Bella Whalen

The daughter of the late Amelia and Antonio Pinto, she was born on August 18th, 1923, in Vila Soeiro, Portugal.

Bella, with her family, emigrated from Portugal to Yonkers, NY in 1928. She married George V. Whalen in 1946 and lived in Athens, Greece and Presque Isle, Maine courtesy of the US Air Force before settling in Cornwall, NY in 1958 as her late husband’s last posting was Stewart Air Force base. She worked as a Library Aide at Canterbury Elementary and Cornwall on Hudson Elementary schools. After 53 years in Cornwall and Cornwall-on-Hudson she relocated to Orangeburg, NY in 2011.

She is survived by her son George Whalen and his wife Laureen; six grandchildren: Meghan, Kristen, Michael and Richard Whalen, and Melissa and Richard Zodikoff; and eight great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by her husband George Whalen, sons Richard Whalen and Paul Whalen, sisters Emily and Sally and brothers Manny, Paul, and Mario.

Bella was known as a strong-willed, loving woman who was devoted to friends and family.

Visitation will be held on Wednesday, January 19th from 4-8 PM at Michael J. Higgins Funeral Home, 321 S. Main Street, New City, NY. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Thursday, January 20th at 10AM at St. Catharine’s Church, 523 Western Highway, Blauvelt, NY. Interment will follow in St. Thomas Cemetery, Cornwall, NY.