BANGOR – After a full life, Adele Contino died peacefully Jan. 14, 2011, at a Bangor nursing home, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. Adele was a city girl, born in New York City, and raised through the Great Depression. She was a daughter and sister to her first family, and devoted her adult life to being a loving mother and wife to her own family. We remember her as the host of many Thanksgiving feasts at our home in the country. By surrounding us with extended family, she taught her children that we were part of something larger than just ourselves. Adele married Jack in 1955 after a military courtship. We know this because she kept her love letters tied in a silk ribbon in her top drawer. Teri was the first born with a very special bond between them. Jim came just a year later, which she later admitted was not “terribly well planned.” Christine came last and enjoyed a more permissive set of parents after the first two kids cleared the path. One has only to look through the family photo albums to see what a great job Adele did with her family. Dad was a lucky man. They were loving and supportive partners in every aspect of life and set the standard for what a happy and successful marriage should be. Many roles pop from the pages of the photo albums: Adele was a diaper changer, pumpkin carver, dog walker, vacation planner and clothes shopper. She was our religious teacher, cook, cab driver and college saver. We never would have become the adults we are today without her strong hand and guidance. Adele had a giving life outside of the home as well. She worked as a legal secretary for a local law firm. These professionals became lifelong friends, which is testimony to how business should be. She volunteered her time and fundraising skills to Meals on Wheels, Kingston Hospital Auxiliary, St. John’s Church and Philanthropic Educational Organization. She traveled the U.S. and the world: Canada, Costa Rica, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Japan, China, Ireland, England, Scotland, Spain, France, Italy, Germany and Austria. She is survived by her three children, Teri Contino of Newburyport, Mass., Jim Contino of Bangor and Christine Baker of Salida, Colo.; four granddaughters, Louise and Jackie Contino and Stephanie and Erica Baker; numerous nieces and nephews. After missing him for 20 years, Adele is now reunited in heaven with the love of her life, Jack. She was devoted to her church and it was always her wish to return to St. John’s Catholic Church, Woodstock, N.Y., for the rite of Christian burial. We plan to do this together as a family to honor our mother’s life. It was a life well lived. Memorial donations may be made to Westgate Manor Activity Fund, 750 Union St., Bangor, ME 04401.
ADELE CONTINO
