She was widely known as a tireless and selfless worker, and a patient and loving mentor to her students. Nina worked at Murrow HS until her retirement at the age of 80. In the process of obtaining her credentials, she obtained an Associate’s Degree in Fine Arts from Kingsborough Community College. Murrow High School from which her son, Anthony, had graduated (Anthony was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder as a young child). Through hard work, she obtained her GED and certification to teach as a paraprofessional in the same Special Education program at Edward R. When Tony retired in the early 1990’s, Nina decided to embark upon a new adventure. She remembered everyone’s likes and dislikes, and went out of her way to ensure there was something for everyone. Often, ingredients were obtained from Nina’s extensive and beautiful vegetable gardens. Anyone who has experienced a ‘Nina dinner party’ can attest to the bounty of amazing food, all carefully prepared from scratch (including the bread Nina had her own secret adaptation of a Perito recipe for hard-crust wheat bread with the subtle flavor of fennel). In keeping with the small-town hospitality of her childhood, she opened house and table to friends and neighbors. She practiced the tenets of the Mediterranean Diet long before it rose to pop-culture awareness. This included exercising her prodigious culinary talent in preparing delicious, authentic Italian meals. Nina devoted herself to providing a wonderful home for her ‘guys’. She was kept busy raising two rather rambunctious boys, Brian and Anthony, while Tony worked long days as a professor at City College. Nina began to thrive in her new surroundings. She considered their children as her own, and vice-versa, and was profoundly grateful for the presence of these relationships in her life. Nina often spoke of the sisterhood she shared with these wonderful friends. During this time, Nina was sustained by Tony’s boundless love and devotion, and the friendships she formed with her sisters-in-law and the neighbors in Nina and Tony’s close-knit Brooklyn community. She felt isolated by the language barrier and by the physical distance from her beloved Perito. At first, life in Brooklyn was hard for Nina. Nina and Tony moved to Tony’s home in Brooklyn, NY. They fell in love, and were married in an ancient stone church overlooking the peaceful mountains and valleys of Cilento. Many years later, the two met again while Tony was visiting relatives in Perito. The two first met briefly when Tony was on furlough during his service in World War II. Nina lived in Perito until, at age 36, she met her husband and love of her life, Antonio (Tony) Baldo. Nina remained in close contact with her brothers and sisters in Perito, up to the final weeks before her passing. These experiences instilled a great love of family, prudence, modest living, and a strong work ethic that Nina carried throughout her life. Older children watched the younger ones, and even the smallest child helped in some way-the survival of the family depended on it. These conditions necessitated selflessness, family cooperation, and a great deal of independence and responsibility at a young age. The steep land was tough to farm, and there was practically no mechanization of labor. The work, however, was extraordinarily hard. The setting was breathtaking: Nina spoke of ancient cobbled streets shaded by fig trees, and mountaintop views of an expansive valley stretching to the Tyrrhenian Sea. Nina would often tell stories of working the family farm together with her siblings, raising vegetables and small livestock, and pressing oil from olives grown in steep, terraced groves. Cilento, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is renowned for its natural beauty and for countless historical landmarks dating back to the ancient Greeks and Etruscans. Nina was born in Perito Cilento, a mountain village in southern Italy not far from the Amalfi coast. Nina will be remembered lovingly by her two sons, Brian and Anthony, her siblings Concetta, Nicolina, Maria, Vito, and Antonio, her beloved grandchildren, Julianna and Isabella, her daughter-in-law, Vaishali Bakshi and her family, and the many dear friends, colleagues, and neighbors who graced her life. It is with great sadness that the family of Caterina (“Nina”) Baldo announces her passing on November 5, 2019, at the age of 88.
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