Eleanora Bufano Pisacano Peters, 81, died Sunday, Sept. 28 2008 at her home in Jesup, Ga.
Born in Jersey City, N.J. on Dec. 12, 1926 to first-generation Italian-American immigrants, Eleanora was preceded in death by her two brothers, Anthony and Rocco Bufano Jr., her father, Rocco Bufano Sr., and her mother, Carmella Bufano.
Rocco trained prize-fighters and Carmella ran a soup-kitchen during the great depression, and Eleanora inherited both the strength of her father and the warmth of her mother.
She began a career as an opera singer as a young girl in New Jersey at Mount Carmel Catholic Church. During World War II, she performed with the U.S.O. Tour.
She was a founding member of and regular performer in the Community Concerts program in Long Beach, N.Y., where she raised six children with her first husband, Dr. John Pisacano.
She lived in East Hampton, N.Y. for 10 years with her daughters, Norma Bushman and Andrea Pisacono. She was an active member in many community theatre productions with many starring roles.
Eleanora spent the last 17 years of her life in Jesup. She was a founding member of the Wayne County Arts Council, a longtime supporter of Altamaha Community Concerts, a volunteer in the Wayne Memorial Hospital Auxiliary and a former president of the local chapter of the AARP.
She was a member of Jesup Presbyterian Church, where she met Bradley Peters, her loving husband and devoted caregiver.
Her final moments were spent in the company of her husband and her daughters, her grandchildren and her son, her pastor and the caregivers of Hospice of Southeast Georgia. Eleanora was given her last rights by her family.
She is survived by her six children and their spouses, Andrea Pisacono and Harold Perry of East Hampton, Anthony Pisacono and Rony Wood of Statesboro, Giana and John Eden of Jesup, Claudia and Howard Levy of Rybrook, N.Y., Leonora and Jack Knight of East North Port, N.Y., and Norma and Marvin Bushman of East Hampton; her 13 grandchildren; and her newly-born great-grandson.
Donations can be made in her memory to Hospice of Southeast Georgia ,117 Drennon Dr. Jesup,GA 31545.
A memorial service will be held today (Wednesday) at Jesup Presbyterian Church at 4 p.m. Following the service, the family invites friends to a reception in the fellowship hall.
Eleanora will also be memorialized in New York by friends and family.
Howard-Jones-Nobles Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.