Yolanda (Canestraro) Halpin's Obituary
Yolanda (Canestraro) Halpin passed away peacefully on March 3, 2023, two days before her 95th birthday. She had been a resident at the Jewish Home of CNY. Yolanda was born in Syracuse, daughter of the late Angeline and John Canestraro. She was a long-time employee of Niagara Mohawk and started as a dance instructor with the Arthur Murray Dance Studio. She would give in prompt-to dance lessons who were so inclined.
Yolanda was a family icon. A hilarious matriarch who loved pasta and champagne. Wherever she was, a celebration broke out. Family was everything to Yolanda except when she was pulling the lever at her favorite casino. She loved to travel and would hop a plane in a moment’s notice. Her favorite place on earth was Las Vegas where she once dined in the company of Frank Sinatra. Her sisters remember her as a class clown and free spirit. Above all, she was loving and considerate as any sister could wish for. To family and friends, she was a mentor who could both challenge and affirm. Yolanda was a trusted confidant to all who sought a sympathetic ear.
She could contemplate on the stars above and dance her heart out at a bar. That was Yolanda. Larger than life with an even larger heart.
In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by her loving husband, Charles Edward Halpin, and her sister, Faye Pitonzo McCallister.
Yolanda is survived by sisters, Ann Leone, Josephine Polito and Annette Tesoriero. She never had her own children, but she was a second mother to her many nieces and nephews who adored her.
Calling hours will be held on Thursday, March 9, 2023 from 10:45 am – 11:45 am at Our Lady of Pompei/St. Peter Church, 301 Ash St., Syracuse, NY, followed by a Funeral Mass in celebration of Yolanda’s life at Noon, with burial in Assumption Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers the family asks instead to donate to Francis House or to CNY Alzheimer’s Association of Syracuse, NY.
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