Mary Gleim Bianco, 71

Mary Alice Gleim Bianco, age 71, passed away at Whatcom Hospice House in Bellingham, Wash. on Sept. 19, 2012. She was born Jan. 14, 1941, in Portsmouth, Ohio and raised in Wheelersburg, Ohio. A memorial service was held Sept. 29 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Bellingham. Mary Alice earned her bachelor degree in Music/Vocal Performance from the College Conservatory of Music of the University of Cincinnati and taught elementary music in the Cincinnati Public Schools. She then combined her joy for music with her passion for helping others in a career that spanned almost two decades, as Activities Director, working with the elderly in Buffalo, N.Y. and Kettering, Ohio.

Mary Alice was a devoted wife and mother. She loved coffee in the mornings, quiet, hidden gardens and could find the natural beauty of a scenic “vista” in the most unlikely places. She enjoyed National Public Radio, appreciated music from bluegrass to blues, and shared her love of history and a ” good story told” as a tour guide at the Tyron Palace in New Bern,

N.C. A lifelong interest in religion and spirituality led to her late life enrollment in the Episcopal Church’s Education For Ministry (EFM) course. Mary Alice was an adventurer who in the last year of her life explored her family’s heritage throughout Italy and Germany.

Mary Alice was preceded in death by her parents Betty and Ralph Gleim, and her husband Robert of 44 years. She is survived by her two sons, Kenneth Robert of Savannah, Ga. and Christopher Robert of Bellingham, Wash.; daughter-in-laws Kelly and Laurie Bianco; four grandchildren Sarah Marie, Samuel Alexander, Sophia Christine and Elena Lorenz; two sisters Sharon and Stella; one brother David; seven nieces and four nephews; two grand nieces and six grand nephews. The family asks, when you read a good book think of Mary Alice.