Obituary of Caroline Pinto

Having celebrated her 100th Birthday one month earlier, Caroline passed away peacefully and with dignity on Monday, August 22, 2022 at Credit Valley Hospital in Mississauga.

Daughter of Rosie Longo, d.1964, and Michael Pinto, d. 1977, and younger sibling to her cherished sister Victoria Pinto, d.1998, Caroline was the sole survivor of her family. Stoically, she carried on the family traditions to the highest degree that she could.

Caroline will be dearly missed by close family friends, Monique Lorenz-Healey, Anne Lorenz and Paul Lorenz who oversaw her care and well-being in her senior years.

Caroline was born in Toronto, the second daughter to Rosie and Michael Pinto, on July 13, 1922. After moving to Kitchener, Caroline attended St. Mary`s School, after which she first apprenticed as a seamstress and then earned a diploma in Fashion Design and Practical Model Making from the Fashion Academy in New York City in 1945.

Both Caroline and Victoria shattered the norms of the day by choosing career over marriage. Each of the sisters owned and operated a location of The Pinto Youth Shoppe; Victoria in the Kitchener store from 1941 and Caroline in the Waterloo store from 1950. They devoted their lives to bringing quality everyday clothing, as well as fine special occasion clothing, to the children of the K-W region. Their service was well appreciated in the community and is still remembered by many. Well after the closure of The Pinto Youth Shoppe at 243 King Street East, Caroline was often recognized while out and about. In 2016, Laird Robertson, co-founder of NEO Architecture Inc., initiated an article in the Waterloo Region Record detailing the history of the Pinto Family. He was instrumental in giving new life and purpose to 243 King Street East.

In her early retirement, Caroline walked daily to the Kitchener Public Library to spend hours there in the large print book section followed by long walks through her beloved Downtown Kitchener. She visited the Farmer’s Market weekly. Most certainly, these frequent and long walks contributed to her longevity.

Although having spent the first two years of her life in Toronto, Caroline fervently considered Kitchener-Waterloo to be her home and lived there above the family Pinto Youth Shoppe for as long as she could, proudly and quietly surrounded by her family’s furnishings and artwork. She lived out her senior years at Victoria Place at 290 Queen Street South in Kitchener and finally at The Village of Erin Meadows in Mississauga, by Schlegel Villages, to retain the connection with her beloved K-W region.

Caroline benefited from the excellent care of many wonderful caregivers in the last few years of her life, especially Manni, Raman, Eleshwa and Noor. The Lorenz Family is very appreciative of this.

Visitation will be held at the Erb & Good Family Funeral Home, 171 King Street South, Waterloo, on Monday, August 29, 2022 from 10:00 – 10:45 a.m. The funeral service will follow in the Funeral Home Chapel at 11:00 a.m. A private burial will follow at Woodland Cemetery in Kitchener.

Memorial donations to the CNIB Foundation may be arranged by contacting the funeral home at www.erbgood.com or 519-745-8445.