BACINO, Sally T. (1914-2010)

BACINO

Posted By: Marilyn Holmes
Date: 11/9/2018 at 20:28:06

www.bentoncountyfuneral.com
Rogers, Arkansas

SALLY "SARAH" TERESA BACINO

Sally T. Bacino, a retired educator, active church member, and avid traveler died at home on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2010, from pneumonia. She was 96 and lived in Rogers, Ark.

Independent, determined, and dedicated, Sally accomplished much throughout her life, notwithstanding that she was a single woman, from the early 20th century, and the daughter of immigrants. In the mid-1950s, she traveled to Europe by boat at age 42, got her driver's license at the age of 45, completed an advanced degree at 55, and was highly recognized for her work in the field of education. She was an avid traveler and crisscrossed the United States by car with her dog.

Miss Bacino was born March 11, 1914, in Tama, Iowa, the oldest child of immigrants from Burgio, Sicily. She graduated from high school in Tama, attended Clarke College in Dubuque, Iowa, and earned her bachelor of arts degree in English and history from the University of Iowa. She taught in an Iowa one-room country schoolhouse during the Depression. After one year her sense of adventure took her to Chicago, establishing a path that would eventually be followed by her mother and two of her brothers. A devout daughter, she cared for her inform mother, who spoke little English. After her mother's death in 1954, Sally traveled to the ancestral village of her parents, Burgio, Sicily, through Italy, and to other countries in Europe. Ever independent and strong-willed, she often remarked how overprotective her relatives in Burgio were, chaperoning her on all her outings in the village. Upon her return from Europe, the call of teaching brought her to Algonquin, Ill., in 1956. She taught elementary school, middle school and 17 years at Barrington High School. During her tenure there, she completed a master's degree in guidance and counseling from Northern Illinois University in 1968. She took great pride in her work with students, which culminated in her receiving the Illinois Special Education Teacher of the Year Award in 1979, an honor bestowed on only seven teachers among thousands in the field in the Illinois Public School System. She retired from teaching that year. During her summer vacations, she traveled extensively across the United States visiting friends, relatives and the national parks. Her travels eventually led her to northwest Arkansas, where she fell in love with the region and eventually made Rogers her retirement home. Her faith was the source of her strength and determination. She was an active member of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Rogers, serving as a sacristan, eucharistic minister, lector, minister to the sick, member of Mother Seton group and participant in church social functions.

She was preceded in death by her parents Giuseppe "Joseph" Bacino and Biagia "Beatrice" Triolo; by her brothers, Vencil "Chan" of Tama, Leo and Steven of Elgin, Ill.; and by infant twin brothers, Giuseppe and Rosario.

She is survived by nieces and nephews, Craig (Janice) Bacino of Helena, Mary Kathleen Bacino of Garland, Texas, Gina (Ted) Sharer of Boone, Iowa, Michael Bacino of Des Moines, Iowa, Leo Bacino of Elgin, Elizabeth (Dennis) Butzow of Elgin and Laura Bacino of Brooklyn, Iowa.

Visitation and rosary will take place at Benton County Funeral Home in Rogers between 5 and 7 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 30. A funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 31, at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Rogers. A graveside service will be held at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 2, at St. Patrick's Cemetery in Tama.

Memorials can be made to St. Vincent de Paul School of Rogers.

Online condolences to www.bentoncountyfuneralhome.com .