Eleanora Peters

Former East Hampton resident Eleanora Bufano Pisacano Peters died at her home in Jesup, Georgia, on September 28. She was 81.

She was born on December 12, 1926, in Jersey City, New Jersey, and her parents, Carmella and Rocco Bufano Sr., were first-generation Italian-American immigrants.

As a young girl, she began a career as an opera singer at Mount Carmel Catholic Church in New Jersey. During World War II, she performed with the United Service Organizations (USO) tour. A resident of Long Beach, where she raised six children with her first husband, Dr. John Pisacano, she was a founding member of the town’s community concerts program, for which she was also a regular performer.

For 10 years, she lived in East Hampton with her daughters, Norma Bushman and Andrea Pisacano, and was active in theater productions of the Community Theater Company and the Saloon Players, with many starring roles. Her last 17 years were spent in Jesup, where she became a member of Jesup Presbyterian Church and met her second husband, Bradley Peters.

During her time in Jesup, she was a founding member of the Wayne County Arts Council, a longtime supporter of Altamaha Community Concerts, a volunteer in the Wayne Memorial Hospital Auxiliary; and a former president of the local chapter of the American Association of Retired Persons. She was also active in the Long Beach Theater Guild.

Mrs. Peters was said to have inherited both the strength of her father, who trained prize-fighters, and the warmth of her mother, who ran a soup kitchen during the Great Depression.

In addition to her husband, Bradley Peters, she is survived by a son, Anthony Pisacano and his wife Rony Wood of Georgia; five daughters and their husbands, Norma and Marvin Bushman of East Hampton, Andrea Pisacano and Harold Perry of East Hampton, Claudia and Howard Levy of Rye Brook, Leonora and Jack Knight of East Northport, and Giana and John Eden of Georgia; 13 grandchildren; a newborn great-grandson; and her first husband, Dr. John Piscacano. Two brothers, Anthony and Rocco Bufano Jr., predeceased her.

Under the direction of Howard-Jones-Nobles Funeral Home in Jesup, a memorial service was held on October 1 at Jesup Presbyterian Church in Georgia. A New York memorial service is planned for Saturday, November 15, at 3 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church in Northport.

In lieu of flowers, donations to Hospice of Southeast Georgia, 117 Drennon Drive, Jesup, GA 31545 would be appreciated by the family.