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Beloved Catholic school principal Mariann Lupinacci-Kosinski dies at 64

Mariann Lupinacci-Kosinski (WDIV)

Metro Detroit lost a beloved school leader this past week.

Mariann Angela Lupinacci-Kosinski, of Canton Township, died Friday, April 9, 2021, in the comfort of her home.

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Mariann was born to Rudolph and Nina Piro on June 3, 1956, in Detroit and was the eldest of six siblings. She graduated from Bishop Borgess High School in 1974 and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from Madonna University, a Master of Social Work from University of Michigan, and a Master of Educational Leadership/Administration from Madonna University.

For the past 35 years, Mariann has served the Metro Detroit community through her work as a hospital chaplain, a school and hospital social worker, and most recently for the past 20 years as a beloved school principal at St. Valentine’s Catholic School, Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic School, and St. John Paul II Classical Catholic School.

Mariann was married to John Joseph Lupinacci, Jr. (October 29, 1948 – September 14, 2012) for 34 years and was a loving mother to their three children: John, Jacqueline, and Joseph. Widowed in 2012, Mariann later remarried to James Anthony Kosinski (February 9, 1956 – October 12, 2018).

She was known for her devotion to her family and her wide-casting network of friends for whom she always kept an open invitation for a home-cooked meal and a fresh pot of coffee to be accompanied by her willingness to listen, laugh with, or cry together over just about anything. She always modeled strength, leadership, and compassion for all as a daughter, sister, wife, mother, aunt, grandmother, friend, and community leader.

Above all, Mariann loved her family and found fulfillment in service to others. These qualities will most certainly live on through her children, grandchildren, and the many students and teachers in her life.

She is survived by her father, Deacon Rudolph Piro; her three children, John (Mary) Lupinacci, Jacqueline (Matthew) Mooney-Lupinacci, and Joseph (Elizabeth) Lupinacci; her eight grandchildren, Brenna, AnnaLia, Devlin, Giulia, Andrew, Adeline, Padraig, and Amelia; her five siblings and their spouses, Tina (David), Susan (Arthur), Jude Ann (Dale), Frances (Kenneth), and Frank (Lilly); and a host of beloved cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews.

A funeral mass will be held on April 24, 2021, at 12:00 p.m., at Christ the Good Shepherd Catholic Church, located at 1540 Riverbank Street, Lincoln Park, Michigan 48146.

The family respectfully requests, in lieu of flowers, that donations be sent to St. John Paul II Classical Catholic School, located at 1540 Riverbank Street, Lincoln Park, Michigan, to be used for the education and professional development of the JPII students and teachers.