Antonette Baldasarre

Having lived her entire life in Wellsville except for the last 2 years when she lived at Nentwick Care Center in East Liverpool, Antonette “Ann” Baldasarre, 93, passed away to the care of our Father in heaven on Saturday, January 17th at Nentwick Care Center following a brief illness.

Ann, or “Antie” as she was so fondly called by her many nieces and nephews, was born on October 17, 1921 and was the fourth child of Lorenzo and Theresa Sarangelo Baldasarre.

In her youth, she graduated from Immaculate Conception school in Wellsville, and was a parishioner at the same parish until its unfortunate closure in 2011, often attending daily Mass. After the Immaculate Conception closed, she became a parishioner at Holy Trinity parish in East Liverpool. Ann was a devout Catholic who loved her faith and all that it represented to her – the values of love, kindness, selflessness, and humility. For all who knew her, Ann was the embodiment of those values and lived her life guided by them on a daily basis.

Ann graduated from Wellsville High School in 1940, and shortly thereafter went to work at the former McCrory’s 5 & 10 in downtown East Liverpool, where she worked for almost 40 years. Ann loved working at the store, and for years worked at the candy counter, which was, for her, a perfect fit, because of her renowned predilection for sweets! She would always bring home goodies for her beloved nieces and nephews and was famous with her family for “Sunday cookies at Antie’s house.” Never would you go to her house without getting some kind of sweet or another, if only the sweetness of her presence and love. Ann retired from McCrory’s after having worked there for many years in order to care for her aging mother, Theresa.

Indeed, taking care of people was one of the hallmarks of Ann’s life. Her selfless devotion to her family was evident throughout her life and in everything she did. Antie took care of everybody – her parents, her brother Rocco, and all of her nieces and nephews always. Ann was truly all about family, and her family was more important to her than anything else except for her devotion to God. She did everything for her family, but mostly showered all of them with love and kindness. She treated her nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews as if they were her own beloved children and grandchildren. She was so proud of all of them and exceptionally proud that every single one had attended college. In turn, they adored her and loved her immeasurably.

Ann was kind and generous to everybody, always had a smile on her face, never complained, and never had a bad thing to say about anybody. She was the embodiment of a true Christian woman. She was tremendously adored by everybody who knew and loved her. She never forgot a single birthday, anniversary, or any other important event in her family members’ lives. One of her favorite things to do in the world was to sit outside on the porch in the summertime with her family and talk and laugh. Indeed, she and her brothers sat out on that porch every possible evening and all the people would stop by for a chat and her famous hospitality. She was very quick with her laughter and a smile for those she loved, and maintained her wit until the end.

Ann showed her love for her family in myriad ways. She loved to cook for her family, and well into advanced age she continued to can and preserve all the vegetables from her beloved brother Rocco’s famous garden. She and her brother fed generations of the Baldasarre family as well as others with that garden and its abundance. As she nourished her family in body with food from the garden, she nourished her family in soul with her constant love and devotion. She was always there for her family, and never ever let anybody down. Ann led a simple life, but in the things that mattered most, she was ever present with her support and gentle, caring ways.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Lorenzo and Theresa, her beloved brother Rocco, with whom she lived her entire life, and one sister Angeline DeSarro and two brothers-in-law: Frank Fregiato and Tony DeSarro. Survivors include one sister, Mary Fregiato of St. Clairsville as well as one brother, Fred & his wife Francis “Jean” Baldasare of Wellsville as well as many beloved nieces & nephews.

A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in East Liverpool on Thursday, January 22, 2015 at 10:00 am with Father Peter Haladej as celebrant. Interment will follow in St. Elizabeth Cemetery in Wellsville.

The family will be present to receive friends at the Wellsville Chapel of the Martin MacLean Altmeyer Funeral Homes on Wednesday, January 21, 2015 from 4-7 PM with Rosary Service led at 6PM