Clelia Baldin passed away on Sunday, February 14, 2021, at the age of 93. Known as "Mamma" to her children, "Nonna" to her grandchildren, and "Bisnonna" to her great-grandchildren, is remembered most for her love of family and devotion to the blessed mother.

Mamma was born in Coriano, Italy to Gisue and Ermelinda.  She was preceded in death by her husband, Lino, parents Gisue and Ermelinda, brothers, Carlo, Cleto, Domenico and sister, Carlotta, niece Manuela and grandson Marcellino. She is survived by sisters, Carla (Bruno), Clara (Valerio), brother Antonio (Graziela); children, Luigina (Pat), Pierluigi (Nancy), Gianfranco (Sandy), Rosa (Pat), Marcellino (Dorothy), Tomaso, Antonio (Christine), Adelino, Linda (Dave), Roberto, and Giuseppe (Rachelle), 24 grandchildren, 39 great-grandchildren and 5 great-great grandchildren, and many close friends that were like family. Clelia will be dearly missed by her siblings, children, grandchildren, great and great-great grandchildren, family, and friends.

Mamma was very proud of her large family. She enjoyed the many family get-togethers on most Sundays to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, and our annual Christmas tortellini. We are very grateful for the many traditions that she has passed down to us, including her famous pizza, breadsticks, biscotti and tortellini recipes that we will continue to make, pass on and cherish.

We all have special memories of Mamma. She had the most spectacular flower beds full of color, and gardens that gave her great satisfaction. She enjoyed canning tomatoes, peppers, apples, and peaches. She loved to cook and bake - the most memorable of baked goods are Mamma's grustoli, colomba, and panettone.

She loved to tell us stories of her life growing up during the war. Her stories were so vivid and detailed that we felt like we were there. Mamma grieved the absence of her parents and siblings, aunts and uncles, and cousins. She accepted this as an offering to God, keeping the memories of her family close to her heart. She did such a wonderful job of keeping our relatives close. Even though they were far away, it felt as if we had known them all our life when we spent time with them.

Mamma cherished life and took each moment as a blessing from God. She was sentimental, funny, loved to sing, pray, and took many things to heart. Her prayers are what kept her sanity and gave her peace in moments of despair, especially when she lost her beloved husband, Lino.

She was extremely devoted to the Blessed Mother and has prayed millions of rosaries. Mamma's prayers were like a forcefield that protected us from harm's way. Her prayers helped many of us through some challenging moments and healings that can only be attributed to her prayers. We know in our hearts that Mamma's prayers will continue to protect us. She too was blessed by prayers to Saint Luigi Bosio whom miraculously healed Mamma's eyes.

Mamma's motto in life was "be content" and pray; have faith in God and things will get better. This is a life lesson that she passed onto us and to all her grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren. This helped us put things in perspective amidst all the chaos of life.

We know that she is at peace and finally made it back home to the family that she missed for so long. Papa was there to greet her on his birthday and take her home to celebrate their love and life together in Heaven.

We will always love and cherish the memory of Mamma, all that she has done for us, and the wonderful bond that she created with her family that will live on forever. She is now free to dance, sing, whistle and run around tending to her new gardens in Heaven all day like she used too.

We love you Mamma.

Visitation will be 5-8 p.m. Wednesday, February 24, at Passantino Bros. Funeral Home, KCMO, where the Rosary will be prayed at 7 p.m. The Funeral Mass will be 10:30 a.m. Thursday, February 25, at Holy Rosary Catholic Church, KCMO, followed by burial at Mt. Saint Mary's Cemetery. For those unable to attend in person, the Mass will be live streamed on the Passantino Bros. Funeral Home Facebook Page .

Condolences may be offered at www.passantinobros.com