Hers was a life of simplicity and devotion. She worked, she came home, and she took care of her mother.

Austere, perhaps, but Joanne Rubino never made it seem that she was missing anything important.

"My Joanne really was happy being how she was," said her mother, Antoinette. "She wasn’t asking for much in life."

Besides heading to her office in the tax department of Marsh & McLennan for more than 20 years, Ms. Rubino, 45, rarely left her mother. On weekends they went to crafts shows. In the fall, they drove through upstate New York, enjoying the scenery, the fresh air, and each other’s company.

"I used to tell her, `Every mother should have a daughter like you.’ " said Mrs. Rubino, 74. "So thoughtful, and to other people too."

Ms. Rubino couldn’t pass a homeless person without giving money. One blustery winter day she gave a street person her scarf. "She figured he needed it more than she did," Mrs. Rubino said.

When her mother became seriously ill a few years ago, Ms. Rubino had to stop visiting her brother, Anthony, in Louisville, Ky.

"She thought of the family before she thought of herself," Mr. Rubino said. "That’s the most outstanding point I can make about Joanne."

Copyright (c) 2001 by The New York Times Co. Reprinted by permission.