Cover photo for Claire Lorraine Sinise's Obituary
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1924 Claire 2013

Claire Lorraine Sinise

March 16, 1924 — September 1, 2013

Claire Lorraine (DeCesaro) Sinise was born into a proud Italian family on March 16, 1924 in Kenosha, Wisconsin to Frank and Caroline DeCesaro. She was the fourth of 4 children. She was preceded in death by her parents, her sisters Adeline (DeCesaro) Caravette and Olivia (Lee) (DeCesaro) Pellegrino and her brother Alfred DeCesaro. She also was preceded in death by the absolute love of her life and husband, Joseph, who died on January 4, 1972. She never remarried nor even thought about it as she always said that no one could ever live up to the love and kindness of her Joe. She is survived by her son Greg as well as her beloved grandchildren Laura and Joseph. Even though she went through life afraid of animals, she is also survived by Joe's dog Max, who she loved very much. She has 3 nephews and 1 niece as well as one godson. Claire, who moved to the Chicago area (actually Blue Island, IL) in 1949 was a Mom and Nana first and a beautician second. She owned her own beauty shop until she closed it in the mid-90's to move to Indianapolis to be near her son and his family. She then temped for Kelly Girls for years until she was offered full time employment with Key Benefits. When she moved on, she continued to look for a job, interviewing up until 2 years ago. Never to let grass grow under her feet, she brought joy to 12 ministries at St Monica Catholic Church as well as she volunteered in the kitchen at St. Augustine Home. She was thrilled when her first born granddaughter went off to college, attending Hanover College. In addition, her absolute joy was the time she spent on Purdue's campus, her son's alma mater. She had non-stop football and basketball season tickets for over 40 years and was known to cook up a mouth watering Italian tail gate every year. She could not have been prouder when her grandson decided to attend Purdue as well. She truly looked at the Boilermakers as her second family, spending countless hours at numerous events. Having also been in catering as a side job in the '60's, she became the regular caterer for 25 or more at her son's annual Indianapolis 500 party on race day. A strong willed woman, you never had to ask where you stood, but she was motivated by kindness, love and affection and wanted to always make others happy. There are those who have said that she probably has already asked God to run his kitchen! The wake will be held at St Monica Catholic Church (6131 N. Michigan Rd., Indianapolis, IN 46228) from 4-8 pm on September 12, 2013. Funeral Mass will be at 5:30 pm at St Monica's. Burial will be in Our Lady of Peace Cemetery. Memorial Contributions can be made to the John Purdue Club, Mackey Arena, Room 2200, 900 John R. Wooden Drive, West Lafayette, IN 47907. You are invited to go to the Guest Book page to pass along your personal message or tell a story. Sincerely, -Your friends at Flanner and Buchanan
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