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Nov. 28, 1930 – April 6, 2023

NATCHEZ — Mary Estelle Puderer (Stella) Sanguinetti, 92, died peacefully at her residence on Thursday, April 6, 2023.

Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Mary Basilica on Wednesday at 11 a.m. The Rev. Aaron Williams, the Rev. David O’Connor, the Rev. Joe Xavier, and the Rev. John Pardue will officiate.

Visitation will take place on Tuesday evening at St. Mary Basilica from 6 until 7:30 p.m. with a rosary being prayed at 7 p.m. Visitation will continue for one hour prior to the mass on Wednesday.

Burial will follow at Natchez City Cemetery under the direction of Laird Funeral Home.

Mary Estelle was born in New Orleans, on Nov. 28, 1930, to the late Patrick Puderer and Alyce Whodine Barland Puderer of Natchez. At the age of two her family moved to Natchez, where she lived the rest of her life.

A 1948 graduate of St. Joseph High School in Natchez, she later earned her associate’s degree in business from the College of Sacred Heart in Grand Coteau, La.  Mary Estelle worked at Cathedral School as the bookkeeper from 1960 until 1976. She enjoyed being at the school where her nine children attended, but mostly she cherished her friendship with all Daughters of Charity Sisters who were assigned to Natchez and Cathedral School.

Later she worked for George Guido and Company and then part-time for Independent Oil. She was an avid bridge player and a lifelong member of St. Mary Basilica where she was a lector, minister to the sick and homebound, a member of the Altar Society, the Flower Guild, Finance Council, Diocesan Pastoral Council, Liturgy Committee, and the Parish Council.

Besides her love of playing bridge, she enjoyed line dancing, volunteering at the Stew Pot, and hosting performers for the Natchez Opera Festival. In 2001 she was recognized as the Natchez Democrat Unsung Hero for that year.

Mary Estelle was preceded in death by her parents, her husband of 67 years, John Henry “Sonny” Sanguinetti, and one daughter, Mary Patricia Sanguinetti. She also was preceded in death by cherished in-laws, Joe Sanguinetti and Jim Sanguinetti, Betsy (Kenneth) Yowell, Mary (Will) Whitam, Abbie (James) Arnold, Dottie (Henry) Arceneaux, Frances (J.P.) Trosclair, and Kathleen “Tootie” (Don) Officer.

Survivors include her sister, Pat Puderer Decell Irwin of Baton Rouge; two sisters-in-law, Claudette Sanguinetti, of Baton Rouge, and Jeanne Sanguinetti of Natchez, and nine children, John H. (Colleen) Sanguinetti, III of Glenview, IL, Paul (Trisha) Sanguinetti, of San Antonio, TX, Charlotte Sanguinetti of Natchez, Margaret (Randy) Cooley of Dallas, TX, Kathleen (Christopher) Pool of Lexington, KY, Pat Sanguinetti of Natchez, Mark (Julie) Sanguinetti of Ferriday, LA, David Sanguinetti of Natchez, and Andrew (Kelley) Sanguinetti of Okinawa, Japan; thirteen grandchildren, Mary Alyce Cooley (Dax) Kaetzel, Rebecca Cooley, Michelle (Colby Evans) Sanguinetti, Michael (Margaret) Sanguinetti, Caroline Pool (Thor) Morgan, Mary Margaret Pool, Megan (Hans) Wernetti, Nicole Sanguinetti, Frederik Sanguinetti, Kirsten Sanguinetti, William Sanguinetti, Melissa Sanguinetti, and Benjamin Sanguinetti. She has four great-grandchildren, Margot Nichols, Eliza and Daxon Kaetzel, Otto Wernetti, and many beloved nieces and nephews.

Pallbearers will be her sons and grandsons.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be sent to Cathedral School at 701 N. Martin Luther King St., Natchez, MS 39120, St. Mary Basilica, 107 S. Union St., Natchez, MS 39120, or a charity of your choice.

Online condolences may be sent to the family at lairdfh.com.