Mary Antoinette Camuto

Mary was born in Ozone Park, NY on June 22, 1926 to Joseph and Mary (Bocchetta) Zanini. After graduating from John Adams High School, she met and married Anthony (Tony) Camuto, a US Navy sailor who was the love of her life, best friend and soulmate for the next 78 years.

Mary was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, daughter, sister and friend. She had a beautiful soprano voice, sang in church choirs, played piano, and loved Broadway musicals. As a teenager, she sang in the USO entertaining stateside troops during World War II. She and Tony were great dancers and loved being out on any dance floor, whether it was their living room or at the center of more formal occasions. Big Band classics and Frank Sinatra tunes were among her favorites.

She immersed herself in raising her family in their home in Nassau County, Long Island, with plenty of extended family nearby. She was a devout Catholic with unshakeable faith in the power of prayer as well as the power of acts of kindness. She was the first to gather neighbors in prayer during the Cuban Missile Crisis and the first to step up to help out a friend in need. As one of the few women in the neighborhood with a driver's license in the 1960's, Mary empowered a recently widowed young mother by teaching her to drive.

Mary introduced her four children to all the things that she loved: music, art, reading, and travel. She loved to take everyone to New York City to visit the Metropolitan Museum and see the Christmas shows at Radio City Music Hall. She read widely and especially enjoyed Jane Austen and the Brontés. After her children were grown, Mary decided to return to college in the 1970’s and earned her Bachelor’s Degree from SUNY Old Westbury.

She planned wonderful family vacations all over New England and the Eastern seaboard, annual trips to Lake Cobbosseecontee in Maine, and a memorable train trip to several National Parks out west. She took up antiquing and searching for antiques became a part of every expedition. Mary and Tony continued their travels as empty nesters, exploring Europe and Asia and enjoying numerous cruises.

Mary was an avid gardener and was proud of the beautiful gardens that she designed and nurtured both on Long Island and in Charlottesville, where she and Tony relocated in 1989. Designing and decorating their new home was one of her passions. Tony and Mary also loved to explore the Virginia countryside on long car drives which often involved lovely lunches at Scotto’s Italian Restaurant.

Mary was a great cook and delighted in creating delicious meals from soup to nuts for family and friends, especially her many grandchildren who could always count on her to have something good cooking and a quick treat on hand. Her meatballs, sauce, and roasted red peppers are legendary. Occasions big and small were toasted with Martini and Rossi Asti Spumante and finished off with cake and coffee.

In addition to her parents, Mary was predeceased by her sister Catherine Schnepf (Zanini).

Mary is survived by her loving husband, Anthony Camuto; her children, Mary Camuto, Christopher Camuto, Patricia Camuto (Douglas Bilinski) and Kathleen Dubovsky (James Dubovsky), and many beloved grandchildren and great grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

The family will receive friends from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm on Monday, April 15, 2024 at Teague Funeral Service, 2260 Ivy Road Charlottesville VA 22903. A funeral mass will be held at 11:00 am on Tuesday, April 16, 2024 at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, 401 Alderman Rd. Charlottesville VA 22903. Burial will immediately follow at Saint George’s Cemetery, 7420 Scottsville Rd. Scottsville, VA 24590.

In lieu of flowers, the family wishes you’d consider a donation in Mary’s memory to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.