Pearl P. Giannini

The Universe has lost a shinning star. Pearl P. Giannini has passed on March 3, 2021 at her most recent home at the Village at Cedar Hill in Windsor, Vermont.

Pearl was born on January 1, 1930 to Irene Chicko and John Newell in Bridgeport, CT. She was marred to Arthur W. Pistey and had two children. She later married Frank Giannini who also had a daughter. Pearl was raised in Bridgeport and attended schools there. She was employed by the Southern New England Telephone Company for many years beginning as a service rep and retiring as a senior engineer. She later sold real estate for the Ravies Agency and was elected to the zoning review board of Stratford, CT. Pearl and Frank circled the globe and spent annual vacations in St. Marten and summers at the cottage on Pleasure Beach. She was a devoted member of the St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Shelton, CT. Due to advancing Alzheimer’s Disease she moved to her son’s home in Canaan, NH and eventually to Windsor, VT.

She was predeceased by her mother and father, her husband Frank and her daughter Pamela Scinto. Her surviving family members include her son, Dr. Arthur Pistey of Canaan, NH, and Frank’s daughter Kimberly Csapo-Ebert of Fairfield, CT.

The Cabot Funeral Home in Woodstock is assisting the family. An online guest book can be found at cabotfh.com

Let me piggyback my friend Sen. Tony Hwang’s Op-Ed of Sunday, March 7 — “We urgently need to get students back to school.”

The senator hit the spot, advocating providing a vaccination priority for our teachers, behind only the oldest and medically most vulnerable. He applauded Gov. Lamont for recently providing that priority, and he noted the need for the state to establish “scientific-based recommendations” to guide reopening. He closed with: “Our children’s educational future depends on the actions the state can, and must, take today."

I responded to him — beginning with “Excellent,” agreeing with what he said, and, in addition to all we see and hear, there are three important, but not often mentioned points:

First, schools educate students. But only person-to-person education also warehouses them, so parents, particularly those who head single-parent homes, can return to work.

Second, vaccine availability remains limited, so choosing who goes to the head of the line is either a zero-sum game or a game of musical chairs. Similarly, perhaps, vaccinators (case in point — my wife received her shot from a psychiatrist). This has become a nontrivial situation with logistical, systems and moral aspects. The solution is obvious, but not yet available.

Third, the computer and phone-based support systems are being beta tested in a live production environment, not on small groups and behind a wall, as is the norm. Our need has forced providers to go live and correct flaws on the fly and in public. This burdens the public, but there is no alternative.

On a personal note, as a 77-year-old, I was eligible for the Early Bird Special, and took my shots in Monroe and Fairfield. I commend all the people working at both centers for their friendly, efficient and effective support — and for being patient while I took my selfies.

More broadly, we must applaud everyone involved for everything they’ve done to protect us, even as we recognize that they’ve been asked to overcommit existing resources. Roy Fuchs Trumbull