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06/12/2013 10:00 AMLillian Catherine Zajac Mingione, 89, of Madison, died on June 7 at home in Madison with her children by her bedside. She was the widow of the late Louis William Mingione, Sr. Born on Oct. 15, 1923 in Chicago, Illinois, Lillian was the daughter of the late Franciszek and Katarzyna Zajac of Chicago, Illinois and Zakopane, Poland. She was a Women’s Army Air Corp (WAAC) World War II veteran, having serving in Reno, Nevada and Charleston, South Carolina. Lillian was later awarded the Army Good Conduct Medal, the American Campaign Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal. In addition to raising her children, she had 30 years of service working for the United States Postal Service in New Haven.
In her early married life in 1948, as a young mother of her first son, Louis, then two years old, Lillian achieved local fame and entered the Congressional Record for posterity when she wrote to her state senator Raymond E. Baldwin to protest the luxury tax on essential baby items. “Since when,” she asked, “has it become a luxury for a baby to have a sore bottom?” Her eloquent and direct message moved the senator to read her letter to Congress in support of his efforts to repeal the unfair tax. This was recorded in the Congressional Record and widely reported in local and national press at the time. She was acknowledged publicly as a role model for the promotion of greater public involvement in governance.
Lillian enjoyed cooking, spending time with her family, and traveling. She was an avid reader and enjoyed needlework. She will be most remembered for her kindness, generosity of spirit, and support of children’s rights and well-being.
She is survived (and will be dearly missed) by her six children: sons Louis William Mingione Jr. and his wife Kathy of Punta Gorda, Florida; Larry Mingione and his wife Gloria of New York; Lee Robert Mingione and his wife Celia Everett Mingione of New York and Peter Mingione of New York City; and daughters Linda Houde of Madison and Lisa Richman of London, England. In addition, she leaves 10 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. Lillian also leaves many beloved nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her brother John Zajac of Key West, Florida and her sisters Angeline Moravec of Berwyn, Illinois and Berenice Sporna of New Haven.
Lillian’s family would like to express their deep gratitude to Dr. Jeffrey Turner of Yale University School of Medicine and the Middlesex Hospice staff for their wonderful care of her, and to her nieces Mary Santarcangelo of Killingworth and Katherine Bysiewicz of Madison for their many acts of kindness and support during her illness.
Visiting hours will be held on Tuesday, June 11 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Swan Funeral Home in Madison. This will be followed by a funeral mass on Wednesday, June 12 at 10 a.m. at St. George’s Church in Guilford. Burial with full military honors will take place in East Lawn Cemetery in East Haven.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Covenant House organization, PO Box 96708, Washington DC 20090-6708 or www.childfund.org.