Obituary: Celeste Pasqua Bartoletti Hahn, 1925-2023

In the wee hours of January 30, 2023, Celeste passed peacefully from this life, surrounded by much love. “Well done, my good and faithful servant. Come, share your master’s joy.”

Celeste’s life began as the bells were ringing for Easter Sunday, April 12, 1925, in Orsogna, Italy, at the home of her parents, Argia and Antonio Bartoletti. She was immediately christened with the new Easter Vigil baptismal waters and given the name Celeste Pasqua, meaning “Heavenly Easter.” When she was 4 years old, the family, which included her siblings, Maria and Carlo, crossed the Atlantic Ocean to begin a new life in America.

The Bartolettis lived in an apartment in the Italian section of the North Bronx, N.Y., settling in across the hall from older cousins. Italian traditions were honored, and she and her siblings attended Italian parochial schools. Celeste attributed her strong faith to her parents, her Catholic schooling and her decision to join the Catholic Evidence Guild, which trained members to stand on the street corners to share the Catholic faith.

In 1951, Celeste visited Rome to meet first cousins and attend a world congress of the laity, where she met the pope. Upon her return to New York City, Celeste acquired a secretarial position at Rockefeller Center. Being the daughter of a tailor and a seamstress, she fit right in with the fashionable city work life.

It was love at first sight when she met, at daily mass, the man she would eventually marry: William A. Hahn, a native Vermonter and graduate student turned professor. Bill and Celeste, wishing to raise their family in the country, moved to a farmhouse in Jericho, Vt. Celeste came to embrace country living and brought Italian and Catholic traditions into their home.

Celeste and Bill later purchased a natural food store in South Burlington. Together, with the help of their six children, they ran the store for 25 years.

Once Bill and Celeste decided to move into Burlington, Celeste used her beautiful voice to sing for masses and funerals. She was a proud member of the Vermont Italian Cultural Association, which she helped to organize.

In the final years of her life, Celeste was blessed to live at Memory Care at Allen Brook, where the entire staff cared for her with genuine affection.

Celeste was predeceased by her husband of 50 years in 2004. She is survived by her children: Stephanie, Mary (Steve), Michele (Ron), Will (Dorie), Monica and Francesca; by her grandchildren: Christina (Jill), Adele (Jason), Mary, Sam, Andrew (Julia), Jeff (Lila), Joseph (Cindy), Anna (Justin), Michael (Sarah), Nicole, Charles (Simonne), William (Kelly), Theresa, Genna and Anthony; and by two dozen great-grandchildren (so far), numerous nieces, nephews and friends.

Arrangements have been entrusted to the care of Boucher & Pritchard Funeral Service, a division of the Ready Family.

Visiting hours will begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday, February 4, at Boucher & Pritchard Funeral Home in Burlington, Vt. Celeste’s funeral mass will follow at noon at St. Joseph Cathedral.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Celeste’s memory are appreciated to Memory Care at Allen Brook, 99 Allen Brook Ln., Williston, VT 05495 or the Vermont Right to Life Committee, P.O. Box 1079, Montpelier, VT 05601.

This article appears in Feb 1-7, 2023.