in getting legislation passed for, among other things, the capping of wells in the State of Maine when she became concerned about the possibility of children being drawn to old open wells. Additionally, she was a former member of the Maine Milk Commission under then Governor Kenneth Curtis. She also traveled avidly later in life, especially as adventure travel to places such as the Galapagos Islands. While she lived the last 30 plus years of her life in Florida, she always retained a fond spot in her mind and heart for Maine and spoke of it frequently.

She was predeceased by her parents as well as her son, Keith Garland Sleeper. Survivors include her son, Bruce Sleeper and his wife Jody of Portland, and Eric Sleeper and his wife Andrea of Tamarac, Florida, as well as five grandchildren, Manya, Adam, Noah, Danielle and Ryan Sleeper. The Sleeper family wishes to thank the management and staff at Sonata Coconut Creek in Coconut Creek, Florida, for the care they showed our mother since 2018 and through her passing.

Joanna’s internment will be at the Riverside Cemetery in Cape Elizabeth under the guidance of the Jones, Rich & Barnes Funeral Home of Portland.

In lieu of any flowers, please consider making a donation in Joanna’s memory to a charity

of your choice.