Jeannine C. Lombardo, 69, of Brookfield, loving wife of 50 years to Joseph Lombardo, died July 23, at Danbury Hospital. She was born January 29, 1944, in Membruggen, Belgium, to Rosalie and Leonard Stegen.

She immigrated to the United States in September 1965 with her husband to pursue the American Dream.

The Lombardos lived and raised their two girls in Danbury and in Newtown, later moving to Brookfield. While living in Newtown, Ms Lombardo owned and operated Prints Charming, a local fabric store. She later was employed at Chase Manhattan Bank as a bank teller for several years, until she and her husband retired.

She adored her family and was very close to all of them. She was a devoted mother and loving grandmother. She was compassionate, understanding, and always in your corner. She was the cool aunt that all her nieces and nephews wanted to be around. Friends and family knew her as a beautiful, cultured, and intelligent woman who was so much fun and full of life. She welcomed anyone into her home.

She cooked everything from scratch, from her gardens. She loved the outdoors, spending hours in her floral and vegetable gardens and hanging by the pool with her grandchildren. She made many of her own clothes, as well as her daughters' as they were growing up. She had other interests that included interior design, reading, nutrition, and physical fitness. She could tile, wallpaper, and paint. She remodeled five separate homes.

Her husband; daughters Nancy Wildman and Dominique Zuzelo, and her husband Terrence Dempsey; four grandchildren; brothers Pierre and Willie Stegen; and her sister, Rosine Stegen, survive Ms Lombardo. Her parents and three sisters, Yvette, Paula, and Lia, predeceased her.

A funeral service will take place at 10 am, Saturday, July 27, at Cornell Memorial Home, 247 White Street, Danbury. Burial will be at the convenience of the family. The family will receive friends between the hours of 5 and 8 pm, Friday, July 26, at Cornell Memorial Home.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to a charity of choice.

To light a candle of hope and remembrance visit www.CornellMemorial.com.