Obituary of Maria Cristina Ametrano - Menaldi

Obituary Maria Cristina Menaldi June 21, 1950 - November 20, 2020 Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina Resided in Grosse Pointe Woods, MI Maria Cristina Menaldi (70) passed away in the evening of Friday, November 20 in home hospice care after years of resiliently and gracefully battling breast cancer which had recently metastasized. Always with a smile and a warrior drive to push forward and make everything and everyone she came into contact with better. She is survived by her spouse, Jose Luis Menaldi; her daughter, Veronica Menaldi; and her son-in-law, Alexandre Dubois. Additionally she is survived by her mother, sister, siblings-in-law as well as nieces and nephews in Argentina which are too many to name but always close to her heart. She is predeceased by her father, brother, and French "second" mother. At 30 when she was recently married she immigrated to Michigan knowing little English but quickly added it to her repertoire of languages (Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese) and continued to make a name for herself in the professional world where she went by Dr. JacksonMenaldi. She was an accomplished professional and academic with multiple degrees (Ph.D., M.A., B.A., and titles) in music, phonetics, speech language pathology, and audiology from Argentina and France. With those degrees she held various honorary, adjunct, and associate staff positions at schools of medicine, clinics, and hospitals in Michigan and elsewhere. In 1991, she was one of the founders and later directors of the Lakeshore Professional Voice Center and established an exchange program for otolaryngology residents and speech language pathologists highlighting her passion for mentorship which was matched by her numerous publications, presentations, and invited talks around the world. Beyond her many intellectual accomplishments, she was an avid cook and baker; wonderful hostess; gardener and plant lover; skilled piano player; knitter; city wanderer; and most of all, a very loving mother, spouse, and friend. Per her wishes, she will be cremated and once it is safe it is our intent to take her to Paris, France where she can rest in her favorite city. Given the spikes in COVID-19 cases, we will hold off hosting an in-person celebration of life until a later date. We will however create a shared google folder where a short (yet to be) pre-recorded eulogy will be posted in English, Spanish, and French for her many friends and family around the world. We would also like to collect any life lessons or memories in a google doc booklet (in a mixture of languages) as a keepsake of her profound impact and ever-lasting legacy. If you would like access to this please fill out this form and you will receive a link to the folder and mentioned documents once created: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSebUJNB3jI5_9ZzmerFFX7AHnp1usm4iM062R1_fIbFX3KmKg/viewform?usp=pp_url She will always be in our hearts and it is now on us to continue honoring her love of life and passion for camaraderie, travel, and knowledge.