As we celebrate the life of Celestino Pitingolo (Celeste, Tino, Chel), beloved father, Nonno, partner, and friend to many, we honor a man of strong character, infectious charisma, undeniable intelligence, and superior strength.
Born to Andrea Pitingolo and Maria Vittoria Mongiardo Pitingolo, he was raised in Comune di Sant’ Andrea Apostolo dello Jonio, Provincia di Catanzaro, Calabria, Italy. At the age of 13, he attended a trade school in Rome where he found his forever love: automobile mechanics.
He worked for 5 years in Rome, Italy as a wood craftsman and welder before becoming an apprentice to a European Master Technician specializing in Ferrari and FIAT automobiles.
At the age of 19, Celestino was sent by his parents to America, traveling alone by boat to pursue the American dream. He spoke no English and had no friends, but came with fearless intensity to establish a life for his family and begin building a future of his own.
Celestino worked as a Technician for Marsi Motors in Nanuet, NY while learning to speak the English language, fine-tuning his craft, and laying the foundation to become the renowned expert in all things mechanically related - and indeed, he was the expert.
In 1968, at the age of 21, Celestino started his career as an Auto Technician at Mahwah Ford Sales and Service, where he proudly worked for 43 years before retirement. His work did not end there, nor did his drive to help everyone in the community. Whether he was repairing a car on the side of a road, fixing a generator in the middle of a storm, carrying groceries in the rain for a less capable stranger or getting you into your home after you locked yourself out, Celestino Pitingolo was your go-to-guy.
There was nothing he couldn’t fix, create, or build with his hands. When Celestino wasn’t under the hood of a car, you could find him doing one of the many things he loved, including cultivating his precious garden. A beautiful rainbow of his home grown tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, arugula, and herbs would fill the tables in which he sat. He honored all land and took immense pride in his own, planting trees, perfecting garden beds and hand-selecting the seeds of roses that would adorn his property.
Celestino’s love of land extended for miles into farms and fields where he would hunt deer, walk trails, cross rivers, climb trees, pick apples and above all, celebrate life by living it. Nature was a best friend, and a place he went to work, to play, and to find peace.
He was a skilled outdoorsman; he could hunt and fish and shoot like no other. He was a teacher, imparting all of his experiences and knowledge on friends, family and strangers.
He never arrived anywhere empty-handed. You could expect him at your door with a bottle of homemade wine, bags of garden grown vegetables, or a barrel of apples, hand-picked from the farm.
Celestino Pitingolo was a man of many talents, and his hands told the story of the labor and the love that he was so powerfully known for. He was the epitome of hard work, dedication and sacrifice.
He was one to rise early and make the day count. He was a lover of music, a dancer, a singer, a bocce player, a card shark, a soccer kicker, a disciplinarian, a harmonica player, a top spinner, a complete badass, and ultimately, Celestino Pitingolo was a lover of life.
He leaves a legacy to be carried out proudly by his loving daughter Lisa Marie Pitingolo Mastronardi.
Celestino will be treasured indefinitely by his beloved partner, Maria Isabel Peña, with whom he shared life and love for 19 years and her daughter, Angelika Gutierrez.
He is survived by his eldest daughter Victoria Walsh (grandsons Ryan and Jake), his middle daughter Lisa Mastronardi (son-in-law Michael, grandsons Luca and Nico), youngest daughter Laura Casella (son-in-law James, grandchildren Grace and Anthony), sister Mirella and brother-in-law Bruno Cosentino and their daughters, his nieces, Vittoria Valentin and Gabriella Cosentino.
Visitation will be held on Saturday, January 9, 2021 from 9 - 10:30 AM at Wanamaker & Carlough Funeral Home in Suffern, NY followed by a Catholic Mass at Sacred Heart Church in Suffern at 11:00AM
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