Obituaries

Ellen C. Bellantoni, 85, died on Friday, November 19, 2021, in her retirement home at Covenant Living at the Holmstad, Batavia, Illinois. 

Ellen was born on January 18, 1936, in New York City, the eldest of five children of the late Walter and Ellen Cadette, whose family home was in Flushing, N.Y. Educated in local Catholic schools, she developed an early, life-long passion for chemistry. She attended Fordham University where she majored in chemistry and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in 1957. She obtained a Master’s Degree at Wellesley College in1969, before going on to achieve a PhD in Polymer Chemistry in1983 from the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Her subsequent career was in research and development, principally at the Millipore Corporation in Bedford, Mass, where she was a joint inventor on a U.S. Patent for a hydrophilic polymer membrane. She was also named as joint inventor of a hydrogel, on a patent issued to the Alcon Corporation. After retiring from corporate life, Ellen taught chemistry and environmental science at Framingham State College.

First and foremost, Ellen was a dedicated and loving mother. Shortly after college graduation, Ellen married fellow student Juan F. Bellantoni, whom she met at Fordham, and started a family. Their first home was in Great Neck, NY before moving to Natick, MA, a suburb of Boston. While raising her family, Ellen continued to nurture her interest in chemistry and eventually resumed her studies to pursue an advanced degree in conjunction with raising her children. During this time, Ellen and her family were fortunate to spend long happy summer months and weekends at their vacation house on Newfound Lake in Hebron, NH. 

All who knew Ellen will miss her dry wit and mischievous sense of humor. She was a highly intelligent, courageous, if quietly spoken, and caring woman. She held deep compassion for those in need, advocated tirelessly for civil rights, and was actively involved in charitable organizations, such as Bread for the World. As a practicing Catholic, Ellen calmly and thoughtfully practiced her faith through all circumstances in her life.

Ellen was a woman engaged in many activities including photography, where she developed her own prints, and needle point and quilting, where she bestowed beautiful wall hangings on her family. She adored African violets and cultivated them everywhere she lived. Later in life, she developed an interest in genealogy and produced a full family tree after a great deal of research in Ireland, Canada, and the United States. Above all other activities, Ellen had an unfaltering passion for reading and possessed a voracious appetite for books of all kinds. While she had a special fondness for American history and novels, evenings often found Ellen quietly curled up with a murder mystery and a glass of wine.

Ellen is survived by her four children: Leo W. Bellantoni (Yan) of Geneva, IL, John V. Bellantoni of San Jose, CA, Stephen J. Bellantoni (Gillian Slaughter) of Toronto, Canada, and Janet F. Bellantoni (Gregory Klingsporn) of Menlo Park, CA. She is also survived by her five grandchildren, Janet, Eva, Henry, Hannah, and Gregory, and by her siblings Walter Cadette (Joan), Janet Dempsey (Paul), and Mary Cadette. She was predeceased by her younger brother, Stephen Cadette, and his wife, Carol. 

Visitation will be held at Yurs Funeral Home, 1771 W. State Street, Geneva, IL on Friday, December 3, 2021 from 4-6 PM. A Funeral Mass will be held at Holy Cross Catholic Church Batavia on Saturday, December 4th at 10:30 AM.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Bread for the World (https://www.bread.org/) .

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