Dr. Veronica C. Santilli

Dr. Veronica C. Santilli, a trailblazing pediatrician, devoted wife, proud mother of four, and adored grandmother, passed away peacefully, surrounded by her family, on September 26, 2025, at the age of 84.

Born in February 1941, she was the daughter of the late Joseph and Alicia “Kitty” Columbo. Joseph, a Brooklyn native and scrap-business owner, later worked for the U.S. Postal Service. Kitty, an Irish immigrant, worked at a large insurance company. Veronica was the oldest sibling to her sister Alicia Cantelmi, who survives her, and her late brother, Joseph Columbo Jr.

Veronica is also survived by her beloved husband Vincent Santilli, a retired tax attorney and accountant, their children, Alyssa Juros, Jill DiLapi (and her husband Frank), Peter Santilli (and his wife Lilli), and Jennifer Santilli; six grandsons, Adam, Christopher, Keith, Mark, Nicholas and Marcello; and numerous nieces, nephews and dear friends.

Veronica attended Bishop McDonnell High School in Brooklyn, where she was a star student and played the violin. In 1962, she graduated from Marymount Manhattan College and enrolled in the Medical College of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, where she excelled.

Upon completing her medical degree in 1966, she returned to Brooklyn, where she did her pediatric internship and residency at Maimonides Medical Center, the hospital she would work at for much of her 50+ year career, and eventually help lead. In 1984, she became the first woman to serve as the long-standing institution’s president of medical staff.

Veronica is well known for her work at Brook-Island Pediatrics, the private practice she helped found in the 1970s, which had offices in Brooklyn and Staten Island. Brook-Island thrived for more than four decades, a busy office with close ties to the community and an ardent dedication to its patients and their families.

Veronica was a teacher of medical students and residents and an advocate for children’s health issues. She was also an active member of the American Medical Association and the Medical Society of the State of New York, serving in an official capacity in a variety of roles and committees.

Veronica was the first woman to serve as president of the Kings County Medical Society, a title she held with great pride as a woman born and raised in Kings County. She also served on the board of directors of Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield and the board of trustees of Maimonides Medical Center.

Veronica was named “Doctor of the Year” by the Kings County District Attorney’s office and made multiple appearances in New York Magazine’s “Best Doctors in New York” edition and Castle Connolly’s guide to the city’s best physicians.

Veronica’s remarkable professional drive never outstripped her fierce devotion to family and boundless generosity with the people she loved.

She began each day readying four children for school and making calls to the parents of sick children. At the end of a full day of seeing patients at the office and making rounds at the hospital, she would prepare a home-cooked meal. It was often a lightning-fast production, but always resulted in a delicious and nutritious dinner enjoyed by the whole family with conversation, laughter, and love.

She had a passion for big get-togethers, especially on holidays, though any Sunday afternoon would do. Every Christmas Eve dinner at Aunt Veronica’s house was an eagerly anticipated and memorable event, a spectacular feast of seafood and Italian delicacies that joyously brought together family and friends. And despite the rigors of hosting the event, she would always be the first person ready on Christmas morning for the collective unwrapping of gifts around the tree.

She experimented creatively with recipes and embraced the economy of pasta, often remarking that “no matter what happens, we will always be able to put pasta on the table.” She loved to cook corned beef and cabbage as her mother would, and wouldn’t wait around for St. Patrick’s Day to treat her devotees to the dish.

Veronica was a devout Catholic who reveled in leading her family and other parishioners by singing hymns loudly and enthusiastically at Sunday morning mass.

She also loved the arts, particularly music and theater, and always encouraged her children to make and appreciate music and art. In the summers, she would treat her children to occasional Wednesday matinee performances of Broadway plays and musicals. And she and her husband, Vincent, attended countless concerts and other performances.

Though Veronica is no longer with us, her family, friends, and all who knew her are grateful for the time they shared with her and will remember her always.

Visitation services will be held on Thursday, October 2, 2025, at Cusimano & Russo Funeral Home, located at 2005 West 6th St, Brooklyn, NY 11223. The visitation will take place from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and again from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. A funeral mass will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, October 3, 2025, at Our Lady of Grace Church of Brooklyn.

In lieu of flowers, a donation can be made in Dr. Veronica Santilli’s memory to Maimonides Medical Center (https://maimo.org/donate/) or Catholic Charities of Brooklyn and Queens (https://www.ccbq.org/give/).