CORINNE LOUISE CONTE, 87, of Mill Valley, California, and of Pittsfield,
Massachusetts, died peacefully of natural causes, surrounded by her family, on Tuesday,
April 28, at the home of her daughter, Sylvia Certo, with whom she had been living the
last four years.
Corinne was born on January 24, 1922, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, to Charles
and Kathleen Clemente Duval. At the age of 13, she won the New England
Championship for Breast Stroke Swimming. She graduated from Pittsfield High School
and St. Luke's School of Nursing in Pittsfield.
She served as a nurse in the Navy during World War II where she met her future
husband, the late Congressman Silvio O. Conte when he was in the Seabees and
recovering from an illness. They were married in Pittsfield on November 8, 1947.
Silvio died on February 8, 1991.
After Silvio was elected to the U.S. Congress in 1958, Corinne moved to
Bethesda, Maryland, where she raised their four children. While in the Washington,
D.C. area, she worked as a real estate agent with Boss and Phelps Real Estate
Company. Corinne was an active campaigner for her husband, Silvio, meeting every U.S.
President from Dwight D. Eisenhower to George H.W. Bush, and many of the world's
leaders from the 1950s through the early 1990s. She also danced with Lyndon B.
Johnson at his Inaugural Ball and served on President Bush's special Committee on
Mental Health in the late 1980s.
Corinne was an avid Red Sox fan and was very thankful that she lived to see
the "Curse of the Bambino" broken. She was committed to her Catholic faith and was a
daily communicant for years at Little Flower Roman Catholic Church in Bethesda,
Maryland, as well as Notre Dame Roman Catholic Church and St. Joseph Roman
Catholic Church, both in Pittsfield. In her younger years, she had a private pilot's
license. But, most of all, Corinne loved to play cards on a daily basis while living with
her daughter in Mill Valley. She enjoyed a last game with her children a few days
before her death, which she won, decisively.
Corinne was a friendly and cheerful person who was loved by everyone who
knew her. Her twinkling blue eyes will be dearly missed by all.
Corinne is survived by her children, Michelle M. Webb and her husband, Harry,
of Hardwick, Massachusetts; Sylvia Certo and her husband, Nick of Mill Valley,
California; John F.X. Conte and his wife, Betsy, of West Simsbury, Connecticut, and
Gayle L. Conte-Fowler and her husband, Gary, of Orosi, Costa Rica; her grandchildren,
Jason Webb and his wife, Alison, Ryan Webb and his wife, Betsy, Corinne Webb, Jake
Conte, Patrick Conte, Nicholas Certo, and Mia Certo; her great grandchildren, Travis
Webb, Justin Webb, and Samantha Webb; as well as her sister, Kathleen Tournier and
her husband, Joseph, of Pittsfield, as well as her sisters-in-law, Elizabeth Baldessarini and
Angie Bowerman, both of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and her brother-in-law, Donald
Reid of South Dennis, Massachusetts; and many nieces and nephews.
She was pre-deceased by two brothers-in-law, Joseph Baldessarini and Lawrence
Bowerman, and a sister-in-law, Sylvia Reid.

FUNERAL NOTICE: Funeral services for CORINNE LOUISE DUVAL CONTE, who died Tuesday,
April 28, will be Monday, May 4, with a Liturgy of Christian Burial at 10:00 a.m., at
St. Joseph Church, 414 North Street, Pittsfield, MA 01201. Burial will follow in St.
Joseph's Cemetery. Calling hours will be Sunday, May 3, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m., at
The DERY FUNERAL HOME, 54 Bradford Street, Pittsfield, MA 0l20l (4l3-443-9l5l).
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that contributions be made to the Silvio O. and
Corinne L. Conte Scholarship Fund at Boston College, More Hall 220, 140
Commonwealth Avenue, Chestnut Hill, MA 02457, c/o Joanne Goggins, Executive
Director. This fund was established to provide scholarships for students from the
First Congressional District.

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