Funeral Mass for Rose M. Bianco, 93, Lawton will be at 10:30 AM Thursday at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church with Father Joseph R. Ross, pastor officiating. Mrs. Bianco died Sunday, September 11, 2011 in Lawton. Burial will be in Sunset Memorial Gardens under the direction of Becker Funeral Home & Cremation Service. The family will greet friends from 5:00 PM until 7:00 PM Wednesday at the funeral home chapel followed by a Rosary at 7:00 PM. Rose was born on September 19, 1917 in Casale de Principe, Italy, to Giovanni and Maria Mercadante. Her family immigrated to Amsterdam, NY, in 1922. She married John Bianco in 1939 in Amsterdam and they moved to Lawton in 1950. They opened Bianco's Italian Restaurant in 1952. Together Rose & John operated the restaurant until his death in 1984 and Rose continued to operate the restaurant up until the time of her death. Throughout the almost 60 years of serving the Lawton/Ft. Sill community, Rose became an icon of the community. Generations of families have grown up enjoying her hospitality and come back from all over the country for a familiar face and a meal of memories. For the past several years, she was assisted in the operation of Bianco's by her son Chris and his wife Jann. She was a founding and life member of the Lawton Philharmonic Orchestra, the Caroline Hunt Club, the Four Seasons Dance Club and the Chesterfield Dance Club. She was also a life and founding member of the Italian American Club. For almost 20 years, Rose and Bianco's welcomed the Lawton Senior High School football team for their pre-game spaghetti dinner. Survivors include her son Christopher and daughter-in-law Jann, Tulsa, three grandsons: John Parks Lanford, Tulsa, Jacob Lanford, Baltimore, MD., and John Bianco, Las Vegas, NV; four granddaughters, Christine Bianco, Dallas, TX., Mary Bianco, and Maleah Evans of Las Vegas, NV., Lauren Bianco of Lawton; six great-grandchildren: Juniper and Biela Rose Lanford, Tulsa; Kessler and Elisabeth Lanford, Baltimore, MD; Payton Evans, Las Vegas, NV and Ethan-Deen Frank Mihaj, Las Vegas, NV., and nieces Cathie Norris, Maria Gardiner, Mary Ellen Gillespie and Roseanne Marcantonio and nephews Frank Mercadante, John Mercadante, Mark Mercadante and Joseph Mercadante. She was preceded in death by her son, Frank Bianco, and her brother, C. P. Mercadante both of Lawton. Memorial contributions may be made to the charity of the donor's choice.