Jamestown, NY-Eleanor Joan Bittinger, 93, of went to be with her Lord and Savior early in the morning of Monday, June 6, 2016. She was devoted to her faith and her love of Jesus.
Born Apr. 24, 1923, to Stanley and Cecelia (Grobowski) Wisniewski, in Erie, PA. Her childhood days were spent on the family farm in Waterford, PA, along with her 11 brothers and sisters.
Eleanor met dad in Erie, PA and it was love at first sight. They were married Nov. 22, 1947, in Wesleyville, PA, and enjoyed 63 years of marriage with their seven children. Her life was centered around her husband, Joseph Edgar Bittinger, until his death on Mar. 12, 2011.
She was an elegant woman with a strength of character that was greatly respected and admired. However, Eleanor was most beautiful when she was reading her bible. She used to say, if you want the answer to life’s questions “read your bible.”
Her employment career, besides raising seven children, included serving dinners at various restaurants in the area, woodwork at Kling’s Furniture, sales clerk at Bigelows Dept. Store, and retiring in 1985 as a bookkeeper for 16 years for Mid-East Consolidated in Falconer, NY.
Eleanor’s door was always open to all. Family and strangers equally. “According to momma, strangers were friends we just hadn’t met yet. Momma treated everyone with love and respect.” She loved canning, baking, cooking, dancing and singing gospel music.
Our most special memory would be momma’s smile and her kindness. She had a heart so filled with love that it seemed to flow out of her body like a river. No matter who you were or where she would meet you, there was always the words “thank you” and “god bless you!”
Besides her husband, she was preceded in death by a son, Gerald Joseph Joint; grandson, John Henry Taylor; great-grandson, Marcus Allan Mattson; and 11 brothers and sisters.
Surviving are six children, Francis (Phyllis) Joint of Ripley, NY; Dennis Bittinger of Clymer, NY; Eleanor J. (Sam) Muscarella of Jamestown, NY; Lydia (John) Taylor of Jamestown, NY; Joseph (Linda) Bittinger of Sherman, NY; Jane Ann (Larry) Condron of Sugar Grove, PA; 16 grandchildren, 33 great-grandchildren and 14 great-great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews in the Waterford, PA area.
A graveside service will be at the Whatcoat Cemetery in White Sulphur Springs, at 10 a.m. on Saturday morning, June 11, with Pastor Gene Sizemore officiating. A light luncheon will follow the service at the Pentecostal Church on Ingleside Avenue, White Sulphur Springs.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Hospice of Chautauqua County 20 W. Fairmount Avenue, Lakewood, NY 14750 or Gideons Bible.
Shanklin Funeral Home, White Sulphur Springs, is serving the family.