Antoinette Carestia

Born Antoinette Marino in Brooklyn, she grew up there and graduated from New Utrecht High School.

Mrs. Carestia moved to Great Kills in 1980 and lived there until 1984, when she returned to her native borough.

She enjoyed being a grandmother, said her son, Patrick Carestia. “She loved spoiling her grandchildren," he said. “She was a wonderful person with a kind heart. She got along with everybody. She was just an overall good soul."

Mrs. Carestia didn’t belong to any formal groups, but spent many hours with her friends at a Dunkin' Donuts shop near her home. “She was a Dunkin Donuts maniac," her son said.

Fortunate to have lived a healthy life, she was active and walked all over her Brooklyn neighborhood until very recently, her son said.

Mrs. Carestia's husband of 33 years, Joseph, died in 1989.

Surviving, along with her son, Patrick, are her son, Richard; her daughter, Francine Habib; a brother, John Marino; two sisters, Carmela Romano and Angela Marino, and seven grandchildren.

The funeral will be Wednesday from the Virginia Funeral Chapel, with a mass at 11 a.m. in St. Ann’s R.C. Church, both Dongan Hills. Burial will follow in Resurrection Cemetery, Pleasant Plains.

Arrangements under the direction of Virginia Funeral Chapel, Staten Island, NY.