Maria Pia Chidester

Maria Pia was born in the small town of Pontinia in the province of Latina, Italy to Pietro Salvati and Fulvia Baldessarri on September 8th, 1951. She was the eldest of four children, but she was very different from them. When she was about 5 years old, Maria Pia had an experience with Jesus. In this experience He asked her to help Him, which sparked a life long calling to follow and serve God and Jesus. Eventually the calling led her to immigrate to The United States of America as a missionary. During her time in New York state, she met and married the love of her life: Gary Chidester (70).They were married on April 23rd, 1987 in Coral Gables, Florida. They participated in the 1275 Couples International Blessing on Jan 12th, 1989 in Korea. Together they had three children: Jessica (35), Marc (33), and Valerie (27).

On April 12th, 2006, Maria Pia earned and was happy to pledge her American citizenship. Not only was she the only one in her family to move overseas, she was also the first to graduate college with an Associates degree in Nursing at the College of Central Florida on October 16th, 2005. Her pioneer spirit did not stop there, she also experimented with starting her own catering business locally.

She was artistic and creative in all she did: she loved to cook, bake, garden, and paint. It was her way to be closer to God; to be a steward of his creation and tending to others. Inspired by Bob Ross and Thomas Kincade, she mainly painted winter landscapes and cozy homes, with warmth of light shining through branches of trees and brick houses. You could say she was a romantic at heart.

She loved quite the range of music and you knew she was having a good day when you heard her singing or humming in the other room while cooking. Her voice was youthful and light, reflecting her inner purity of heart. Later on in life, she eventually lost her voice due to the weakening of her vocal chords but she still loved to sing and listened to the music of Nat King Cole, Gino Paoli, Louis Armstrong, and others.

Maria Pia had a heart always full of generosity and compassion. Every year, she donated money around Christmas time to local charities and in her earlier years, contributed her time at the local church. Despite her long 20+ year battle with cancer, she gave 100% every day and her faith did not waiver. She always said she was on “borrowed time” until God said she was no longer needed on this earth. She did not dwell on her suffering. For Maria Pia, the most important things in life are: God, family, and country.

Her message to the world is how she braved her challenges: take it one day at a time and never give up.

In the early morning of February 22nd 2025, Maria Pia passed away peacefully in her sleep. She was surrounded by her husband and children. She lived her life as depicted in the words of Saint John Bosco, “An ordinary person, who did extraordinary things.”

A visitation for Maria will be held Tuesday, March 4, 2025 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM at Baldwin Fairchild at Chapel Hill, 2420 Harrell Road, Orlando, FL 32817. A funeral service will occur Tuesday, March 4, 2025 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM, 2420 Harrell Road, Orlando, FL 32817. A graveside service will occur Tuesday, March 4, 2025 from 12:00 PM to 12:30 PM at Chapel Hill Cemetery, 2420 Harrell Rd, Orlando, FL 32817. A reception will occur Tuesday, March 4, 2025 from 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM, 2420 Harrell Road, Orlando, FL 32817.