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  Past Grand President Madeleine Vinci Loses Battle with Cancer On February 10, 2008 the Italian Catholic Federation's Past Grand President and Life Member Emeritus of the Central Council, Madeleine Vinci lost her battle with cancer and entered into the hands of God.Funeral services were held in the Chapel at the Queen of Heaven Mortuary and Cemetery in Rowland Heights, CA on February 26. Madeleine was married to Cav. Ralph T. Vinci, who preceded her in death. She leaves behind her three children, Ralph August, Mark Philip, and Cheryl Joy. Madeleine and Ralph joined the ICF in 1968. During her years in the organization Madeleine rose through the ranks achieving the final culmination of the Grand President title during the years 1999 and 2000. She began her tenure on the Central Council in 1987, holding the offices of trustee, 2nd and 1st Vice President and served as Grand President in 1999 and 2000. She served as the convention banquet chairlady at the Santa Clara convention in 1993. She served as chairlady of the following Central Council Committees: Scholarship, Apostolate/Charity and membership. During her tenure as GP, Madeleine started the Young Adult Award program. According to Grand Trustee Harry Pacini this probably stemmed from her years in the education field and working with young persons. "She asked me to work on the description and to present it to the CC for approval," Harry said. "After several drafts and discussions the description was finalized." She was active in the Los Angeles District, serving as president of the District; district deputy of the Orange District and branch deputy to branches 106 and 362. She founded the Cabrini Library in 1986 She was a member of other Italian Organizations such as Federated Italo-America of Southern California, serving as vice president; chairwoman of the Columbus Day Banquet in 1984 and chair woman of Italian Republic Day from 1989 through 1991. She was president of Arba Sicula, Los Angeles; and a member of the Sicilian Cultural and Literary Society from 1991 through 1996. Madeleine enjoyed teaching and was an American Governament Teacher at Pomona Catholic High School. She was a member of the Arch-Diocesan Council of Catholic Women and a Third Order Franciscan. To quote Nettie Descalso Del Nero: "When I was Grand President, Madeleine served as my 1st vice president. I found her to be extremely helpful, loyal to the Federation and it's goals. Her life was the epitome of courage, vision and deep faith. She was a devoted wife and mother and spoke often lovingly of her grandchildren. We were always in awe that she could write an eloquent speech in just a few minutes before her presentation. She devoted her last years to caring for Ralph and was courageous in her battle with cancer". Italian Catholic Federation, 675 Hegenberger Road, Suite 230, Oakland CA 94621 tel: 888/ICF-1924; 510/633-9058; fax: 510/633-9758; Email: info@icf.org Website designed by HYPERSPHERE |