Madeline Wenzinger

Visitation is scheduled at 5:00 p.m., followed by Recitation of the Rosary at 6:00 p.m., Monday, July 29, and the Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m., Tuesday, July 30, all at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, for Madeline Wenzinger, 92, who passed away at her home in Bakersfield on July 14, 2024. Her son, Reverend Monsignor Robert Wenzinger, will officiate with interment following at Union Cemetery.

Mrs. Wenzinger was born on June 6, 1932, to parents Vincent and Ruth Pizzo, in Brooklyn, New York. As a young lady, Madeline worked at her parents’ clothing manufacturing business. In 1952, she married Ralph Wenzinger, who was the son of her parents’ acquaintances, the late Edward and Katherine Wenzinger. 

In 1967, Madeline and Ralph moved their family from New York and settled in Southern California. They eventually located in Bakersfield, where Madeline worked in Human Resources for Walmart until her retirement. One of her children’s favorite memories was when, prior to moving to California and while Ralph was employed as a long-haul truck driver, Madeline would load up their children in the family car after school let out for Summer and they would follow Ralph around the United States. 

Madeline was a member of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, Golden Fellowship, Retired Teamsters, Italian Catholic Federation, St. Vincent De Paul Society, and the Solera Tuscany Rosary Group. She was a devout Catholic who continued to receive the Sacrament of Communion weekly despite being bedridden for the past five years. She enjoyed traveling around the world; a spirited game of “May I?”; tv game shows, especially “Jeopardy”, and was an avid fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

Madeline is survived by her children, daughter Kathleen Wenzinger of Bakersfield; son Monsignor Robert Wenzinger of Fresno; son Christopher (and Carol) Wenzinger of Visalia; son Michael (and Andrea) Wenzinger of Palmdale and son Ralph (and Carla) Wenzinger of Bakersfield; seven grandchildren Khristina, Patrick, Kelli, Roger, William, Stuart and Shawn; five great grandchildren, her brothers, Vincent Pizzo and Robert Pizzo, numerous nieces, nephews, and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, Vincent and Ruth Pizzo, her beloved husband and best friend Ralph Wenzinger, Sr., and her brother Phillip Pizzo.