Antoinette Mancini

MANCINI, Antoinette Of Amherst, age 91, entered into rest on April 25, 2023. Beloved daughter of the late Joseph and Lucia (nee DellOrco) Mancini; dear sister of Daniel (Frances) Mancini, Joshua Mancini, the late Josephine (late Thomas) Rizzo, Angeline (late Russell) Kingsbury, Carmela (late Samuel) Bonfrisco, Nicholas Mancini, Elijah (Theresa) Mancini, and Samuel (late Carol) Mancini; also survived by many loving nieces, nephews and friends. No prior visitation. A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date. Arrangements by LOMBARDO FUNERAL HOME (Northtowns Chapel). Antoinette was born on November 9, 1931, in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, the third of nine children born to Joseph and Lucia Mancini. They were a musical family and Antoinette, Josephine, Angeline, and Carmela would travel to a variety of churches to sing together as a quartet. The family moved to Buffalo, NY in the early 40s where Joseph was a founding member of an Italian Pentecostal church that eventually became Faith Gospel Tabernacle and is now Expressway Assembly of God. She was always very active in church, singing, serving, and mostly teaching Sunday School. After graduating from high school, she started her career in Medical Records working at Lafayette General Hospital and at Millard Fillmore Gates Circle. She also attended Buffalo Bible Institute and took many Bible courses and made many long-lasting friendships. Antoinette loved to teach children about Jesus. For years, she was the first Sunday School teacher a child would meet, and she loved and nurtured each child. She used puppets and flannel boards with pictures so the children could understand the Bible stories. She prepared and helped the children make a craft that would help them remember the story. She also sang childrens songs with the visuals and actions. Many of us still remember the actions to "Im in the Lords Army," "Peter, James, and John in a Sailboat," and "Mine, Mine, Mine, Jesus is Mine" along with looking at the beautiful illustrations in "The Countdown" (Somewhere in Outer Space) book and the "newspaper" song of "Good News, Good News, Christ Died for Me" or holding the signs for "Stop and Let Me Tell You." Antoinette was generous. Every child in her class would receive a beautiful gift for each holiday. Her nieces, nephews, and her "adopted" families were spoiled by her, Aaron especially held a special place in her heart. We would walk or take a bus to Licottas, Grandel, Swiss Chalet, the Yankee Doodle Restaurant, and many other places and she would always buy treats for us or a delicious meal. Whenever she baked cookies (oatmeal raisin her specialty), she would fill bags and share them. She always had candy in her room for us to find. We are all going to miss the birthday card that she would send to family and friends faithfully each year. Her plastic canvas crafts were shared and loved by everyone. Antoinette had many interests and loves: nature, Alaska, birds (especially the red cardinal), flowers (especially red roses). She loved music! Looking in her room, her love of Dean Martin was evident. She also played Eddie Arnolds "Make the World Go Away" many mornings. All of us learned and loved "Dominick the Donkey" by Lou Monte thanks to Antoinette. She enjoyed the worship music on SBN and had it playing all the time. She loved photography and took pictures of everything: birds, flowers, trees, and especially family. She became a family historian thanks to all the pictures in her collection. Everywhere she lived, she loved to garden. When she moved to Silver Creek with her brother and sister (Joshua and Carmela), she took ownership of the many plants and fruit trees that were on the farm. She loved participating in CEM and the Home Bureau and even taught some classes to other seniors and made beautiful friendships at each location. Antoinette lived life to the fullest right to her final days. Her final weekend before entering the Hospice in-patient unit was spent with family and friends. First at a family wedding where she was able to see her brothers and many of her nieces and nephews and their children and their childrens children. On Easter Sunday, she was able to go out again to spend the day with family. Although she was in tremendous pain, she insisted on attending Movie Night and Trivia Night at Amherst Town Apartments where she enjoyed the time she spent with her friends. Everywhere she went, she made an impression on everyone who knew her, and we will all miss her dearly. Join us for a Celebration of Antoinettes Life at 10 a.m. on July 1, 2023 at The Columns, 2221 Transit Road, Elma, NY 14059. Please RSVP by June 24th by text to (716) 427-4170. Provide your name and how many will be attending. Thank you!