Obituary of Jocette Alphonsa Friesner

Jocette Alphonsa Friesner never liked her middle name. So, please remember her as "Jocette Friesner", "JoJo" or simply "Joce". Joce is survived by her super awesome loving daughter, Cadence Friesner, who said goodbye to her mom for the last time at the age of 24. It's a bit of a miracle that Cadence is 24, given that Joce had a kidney transplant in 1991, at which time her doctors predicted that Joce would never be able to have kids due to the anti-rejection medications she would have to take for the rest of her life. Congrats to both Joce and Cadence for proving the doctors wrong! Cadence's longstanding boyfriend, Ben Coates, whom Joce affectionately and proudly called her "son-in-law", also bade Joce farewell while tightly coupled to Cadence, always supportive, throughout Joce's final days. Joce never got married and counted her blessings most days for not having to deal with a man in her life. Joce lived as she wanted to, freely. Joce is also survived by her pain-in-the-ass younger (by 11 months) brother and "Irish Twin", Aubrey Friesner, Aubrey's wife and Joce's loving sister-in-law, Lara Franchi, and their uber-gregarious son, Mason Friesner, who will miss his treasured "Auntie Joce" dearly. Aubrey and Joce were “tighter than a gnat's chuff” and made crazy memories together through their summer camp, Boy Scouts and Girl Guides, and Air Cadets years right through their decades as adults. Aubrey loves Joce so much he (with his band) wrote and published a song about her called "She's My Sister". As the song goes, auBrey doesn't know how he's going to live without Joce. Joce's other surviving family members include her youngest (by 4 years) brother, Andrew Friesner, and his children, Jewel and Andrew Jr. Andrew, Jewel and Andrew Jr. will miss Joce immensely, and send their blessings and Godspeed to her. Finally, and by no means any less importantly than Joce's blood relatives, Joce is survived by her vast web of loving friends including among so many others, Joce's "gusband" Michael Scipio, whom Joce adored; her beloved childhood and early adulthood friends, Eva Timmermans, Lisa Orticello, Kim Brothers, Allyson and Eric Ludtke, Andrew Steele, Dexter Hinkson, and Orlando Marques; her birthing buddy Debra Lausch and Debbie's ultra-caring daughter Amy Lausch; the dozens of friends and their families that Joce knew through Aubrey and Lara; and, of course, given the workaholic that Joce was, her extensive work partners-in-crime including Izzy, Jen, Evette, Merry, and all the other wonderful colleagues that made for Joce's never-ending stream of workplace shenanigans. While Joce was never one for religion (she actually despised the stuff), we hope her spirit has been reunited and is now laughing hysterically with her Mom, Rose Friesner, her Dad, Alphonso Hamilton, and her bubbly lifelong bestie, Djamila “DJ” Avery, whose life was also heart-wrenchingly cut short a few years ago. If there is an afterlife and Joce and DJ are together in it, it’s now filled with torrents of belly laughs and giant smiles! Jocette's family thanks everyone who filled Joce's life with laughter and joy, which, in turn, made our lives as rich as they are thanks to the love that Joce gave us. Her spirit and memory will live on with us forever.Visitation and viewing to be held at Lynett Funeral Home, 3299 Dundas Street West, Toronto, on Monday, December 2, 2019 from 10 a.m. - 11 a.m. Memorial gathering to be held following at 11 a.m. Nibbles and quick drinks will be held at Tail of the Junction, 3367 Dundas Street West, 1 block west of the funeral home, at 12 p.m. Burial at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery to follow.In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to either the Children's Wish Foundation (https://www.childrenswish.ca/donate/) or Toronto General Hospital's Multi-Organ Transplant Unit (http://bit.ly/2R20WpE). Joce always wanted to go to Disneyland but had to wait until she was an adult and could pay her own way. Wouldn't it have been awesome if someone bought her a dream as a kid? Joce was a VIP of TGH's Renal Transplant Program and spent 4 of the final six months of her life in TGH's Multi-Organ Transplant Unit, where she received great care and accommodations. Thanks so much in advance for potentially making someone else's life a little better.