Bergen County Woman Met Husband At The Rodeo, Raised St. Bernards, Got Bitten By Tiger

MAHWAH, NJ — The life of former Mahwah resident Carol Pistilli is almost too interesting to contain in one obituary.

Pistilli, who lived in Mahwah for 50 years, had many interests, according to her obituary. She graduated from Mahwah High School and married Leonard Knorr after meeting him at the rodeo, where "she was a barrel jumper, and he was bronc rider."

She bred and showed St. Bernards, the obituary says. "Her young children were pictured in a St. Bernard book, and one of the Saints did a scene in an after-school special on TV."

She also knitted, bowled, ran a ceramic studio, loved animals, fished, and ultimately followed a dream to move to Florida. While there, she met a man who owned tigers. She was curious about them, but in 2002, a tiger bit her on the head, giving her lifelong injuries. Yet, she took them in stride, her family said.

Services will be held in Wyckoff this Monday, April 8. Read the obituary here.