August 25, 2010

Mt. Carmel parishioner celebrates a century of life well lived

By Don Bain

When Angelina Buccino was born William Taft was the American president. The first junior high schools had just opened in California, the Boy Scouts had just formed in Chicago, Mount McKinley had first been climbed, Haley’s Comet made its closest pass to the Earth, the first Zeppelin with passengers took flight and Alva Fisher had just patented the electric washing machine.

The year was 1910 and the world was full of innovation and progress on many levels.

Angelina Carmella Villano was born July 12 into a north Denver immigrant family, the fifth child of Jerry and Geraldine Villano.

Her early years were full of daily chores that she remembers fondly.

“If we were poor,” she said, “we didn’t know it. All I know is how much fun we had during those times.”

Along with her older sister Lucille, she would mix a 100-pound bag of flour into bread dough for the family table every week. The bread, part of each and every meal, was baked in an outdoor oven. The dinner table was so crowded with nine siblings—four sisters and five brothers—plus her parents, most of them sat on crates. The kids had to sleep three to a bed.

A childhood based on hard work and the shared joys of a large family tends to produce people of great potential and Angelina was no exception.

One morning she followed her sister to a service at Mount Carmel Church in Denver and instantly found inspiration in everything she saw there—the colorful clothing of the priest, the uplifting images of the saints on the ceiling, the mystique of Mass in Latin and the heavenly chorus, coming from the loft above.

From that day forward she devoted her life to God and the Blessed Mother.

At the age of 29 she found her soul mate in fellow Mount Carmel parishioner Michael Buccino. He was a deeply devoted man, especially to the Blessed Mother, as well as a talented illustrator. They married on Sept. 10, 1939.

Together they established the Catholic Art Services Bureau and Mike penned illustrations for many Catholic publications.

They had five children together—Jeannine, Michael, Loretta, Louie and Mary Ann. When the kids were grown the couple joined the Legion of Mary, visiting the sick and elderly in hospitals and rest homes.

In later years they volunteered to take the Pilgrim Virgin statue to different homes weekly, spreading the Fatima vision for peace in the world and cultivating recitation of the rosary.

This devotion was always part of her and Michael’s life together. Her son, also named Michael after his father, cannot remember her missing a single Mass from the time he was a small child until she broke her hip at 95, a few short years ago.
Her husband also published a book of verses and illustrations to illuminate each bead of the rosary called the Rosary Album. It is still available from Angelus Press for $9.95 and Angelina still manages the sales of the book.

Angelina’s husband died on April 1, 2000, but she still lives in north Denver sustained by her faith and the unconditional love of her five children, 13 grandkids, 27 great grandchildren and their nearly daily visits.

More than 250 members of her family and a few close friends gathered at her residence on July 11 to celebrate her 100th birthday with a complete and extensive Italian dinner, including cake and a spirited rendering of the Happy Birthday song, in which Angelina was wished many more birthdays to come.