Angeline M. Pipia

Angeline M. Pipia

Angie was born to Jennie and Vincenzo "Jimmy" Pipia on October 18, 1927, in Milwaukee’s Third Ward, joining older brother Isadore "Izzy". The young family soon moved to the outskirts of Milwaukee – north Holton Street – where they lived in a charming duplex with a beautiful yard upstairs from her aunt and uncle. They were soon joined by her sister Mary and twelve years later by her brother Basil "Vince". Angie and her siblings attended St. Elizabeth parish and its grade school. The church would become a focal point for her for nearly her entire life. As a young girl, Angie showed a natural talent for dance. She took lessons in ballroom and tap, performing in recitals as a solo dancer and with a partner.

As a teen, Angie attended Mercy High School. She and her sister Mary had a huge group of friends and would spend time walking to nearby Borchert Field to watch amateur Brewer baseball games, go bowling, or stroll to Green Bay Avenue to have a burger at Solly’s.  As they got older, they’d take road trips; a favorite was to Florida. Upon graduation from high school, Angie went to work at the Milwaukee Police Department’s secretarial department. She eventually worked her way up to taking statement from the chief himself. When a coveted position arose in the Property Bureau of the department, Angie was a great candidate. The only problem was that the applicant had to be a police officer. Undaunted, now in her fifties, Angie went through the Police Academy and graduated as a police officer. She was proud of the fact that she was one of the best shots in her class. We all had to smile when she popped her trunk and showed us the riot helmet and night stick she had to carry at all times.

Angie was an amazing aunt to all of us. When our mom went to the hospital to have a baby, she was the one taking care of us at home. She would take us shopping for Christmas presents for our parents at Shuster’s on 3rd Street, patient as we picked out just the perfect gift. We would work jigsaw puzzles with her while listening to Dean Martin records on Sunday afternoons. Angie would host the big Italian Christmas dinner, cooking homemade pasta, bruciuluni, Italian sausage and spedini, and, naturally, mixing up a batch of brandy slush. She would take us to the “feasts” at various churches around town and when we got older, some of us were on bowling leagues with her where she was the anchor – and star- of course! She would journey Up North with us every summer, playing games into the wee hours of the morning, laughing like crazy and making sure there were no half empty soda cans left on the tables.

And she was an incredible daughter, taking care of her parents until their deaths the same year in 1981. Angie then lived in Riverwest in a home she bought for herself and her mother who only got to enjoy it for a short time before her passing. Now on her own, she did even more volunteer work at St Elizabeth parish and did more travelling, something she loved. When she was younger, Angie had gone to New York and Hawaii. Now she did “mystery bus” trips where she didn’t know the destination when she set out. She would read us the clues she was given before the trip, and we would all try to guess where she was going. She also had a gambling itch and loved to go to Las Vegas, one time walking happily down the Strip with $3,000 in keno winnings in her fanny pack.

When she could no longer live on her own, Angie moved to the Milwaukee Catholic Home, first in a lovely independent living apartment and later on the special care floor. In both areas, she enjoyed an incredible quality of life from dedicated and compassionate caregivers.

Angie is preceded in death by her parents Jennie and Jimmy, her brother Izzy, brother-in-law Bill, and sisters in law Barbara and Lillian. She is survived by her sister Mary Desing, brother Vince Pipia, and nieces and nephews Joan (Jim) Feiereisen, Patty (John) O’Connell, Bill (Karen) Desing, John (Jayne) Desing, Mary (Jim) Seewald, Jim (Tina) Desing, Tom (Sara) Pipia, Angela (James) Riccaboni, Andy Pipia, Lucy (Jim) Stark and many great-nieces and great-nephews.

We love you "Auntie" Angie and we will miss you! You will always live in our hearts.

Visitation will be held for Angie on Friday, February 27, 2026, from 10:30am until the time of Mass of Christian Burial at 11:30am, all at the Milwaukee Catholic Home - St. Anne Chapel, 2462 North Prospect Avenue, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53211. Entombment will follow the Mass at Holy Cross Cemetery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

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