Mary Ellen \u201cPinkie\u201d Bianco, age 87, passed away on Tuesday, July 18, 2023 at Hospice House, Pleasant Prairie.<\/p>\n
Born on October 10, 1935 in Kenosha, WI, she was the daughter of the late Frank and Caroline (Marek) Pingitore. \u00a0Mary Ellen attended local schools, graduated from Mary D. Bradford High School in 1952 and attended UW-Parkside Extension.<\/p>\n
On May 4, 1957, she married Clarence\u00a0\u201cBinks\u201d Bianco at Our Lady of Mount Caramel Catholic Church. \u00a0They celebrated 61 years together building a beautiful life, raising their four children.<\/p>\n
Mary Ellen touched many lives with her humor and generous spirit. Passionate about her community and church, she dedicated her energy and resources to making a difference, especially for the homeless and area school children. \u00a0As a member of St. Peter\u2019s Catholic Church, she was actively involved in the Human Concerns Committee, particularly with the giving tree holiday program.<\/p>\n
Devoted to her family, she had been involved in her children\u2019s lives. When they were growing up, she was a strong presence in their schools, on the sidelines, and in the stands. \u00a0She was always interested in their stories, and she had an uncanny ability to put everything into perspective.<\/p>\n
As a grandmother, she attended her grandchildren\u2019s musical performances, sporting events, and academic competitions. \u00a0Sleepovers were always special occasions, complete with Cardinali\u2019s white bread French toast for breakfast.<\/p>\n
A loyal friend, she cultivated and maintained cherished relationships throughout her life\u2014from her Columbus Park pals to her parish committee members. \u00a0She always greeted everyone with a genuine openness and a warm smile.<\/p>\n
What mattered most to her were family, faith, and friendships\u2014sprinkled with laughter and love.<\/p>\n
She is survived by her four children, Laura Bianco of Kenosha, WI, Carolyn (Jeffrey) Wilkins of Caledonia, WI, Paul (Peggy O\u2019Callaghan) Bianco of Glenview, IL, and Peter Bianco of Racine, WI; her four grandchildren, Garrett and Ethan Wilkins and Lauren and Sam Bianco; her brother Jim (Lorene) Pingitore and many cousins and godchildren.<\/p>\n
In addition to her parents and husband, Mary Ellen was preceded in death by her infant brother.<\/p>\n
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Funeral services honoring Mary Ellen\u2019s life will be held on Tuesday, July 25, 2023.<\/p>\n
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m. at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, 2223-51st<\/sup> Street, Kenosha, WI. Relatives and friends are asked to meet at church for the Mass.<\/p>\n The service may be viewed via livestream on the following link facebook.com\/PiaseckiFuneralHome\/live\/<\/a>.\u00a0 You do not need Facebook to watch.<\/p>\n Entombment will follow in Green Ridge Cemetery.<\/p>\n A visitation for Mary Ellen will be held on Monday, July 24, 2023 from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at the Piasecki Funeral Home, 3720 39th Ave, Kenosha.<\/p>\n Memorial remembrances can be made to the charities closest to Mary Ellen\u2019s heart, The Nora Project, P.O. Box 664, Highland Park, IL 60035, www.thenoraproject.ngo<\/a>, ELCA Outreach Center, 6218 26th<\/sup> Ave., Kenosha, WI\u00a0 53143 as well as Hospice Alliance, 10220 Prairie Ridge Blvd., Pleasant Prairie, WI 53158, https:\/\/www.hospicealliance.org<\/a>. If you wish to honor Mary Ellen\u2019s legacy, please bring a pair of socks and they will be donated.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mary Ellen \u201cPinkie\u201d Bianco, age 87, passed away on Tuesday, July 18, 2023 at Hospice House, Pleasant Prairie. Born on October 10, 1935 in Kenosha, WI, she was the daughter of the late Frank and Caroline (Marek) Pingitore. \u00a0Mary Ellen attended local schools, graduated from<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":6688,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"service-location":[],"class_list":["post-11363","obituary","type-obituary","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenoshafuneralhome.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/obituary\/11363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenoshafuneralhome.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/obituary"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenoshafuneralhome.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/obituary"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenoshafuneralhome.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11363"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenoshafuneralhome.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenoshafuneralhome.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"service-location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenoshafuneralhome.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/service-location?post=11363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}