Connie Ciaravino

Connie Ciaravino, 61, of Springdale, passed from this life on April 4, 2014, at Circle of Life Hospice in Springdale. She was born on Aug. 1, 1952, in Queens, N.Y., to Patrick and Frances Cali O'Connor. Connie was raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., where she resided the first 28 years of her life. She was a proud Irish-Italian-American who loved spending time at the Atlantic Ocean with her father and The Coney Island Boardwalk with her family and friends. She met and married her husband John Ciaravino in Brooklyn and raised her first three children, Pat, Jamiel and Dawn there. In 1980, she made the biggest decision of her life when she decided to move to Fayetteville, Ark., to make a better life for her and her family. This is where her two youngest children Nicole and Karen were raised. It is in Arkansas where she discovered many new talents to include arts and crafts and gardening. And oh how she loved her Calla Lilies and hydrangeas! Connie was a devoted mother who always put her children first. As her children grew up, she discovered a new love for her grandchildren. She loved each of them dearly and took great joy in them all. Connie loved to spend time doing crafts as well as attending arts and crafts festivals with her daughters and daughter-in-law, baking and reading with her grandkids. She spent countless hours sewing Halloween costumes and making beautiful baby bedding for them. Her passion with children did not end with her family. Connie spent nearly 20 years at Community Pre-School where she made a large impact on the lives of many children and parents. If we had to use one word to describe Connie it would be strength. She had a strong relationship with the Lord which guided her along the way throughout her entire life. Connie had a devoted marriage for almost 34 years with her husband, John. (And God knows that required great strength). She always fought for what was right, regardless of the repercussions. She battled heart and lung disease for over 4 years and chose to use her sickness as a way to witness to those who were also fighting this illness as a Volunteer in the Auxiliary at Northwest Medical Center in Springdale. Though her life has ended in this physical world, we take great comfort in knowing that she rejoices in Heaven as 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 states: So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. Connie is preceded in death by her parents; a sister, Donna O'Connor; and a brother, Donald O'Connor. Left to cherish her memory are her loving husband, John Ciaravino; her children, Patrick Ciabattari and his wife Kristin of Bella Vista, Jamiel Ciaravino and his wife Raquel of Denver, Dawn Giardino of Cave Springs, Nicole Ciaravino of Springdale, Karen Deaver and her husband Brad of Conway; a brother, Patrick O'Connor of Lowell; a sister, Anna Carpino and her husband John of Brick, N.J.; 14 grandchildren; and a host of other relatives and friends. A Celebration of Connie's life will be at 10 a.m Tuesday, April 8, 2014, at Westfield Chapel Funeral Home. The family suggests that memorial donations be made to the NWA chapter of the American Heart Association. Please share your fond thoughts and memories of Connie on her memorial at www.WestfieldChapel.com.