Madeline D. Ignazito, 78 of Charleston, IL passed away after a brief illness at 6:15pm Saturday April 27th, 2019 at Herrin Hospital, Herrin, IL surrounded by her family. Memorial Services honoring and celebrating her life will begin at 3 pm Saturday May 18th at Adams Funeral Chapel in Charleston. Visitation for family and friends will be from 2 to 3p.m. on Saturday at the funeral chapel.
It is requested that thoughtful donations in her honor be made to the Coles County Arts Council Music Scholarship Fund. Gifts may be left during the visitation or service or may be mailed to CCAC P.O. Box 163 Charleston, IL 61920. Madeline was born in Long Branch, New Jersey on March 12th, 1941, a daughter to the late Henry G. and Katherine (Manuel) Pigage.
She was united in marriage to Martin D. Ignazito in Jew Jersey on February 15th, 1969; Marty preceded her in death on February 3rd, 2016. Madeline was a music teacher and composer and had both a BMUS and MMUS in piano performance and composition. She taught music on every level from pre-school to college and adults at her private music studio for over 40 years and in the music department at Lakeland College.
She was the president and co-founder of Charleston-Mattoon Music Teachers, served on the Coles County Arts council as music director twice and as president. She founded the Coles County Arts Council Honors Recital which has given over 100 music camp scholarships to talented student from the area. Madeline also served as State Theory Chair of the Illinois State Music Teachers Association for five years and was part of the committee writing the Achievement in Music state theory tests.
In addition to these involvements, Madeline was also a talented composer. Her original piece, Variatians in Fugue for Chamber Orchestra won a national prize. She also wrote an original score for a play by a local playwright.
Her most recent work, Windows, a septet written for piano, string quartet and bass, flute and bassoon, premiered in March of 2014 for the 100th anniversary of a music group in Champaign-Urbana. In addition to her parents and husband Marty, she was preceded in death by her brother George H. Pigage. Survivors include her two daughters, Karen Cripps and husband Jeff of Carterville, Il, and Susan Ignazito-Wilhelm and husband Brett of St. Louis, MO, 4 grandchildren who she was enormously proud of and professed were “the joy of her life”, Zoe and Olivia Cripps and Gavin and Graham Wilhelm.
Other survivors include her sister Violet Gottuk and husband Ron of Rome, Pennsylvania, four sisters-in law; Carolyn Pigage of New Jersey, Linda Emmerman-Kornick and husband John of Chicago, Il, Yvonne Lemire of St. Genevieve, MO and Melanie Ignazito-Cooper and husband Bill of Ferguson, Mo; nieces, nephews, many friends and prior students as well as her longtime country neighbors and her blue tip Siamese cat Lily. Her family will miss her gentle reassurance, insatiable curiosity, interesting conversation, stubborn determination, and silly sense of humor (including a love of things that make a sound or play music when you push the button), her musical birthday cards, spaghetti sauce, Greek Christmas cookies and baklava, her love of chocolate which resulted in often finding her hidden stashes in the kitchen while rummaging for Tupperware, and of course her phenomenal musical talent and piano playing. The family would like to thank the Carle Hospital Guest House, the staff at Carle Hospital in Urbana, Parkway Manor Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation in Marion, IL and especially Herrin Hospital ER and ICU for their kind, compassionate care.
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