It is with extreme sadness that the Zigahn family announces the passing of JoAnn Zigahn. JoAnn was wife to Armand "Zig" Zigahn, mother of Michael, sister to Marilyn Sasso, sister-in-law to Anthony Sasso and aunt to Christopher and Ashley Sasso (Andrea). Second-mother to Linda Ward (Robert), Scott Zigahn (deceased), Kimberly Duhan (Chris), Kristin Fritz (Mike) and grandmother to Christian, Allie, and Abbie. JoAnn passed peacefully on Monday, October 25th, surrounded by her family.

JoAnn had a passion for the fashion industry, which ultimately led her to her first work experience as a showroom model and sales associate in the fashion district of Manhattan. While pursuing her next career path and earning her college degree, JoAnn met and married Armand "Zig" Zigahn. Zig was the founder of Beneath the Sea. Soon, JoAnn realized she had married both Zig and Beneath the Sea. It was a marriage and a love affair that lasted for the next thirty-eight years.

In those years, JoAnn became a scuba diver in 1972. Later she would create fashion shows to raise funds for Beneath the Sea. During this time, she became an administrator at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine teaching hospital management. Here, JoAnn honed her management skills which she used to set the foundation for Beneath the Sea to become a driving force in the dive industry.

It was JoAnn's caring persona that created family-oriented programs at Beneath the Sea. Ocean Pals, JoAnn’s very own branch of Beneath the Sea, boasted an ocean environmental art program that featured an international poster contest for grade school children across the world. These programs specifically targeted an audience of young adults to bring awareness to ocean conservation. Through the years, Beneath the Sea received tens of thousands of submissions from children between the ages of 5 and 13. Because of JoAnn, this future generation learned the importance of caring for our oceans.

In addition to her Ocean Pals program, JoAnn later initiated the Beneath the Sea Marine Careers program. This program was devoted to high school age and college students seeking to join the multi-faceted marine industry. Since inception, the program has helped thousands of young people find their perfect Marine Career.

JoAnn quickly sprung to action yet again to assist the ambitious Marine Career attendees by creating a Scholarship Program. Due to JoAnn's diligence in planning and enthusiasm, these programs will continue to be a part of Beneath the Sea's future.

Throughout her long and illustrious career, the industry honored JoAnn with many accolades. In 2001, the Women Divers Hall of Fame inducted JoAnn, recognizing her far-reaching achievements to the dive industry through her Presidency at Beneath the Sea. In 2012, the artist known as Wyland nominated JoAnn for his Wyland Icon Award. Later that year, JoAnn and Zig were honored by the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame in recognition for their many contributions to the world of scuba diving and scuba travel.

In Westchester county, JoAnn is known for her charitable contributions to the Maria Fareri Children's Hospital and Westchester Medical Center. In addition to funding a hospital room in the name of Beneath the Sea, JoAnn was instrumental in contributing effort to support an aquarium in the lobby of the Maria Fareri Children's Hospital. The creation, nurturing, and continued support of this project were always closest to JoAnn's heart.

Although JoAnn has left us, her legacy will continue to live on through the initiatives she created, and the countless lives she has touched. JoAnn was a role model for all individuals that could call her coworker, friend, or acquaintance. Her generous spirit and respect for all people were balanced by her commitment to the sustainability of Beneath the Sea, the dive and travel industry and our fragile oceans. JoAnn was thoughtful in her decisions, and generous with her heart. The generations of people that were touched by JoAnn’s life are now called to carry the torch for her.

The family would like to thank the many people in the Beneath the Sea volunteer family, the scuba industry, and so many others who, for forty-four years, came together to lift the vision JoAnn and Zig had for Beneath the Sea and make it reality.

On JoAnn's behalf, our family thanks you for your devotion to her ideals and she will forever hold a special place in our hearts.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Coral Reef Alliance in JoAnn Zigahn’s name:
Coral Reef Alliance, 1714 Franklin Street, Suite 100-277, Oakland, CA 94612
or please visit: http://coral.org/en/donate/

JoAnn's visitation will be livestreamed, please see Webcasting link to the left.
The Funeral Mass will also be Livestreamed at https://icaparish.org/