Wini was born on October 20, 1924 in Queens, New York the third child of John and Josephine Senig. She lost her mother when she was six years old and was raised by her dear father and older sister Margie. Her vivacious personality and great looks were combined with a deep sense of compassion for everyone she befriended. She wanted to be a social worker but instead fell in love and married her Junior High school sweetheart Anthony “Tony” Barongi” at the tender age of 18. At that same age in 1944, she enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and served with honor until November 1945. She and Tony resided in Jackson Heights until their only child Rick was born in 1952 when they bought a home in Albertson, Long Island. They wanted a big family but were grateful for one. She believed that God granted her one child to replace the loss of her father the same year she became pregnant. She and Rick were extremely close as one would imagine for a first and only born. She taught him that same compassion for all living things and was his inspiration for his lifetime work with zoos and wildlife conservation. They were soul mates which did not always bode well for Tony during typical family debates. Wini and Tony moved to Florida in 1974 and operated Baron Printers in New Smyrna Beach until they retired in 1992. Wini loved social events and was always planning parties and adventures. Her delightful and witty sense of humor will always be treasured by those that had the privilege to call her a friend. When you became a friend of Wini’s you were a friend for life and she always kept in contact with special notes and cards. Wini and Tony we married for 65 exciting years and worked and played together all over the world. One of their favorite trips was going on an African safari with their son and daughter-in-law Diane. They never stopped traveling and took their last trip in May of 2009 to the Bahamas where she swam in the blue ocean with Rick and Diane. Only her cancer diagnosis and loss of her husband in July ended her travels. Despite these setbacks she lived her last months the same way she always approached life, making other people laugh. Just two weeks before she lost her battle with cancer she was escorted into the New Smyrna Beach Yacht Club by the Commodore and treated the Friday Men’s Bridge and Lady’s canasta to dessert in honor of her bridge playing husband. She spent that entire afternoon at the club playing cards and making people smile, ignoring the pain from her illness. Always an inspiration to those that knew her she touched and brightened the lives of so many. She passed peacefully just after midnight on October 30 at the Southeast Volusia Care Center in Edgewater. She will be missed but never forgotten by her son and daughter-in-law Rick and Diane, her beloved nieces, Margaret Savino and Ginny Bradley and her special godchild Anthony Barongi. Her oldest and dearest friend, Gloria Kelly, was always there for Wini and traveled from New Jersey to be with her during her last months.
Friends may send condolences directly to the family.
In lieu of flowers the family prefers that donations be made in memory of Wini to the Southeast Volusia Humane Society, 1200 S. Glencoe Road, New Smyrna Beach, FL. 32168 or to the Houston Zoo’s animal care or conservation department, 1513 N. MacGregor, Houston, TX. 77030.
Celebration of Life will be held on Thursday, November 5 at 4:00 PM at Baldwin Brothers Memorial Chapel at One North Causeway, NSB for all friends and relatives.
Florida National Cemetery Bushnell, Florida
Leave a reply