A life well lived, her work here is done. Eleanor returned to her heavenly home on December 21, 2017. Her devotion to her family, her deep faith in God and her dedication to service were the Hallmarks of her life.
Eleanor was the daughter of the late Alex and Nellie Kaper and step daughter of the late John Walukonis. She resided in Pittston most of her life, only recently moving to Coopersburg, PA to live with her daughter Sarina and son in law, Dan Myers. She attended Pittston City schools (class of ‘43). Eleanor was a registered nurse and a member of the Nurse Cadet Corp. She received a B.S. in nursing from College Misericordia and Master’s degree in Special Education from Marywood University.
In her early years of nursing, she was a private duty nurse. She truly enjoyed direct patient care. Later, she transitioned to nursing education, and was on the faculty of the Scranton State Hospital School of Nursing and also at the White Haven State School and Hospital as an in-service faculty member. Eleanor loved learning and teaching, which prompted her to return to school to pursue her next love.
In her second career as a Special Education teacher, Eleanor was a classroom teacher at the Luzerne County Intermediate Unit 18. She taught life skills to secondary age students. She was instrumental in developing a program to help the students become as independent as possible in their own daily care. Her classroom materials consisted of kitchen facility and housekeeping tools to help the student learn to function in the home and community in order to help themselves and other family members, giving them the pride of contributing to their family and community. Eleanor had a very special place in her heart for all of her students who often stayed in touch with her over the years.
Eleanor was the widow of Stanley J. Bellanco, Sr. and mother of Sarina Myers (Daniel), and the late Stanley J. Bellanco, Jr. Eleanor was Grandma to Luke Myers, Anelle Barker (Alex), and Regina McCrory (Matt). She was Great Grandma (GG) to Aidan, Emmett and Hailey Barker, and Tessa and Ellie McCrory. In addition to her husband and son, Eleanor was preceded in death by sisters Mary Babonis, and Anna Piragas, brothers William, John, Anthony and Bernard.
Eleanor was a lifelong member of Saint Mary Help of Christian Church now called Our Lady of the Eucharist. Here she was a member of the Altar and Rosary Society, Church choir, RCIA team, Renew and was very proud of serving as Eucharist Minister. She especially liked bringing Communion to the homebound and hospitalized.
She was a member of the West Pittston chapter of TOPS, Pittston Senior Citizen Center Choral group, Our Ladies of Charity, Arthritis foundation volunteer, American Red Cross Blood Center and Disaster Preparedness team. She also served with the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, Knights of Lithuania and the Pastoral outreach program. Over the years, she was a member of the Luzerne County private duty nurses, Every voice choir, Red Hat Society, Living Waters Prayer group and Brooks Estates Bible Study Group and Choral Group.
Funeral services are Wednesday, December 27, 2017 at 8:45am from Adonizio Funeral Home, LLC, 251 William Street, Pittston with a Mass of Christian Burial at 9:30am in Our Lady of the Eucharist Parish, 535 N. Main Street, Pittston. Interment, St. Rocco’s Cemetery. Friends may call Tuesday, December 26, 2017 from 5pm-8pm and Wednesday, December 27, 2017 from 8am until 8:45am at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, donations may in made in memory of Eleanor Bellanco (grandmother of Luke Myers) to The Lowe Syndrome Association, P.O. Box 417, Chicago Ridge, IL 60415.