Alicia Petruska Panetta

Mrs. Alicia Johanna Petruska Panetta, 87, died Thursday, January 5, 2023, at home in Oxford, MS. A Funeral Mass will be held at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church on Tuesday, January 10, 2023, at 11:00 AM with Father Mark Shoffner officiating. Visitation will be held at the church prior to the service from 10:00 AM until 11:00 AM. A graveside service will be held on Saturday, January 14, 2023, at 11:00 AM at Holy Cross Cemetery in Pensacola, FL. Waller Funeral Home is in charge of local arrangements.

Survivors include her two sons, Lawrence Michael Panetta and his wife, Adell of Ashburn, VA and John Carl Panetta and his wife, Clayann of Memphis, TN; four grandchildren, Margaret Adell, Christopher Rocco, Anna Clay and Joshua Charles and one brother Carl Petruska of Pensacola, FL.

Born in Goshen, NY, Alicia was raised in Pensacola, FL where she enjoyed playing the flute, swimming, and waterskiing on Bayou Texar. Alicia was a 1954 graduate of Pensacola High School. She continued her education at Florida State University where she received her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry in 1958 and went on to earn her Masters of Analytical Chemistry in 1960 from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY. While at Rensselaer, she met her husband Charles while they were both graduate students. After graduate school they lived in Syracuse, NY and Framingham, MA before settling with their family in Oxford. Alicia was a long time parishioner of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church where she was involved in numerous ministries. She volunteered for over 25 years for Meals on Wheels and was active in the University Dames throughout her time in Oxford. Alicia enjoyed sewing, knitting, and other hobbies including painting antique plates and furniture. Alicia was preceded in death by her husband Charles Panetta.

Memorial contributions in Alicia’s memory may be made to St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, 416 South 5th Street, Oxford, MS 38655 or to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105-1905.