Ethel (Muto) Chorpenning, of Ecumenical Retirement Community, Harrisburg, peacefully entered into eternal life on Thursday, October 13th. Formerly a longtime resident of Highspire, she was a member of Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary parish in Middletown.
Ethel enjoyed a full life, living independently until a few months short of her 101st birthday. Born on September 7, 1915, in the home of her maternal aunt on Ann Street in Middletown, she was baptized in old St. Mary’s church, Middletown. Ethel was preceded in death by her parents, Philip and Divina (Magaro) Muto, Italian immigrants who entered the U.S. at Ellis Island and later became naturalized citizens; they were married in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Harrisburg in 1898. She is also predeceased by her 11 siblings, two of whom died during the 1918 influenza epidemic; her husband Earl Thomas Chorpenning, who died in 1974, and her daughter Donna Marie Notarangelo, who died in 2014.
Survivors include her son, Father Joseph F. Chorpenning, O.S.F.S., of Philadelphia; four adult grandchildren, Maria Gassner (Thomas), Julie Neaman (Jody Bryon), Kathy Leonzo (Michael), and Thomas Notarangelo (Thomas Staab); 10 great-grandchildren, Alexandra, Lucy and Henry Gassner; Michael, John and Nicole Leonzo; Annaliese, Micaela, Joseph and Nicholas Neaman; and many nieces and nephews.
After graduating in 1935 from John Harris High School, Ethel worked at the Telegraph Press in Harrisburg, where she met Thomas Chorpenning. They were married in St. Francis of Assisi church in Harrisburg on May 15, 1937 by Father (later Monsignor) Lawrence A. Gustin, who also instructed Thomas in the Catholic faith. For most of her married life, Ethel devoted herself to making a caring and loving home for her children and husband, and cooking wonderful food of all kinds, especially Italian. She later worked in the business office of Bowman’s Department Store in Harrisburg, and at Knight’s Candy Store and the office of Willow Grove Apartments in Highspire.
Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated by her son, Father Chorpenning, on Friday, October 21, 2016, at 12:00 Noon, at Seven Sorrows church, 280 North Race Street, Middletown, PA 17057, with visitation beginning at 10:30 a.m. in the narthex of the church. Internment will follow in Holy Cross Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to Hospice of Central PA, 1320 Linglestown Road, Harrisburg, PA 17110; Seven Sorrows church; and the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, Development Office, 2200 Kentmere Parkway, Wilmington, DE 19806.
The family has entrusted the care of the Matinchek Funeral Home and Cremation Services Inc., Middletown to handle the funeral arrangements.
Condolences may be sent online at www.matinchekfuneralhome.com

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