Obituary: Mary Lee Pimentel, 77, Of Wallingford

WALLINGFORD, CT — (From Wallingford Funeral Home): Mary Lee (Gesner) Pimentel, 77, of Wallingford, CT, beloved wife of Dr. Francisco J. Pimentel, died on April 30, 2024, at home surrounded by her loving family. Born in New Haven, CT to the late Donald David and Emma Jane (Lee) Gesner, Mary Lee grew up North Madison, CT.

Before there were search engines that could tell you everything, there was Mary Lee. From a young age, she read voraciously and was an intellectual powerhouse. She won scholarships to attend St. Mary’s High School in New Haven, CT and Albertus Magnus College, also in New Haven, where she studied Classics.

After college, she taught Latin at the prestigious Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School in Washington D.C. before settling down in Wallingford where she taught at James H. Moran Middle School and Mark T. Sheehan High School.

Although she left the classroom to care for her growing family, Mary Lee never stopped learning or teaching. She was an accomplished homemaker, whipping up delicious food and tasty treats for her extended family and friends (her pie crusts! her German sour cream twist cookies! her jams! her braciole! her soups! her chicken pot pie!); raising three loving children; and providing practical solutions to anyone who needed help. She remained an avid reader, Scrabble maven, and card shark (gin rummy anyone?).

Above all, Mary Lee loved her family and advocated for them in every way possible.

She is survived by her husband; her three children, Elisabeth Pokrinchak and her husband, Frank, David Pimentel, and Daniel Pimentel and his wife, Annie; her three grandsons, Nicholas Pimentel, Alexander Pimentel, and Sebastian Pokrinchak; her sister, Evelyn (Gesner) Coogan; and her niece, Christina (Warren) McCool. She was preceded in death by her parents and her sister, Martha Ann (Gesner) Warren.

Mary Lee’s family will receive relatives and friends at The Wallingford Funeral Home, 809 North Main St. Ext., on Monday, May 6, 2024 from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Tuesday, May 7, 2024 at 10 a.m. directly at Most Holy Trinity Church, 84 North Colony St., Wallingford, CT, followed by interment at In Memoriam Cemetery in Wallingford.

In lieu of flowers, gifts in Mary Lee’s memory can be made to Birthright of Greater Meriden, 39 Center St., Meriden, CT 06450 or Most Holy Trinity Church, 84 N. Colony Street, Wallingford, CT 06492.

For more information and to leave online condolences, visit Wallingford Funeral Home here.