Farewell to Jackie: My Wife, My Best Friend, My Everything

On Saturday, August 15, Jacqueline (Jackie) Cristiano, my beautiful, loving wife, finally succumbed to Alzheimer’s disease after a 10-year struggle. I wanted to share this farewell with you.

It was about 5:30 p.m., four days after she had been given “comfort” drugs, a combination of morphine and Lorazepam (Ativan), which put her into a deep sleep. I was with her throughout her struggle, trading places occasionally with her son, Brandon, who actually was with her when her final breath was taken.

Jackie’s struggle was a long one, having been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2016, when we moved from our home in Maryland to Myrtle Beach, SC, to be near her daughter and family. Throughout that time, Jackie made many friends, including those from the Horry County Democratic Party and the Waccamaw Indian People, both of which she strongly supported. They loved her beautiful smile, her warm and hearty laugh, and her infectious personality.

Her laugh was so distinctive that when we were shopping, if she wandered off to look at some fancy lingerie or whatever, all I had to do was wait. Because soon she would chat with someone and then would come her laugh.

For both of us, it was a second marriage. And for the past almost 30 years, she has been my best friend, the one person I could count on without reservation; the one person whom I wanted to be with always. And that’s pretty much how it was.

Jackie supported me as I developed this Lean to the Left commentary site and its accompanying podcast. She was my cheering section when I played softball with the Myrtle Beach Senior Softball team. She complained when we went out to eat and the meatballs were the size of golfballs or smaller. One of Jackie’s meatballs, about the size of a baseball, was a meal in itself. She was a Pittsburgh Steelers fanatic, but she supported my love of the Baltimore Orioles — except when they played the Pirates.

For her 65th birthday, we went to New York City to see a couple plays and to celebrate. After one of the shows, I asked the cab driver to let me know when we were on Broadway. When he did, I told Jackie to sing. She did, and what a beautiful voice she had. I told her, “Now, Jackie, you can tell everyone you sang on broadway!”

She was my everything.

Jackie was born and raised in Pittsburgh, and that is where she will be laid to rest with her family members nearby. I, of course, will be there to say a final goodbye.

Meanwhile, this website and the podcast at https://podcast.LeantotheLeft.net will be paused until further notice. But don’t worry. I’ll be back, perhaps with a new and different focus that I am now considering.

Thanks for supporting Lean to the Left.

Bob Gatty

Obituary

Mrs. Jacqueline Theresa Cristiano, aged 80, passed away on August 15 at the Indigo Assisted Living and Memory Care Facility In Myrtle Beach, SC due to complications of Alzheimer’s disease.

She was born on February 24, 1946 in Pittsburgh, PA. to Michael and Christine Mancini, where she grew up with her family and attended Peabody High School.

She was a devoted mother who considered raising her three children as her greatest accomplishment in life.

Although a native to Pittsburgh, PA, Jackie and her first husband Joseph F. Cristiano Sr. moved to Rockville, MD in 1972 to raise their family in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.

Jackie worked for many years at the Rockville Senior Center teaching exercise classes to the seniors of the community via choreographed routines set to the music of the 1950’s and 1960’s. The men and women who routinely attended her classes adored her for her humor, hearty laugh, and energy.

In 2016, Jackie and her current husband, Robert Gatty, moved to Myrtle Beach, SC upon Bob’s retirement. There they were members of the Carolina Forest Democratic Club and attended the Waccamaw Indian Tribe’s annual Pau Wau, as Jackie supported Native American culture, heritage, and art.

Jackie will not only be remembered for her big smile and laugh, but also for her extensive cooking which she shared with everyone. From her lasagna, cannelloni, and oversized meatballs, to her cakes, cookies, and pies, there was always open space at the table for another family member or a friend who became family. And Jackie made sure nobody left without something extra to take home, which almost always included her chocolate chip cookies.

Jackie was a loving and devoted wife, mother, daughter, sister, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend to many. Along with her parents and older sister Yvonne Artman, Jacqueline was predeceased by her son Joseph F. Cristiano Jr.

She is survived by her husband Robert Gatty; daughter Jacqueline Campman; son Brandon Cristiano; four grandchildren, Gabrielle Cristiano, Mikaela Campman, Karleigh Campman, and Braeden Campman; great-grandson Grayson Campman-Young; brother Michael Carmen Mancini; Sisters Christine Mancini and Deborah Mancini; and her first husband and father of her children, Joseph F. Cristiano Sr.

Jacqueline will be laid to rest at Mt. Carmel Cemetery in Pittsburgh, PA. Burial arrangements in Pittsburgh will be managed by Charles W. Trenz Funeral Home, 1110
Frankstown Rd. Pittsburgh, PA 15235.

Memorial donations in Jacqueline’s honor may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, 225 North Michigan Avenue, Floor 17, Chicago, IL 60601.

Goldfinch Funeral Home, Carolina Forest Chapel, is handling the arrangements in Myrtle Beach. Please sign the guestbook at www.goldfinchfuneralhome.com.