1951 – 2016

Ernest Victor “Skipper” Pistacchio, resident of Los Angeles County for over 60 years, died Sunday, May 1 at the age of 64. He was born to Ernest John and Gloria Marie (Rossi) Pistacchio in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1951, and moved with his family to Montrose in 1952. He was preceded in death by his father Ernest John Pistacchio (1985) and mother Gloria Rossi Pistacchio (1997). He is survived by two sisters, Lynn Ferrara (Jack) of La Crescenta and Teri Pistacchio Aguiar (Vincent) of Tempe, Arizona; four nieces, Danielle Ferrara of San Diego, Michelle Ferrara of Brooklyn, New York, Gina and Christine Aguiar of Tempe, Arizona; two nephews, Ted Ferrara (Angela) of San Antonio, Texas and Alexander Aguiar of Tempe, Arizona; and many cousins on both the east and west coasts.
Ernie lived with his parents in Glendale until 1997 when he moved into Kingsley Group Home, a loving group home for developmentally disabled adults in Atwater Village, California. There he was nourished, cared for and accompanied to Mass every Sunday without fail at Holy Trinity Catholic Church. He attended the day program at BCR for 51 years. His many admired teachers were totally devoted to the well being of Ernie and his classmates while teaching social and living skills.
Skipper, as he was affectionately known to his family, loved nothing more than gathering with his large extended Italian family to celebrate weddings, birthdays, anniversaries or no specific occasion at all. Skip enjoyed many Christmas parties at the home of his cousins the Dundees, wedding receptions at his Uncle Lou’s Three Oaks Restaurant and Cousin Vince Dundee’s Scotch Mist & Kona Kai, being part of the singing entertainment with his mother and aunts at the home of his cousin the late Maria Schmitt. Each weekend, his sister Lynn brought Skip to her home to enjoy the afternoon with her and her husband Jack watching football, reading church bulletins and enjoying the family tradition of 3 p.m. “coffee time.” Family, food and faith describe the simple needs of this gentle soul who adored his large family and the many loving people in his life who made him feel so special.
Memorial Mass will be celebrated at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 4 at St. Bede Catholic Church in La Cañada. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations in Ernie’s memory be made to BCR “A Place To Grow” – 230 E. Amherst Drive, Burbank, CA 91504.