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Strength, Courage, & Hope

May 18, 2016

​Wtitten by Pat Sullivan for the memorial service.


Anne came from a poor family and struggled through her childhood, but always with the love and support of her brothers and sisters. This bond that was forged through the need to survive & has stood the test of time over the past 7 decades.

Overcoming hardships & marrying man that truly loved her, gave her hope for the future. When her children arrived, she became the epitome of motherhood. Nothing was too good or too much when it came to her kids. Always a beauty with a classic style, she set the standard for being the perfect homemaker.

But when circumstances changed and the chips were down, she stood up and stood her ground, becoming, a hesitant at first, career woman in a strange town. Missing her family & with a new skill set, she came home to us and continued to succeed.

When she lost Joseph in 1996, we thought she would shatter, but although a piece of her heart was gone, she forced herself to go on.

When her grandchildren & great grandchildren came along, she could not have been happier spending time with them, making memories and giving them unwaivering support in all of their endevours.

In 2000 she again was faced with another devistating event that would test her strength & fortitude. Battling cancer for 16 years, my sister never gave up. Through dr. appointments, scans, surgeries and follow-ups, she held on and held it together. She was truly a living, breathing inspiration and example of someone who loved life and loved her family.

We all have our special Aunt Anne/Grandmom stories. and I'm sure we will tell them over & over again. She really was one of a kind and we will miss her everyday.

Mom's 70th Birthday Party

May 10, 2016

Ringing The Bell - Radiation Finished 1/8/16

May 10, 2016

Philadelphia Inquirer Story

May 10, 2016

 

Anna Peraino, blackjack dealer in Atlantic City  Updated: MAY 10, 2016 — 3:01 AM 
by Walter F. Naedele, Staff Writer
 

After Anna Castelli Peraino ended her career as a blackjack dealer in Atlantic City in 1999, she still enjoyed going to casinos closer to her home in Philadelphia.

But she never played cards there.

"She didn't think it was a winning proposition," daughter Agnes Peraino said. "She knew a lot of people who lost."

Instead, Agnes Peraino said, "she liked to play Quick Hits, a slot machine."

Rather than going to casinos to win, she said, "she went for the enjoyment."

On Thursday, May 5, Mrs. Peraino, 70, of Voorhees, died of lung cancer at Virtua Voorhees Hospital.

Born in Philadelphia, Mrs. Peraino grew up in the Girard Estates neighborhood near 22d and Wolf Streets, and owned a home there from 1969 to 2000, when she moved to Voorhees.

She was a graduate of South Philadelphia High School.

In the 1980s, she and her husband, Joseph Sr., moved to Reno, Nev., where he became a poker dealer in one casino and she became a blackjack dealer in others.

"She was taught by a friend of my father's," Agnes Peraino said, "and earned her dealer's license."

Mrs. Peraino worked at what are now Club Cal Neva, Western Village Inn & Casino, and the Eldorado Resort Casino, all in Reno.

When a relative's illness drew her back to her home in Girard Estates, Mrs. Peraino began a workday commute in the early 1990s to Trump casinos in Atlantic City, her daughter said, where "she was a blackjack dealer and a pit boss at one time, because of her experience."

Driving was a challenge, her daughter said, "but that's what she wanted to do."

In 1999, while walking from her car to a casino bus near Atlantic City, "she slipped on the ice," her daughter said, and a scan of her back found cancer of her right lung, which was removed.

In 2007, cancer was found in her other lung and was treated with radiation. But she still made her visits to Philadelphia-area casinos.

Rui Silva, an electrical designer and friend of Agnes Peraino's, said he went to casinos with Mrs. Peraino several times, where, he said, "she could sit down at a machine and enjoy herself for hours on end."

Given her illness, Silva said, "she was a walking, talking, living inspiration and example of how not to give up. She was incredible."

Besides her daughter, Mrs. Peraino is survived by daughter Pamela Buzzetto, two brothers, two sisters, four grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. Her husband died in 2014.

A remembrance service is set for 7 p.m. Monday, May 16, at Tori's Bistro, 1218 Chews Landing Rd., Laurel Springs.

Donations may be sent to the American Cancer Society at www.cancer.org/donate.

 

wnaedele@phillynews.com

610-313-8134 @WNaedele


Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20160510_Anna_Peraino__blackjack_dealer_in_Atlantic_City.html#Cx5b8zJi5K3gBqy7.99 

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