Alessandra Tona Cristiani Skinkle

Two days before she died, Ale Skinkle was up in her attic, searching for angel charms to hand out to children at the service celebrating her life. Ale passed away on March 26, 2020, at home, surrounded by her family comforted by the love of God and prayers of all whose lives she touched. Throughout the seven and a half years she endured ovarian cancer, whether it was teaching second-graders at St. Gabriel Catholic School or climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, her faith never wavered. She lived for others and knew what awaited after death. Ale was 46.

Ale (pronounced Allie) was born and raised in the city of San Salvador in El Salvador. Growing up, she and her two brothers spent happy summers at Camp Ton-A-Wondah in Hendersonville, N.C. After she graduated from high school in El Salvador, her parents, Arturo and Maria Elena wanted her to have the best education possible. That’s how Ale ended up back in North Carolina, at Belmont Abbey College, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education. It’s also where she met fellow student Chris Skinkle one night at a sorority party. They were married on Jan. 27, 2006, and settled in Charlotte to start a family and build a life together.

Ale taught at St. Gabriel School, second grade mostly. Her outgoing nature and strong Catholic faith inspired students. Sometimes she’d get so excited in the classroom, she’d start teaching in her native Spanish. How she loved the children, and how they loved her. The day before she died, a group of kids came to her house to serenade her with Karaoke. When their shyness set in, Ale got out of bed and sang with them.

Ale stopped teaching in 2011 to become a full-time mom. In 2013, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. In pure Ale style, she set out to wring every ounce of meaning from the time she had left. There was her family to love and care for, and to assure them everything would be OK – Chris and their children, Emma, 10, and Thomas, 8. There was the ALMA weaving mission she started in El Salvador with her sister-in-law Maria Elena Padilla de Tona to give artisans an opportunity to practice their craft. ALMA is Spanish for “soul.” Always a world traveler, after her diagnosis she went on religious pilgrimages to Lourdes, France and Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina. She climbed Mount Kilamanjaro in Tanzania. The last family trip was to Norway and Sweden to see the Northern Lights, a lifelong dream of hers.

Ale is survived by her husband, Chris, and their children, Emma Leigh and Thomas Christopher; her parents, Arturo Tona Giolitti and Maria Elena Cristiani de Tona of San Salvador, El Salvador; brothers Arturo Alfredo Tona Christiani and his wife, Adriana, and Jose Rodrigo Tona Christiani and his wife, Maria Elena, both of San Salvador; brothers-in-law Ken Skinkle and his wife, Rasamee, of Greensboro, and Michael Skinkle and his wife, Audra, of Richmond Hill, Ga.; sister-in-law Nancy Skinkle of Washington, D.C.; and nine nieces and nephews – Angelina, Eleanor, Sean, Arturo, Sebastian, Juan Diego, Federico, Ryan, Jack and Javier.

A private family Mass and burial will be at Belmont Abbey College. A service to celebrate Ale’s life will be held when we can all gather once again.

Rather than flowers, gifts in memory of Ale can be made to the Cancer Institute at Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center. Please make checks payable to Novant Health Foundation with Ale Skinkle in the memo line and mail to Novant Health Foundation, P.O. Box 33549 Charlotte, N.C. 28233. You can also make a gift at www.supportnovanthealth.org.

Ale’s family is deeply grateful for the compassionate care shown by doctors, nurses and staff at Novant. Countless friends and neighbors were also there whenever she needed them.

Ale’s legacy will endure. She made friends with everyone, from the gentleman who parked her car when she went for chemotherapy to whomever was lucky enough to sit beside her on a plane. She came home from the pilgrimage to Lourdes with three-foot-tall statues of her beloved Blessed Mother in her suitcase, to share with people who needed a lift. Just before she died, she was making goodie bags to hand out to children at Novant’s Hemby Children’s Hospital.

We can still hear Ale’s laugh, see her smile, feel her love. As she told so many, her passing only meant that she was “changing addresses” – going ahead to her eternal home in heaven.

Online condolences can be shared at www.carolinacremation.com