Mary V. Pisano

Mary was the eldest of five daughters, born on September 18, 1929 in the Bronx, to Rosa and Francesco Chironno. She attended Evander Childs High School in the Bronx. Mary always had a passion for children and had dreams of becoming a pediatric nurse. Those dreams were unfulfilled as she had to work from an early age to help support the family.

Mary married her teenage sweetheart and love of her life, Dominick Pisano, on September 3, 1949. Legend (and newspaper) has it that Mary was covered in poison ivy, oak and sumac on her wedding day. That didn’t stop her! nor is it visible in the beautiful wedding photos. Mary and Dominick were married for almost 39 years before his early passing in 1988.

Mary and Dominick moved from the Bronx to New City in 1971. She raised six children of her own and gave one-on-one mother care to many neighborhood children whose parents worked outside their homes. She treated them with the same tender loving care as she did her own children. Mary saw the beauty in all children, and had a heart that was overflowing with unending love for all of them. Her home was a welcoming place for all, filled with love and food to be shared.

Mary always said she was fortunate to have had two great loves in her lifetime. She shared a very happy 23 years with “Johnny Sac”, as two old friends re-connected after they both lost their spouses in the same month, until his passing in 2012.

After spending 27 years in New City, Mary enjoyed 14 years of retirement life in Florida with Johnny, before returning to New York for her final 11 ½ years. She loved music, and up until the week before her passing, was still able to “Name That Tune” of almost any (older) song after hearing (assuming her hearing aid was in) only a few notes. The music brought back many memories that she made with family and friends throughout her long and healthy life, for which she, and all who knew her, were very blessed.

In addition to her parents, husband, and Johnny, Mary is predeceased by her four sisters: Vincenza (Scala), Carmella (Panarella), Josephine (DeDomenico), and Theresa (Sena); her son, Christopher and son-in-law Thomas Dalton.

She is survived by her five children: Arlene (Gaspare Perrello), Janice Krusel (Richard), Maria Villanti (Eugene), Angela, and Richard (Lisa), her seven grandchildren: Daniel Villanti, Nicole Villanti, Michael Krusel, Daniel Pisano, Alanna Monteleone (Nicola), Dominick Pisano, and Christiane Pisano; and her special little sweetheart, Jason Stamps, who brought her many, many moments of joy in her last 2 ½ years.

Mary was a loving and proud daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, aunt, cousin, friend and neighbor, and her matriarch role suited her. Her kindness touched many lives and she will be deeply missed and fondly remembered by all her family and friends.

The family will receive friends on Thursday, February 8, 2024 from 2 PM to 8 PM at the Edward F. Carter Funeral Home, 41 Grand St, Croton-on-Hudson, NY. Mass of Christian burial will be held at 10 AM on Friday, February 9 at St. Augustine Church 381 N Highland Ave, Ossining, NY, followed by interment at Ferncliff Cemetery 280 Secor Rd, Hartsdale, NY.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Mary’s memory to either: United Hospice-Joe Raso Hospice Residence 415 Buena Vista Rd, New City, NY 10956, or online at https://unitedhospiceinc.org/donation/; or to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital at https://www.stjude.org.