Marie Toto DeLong

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Former Staten Islander Marie DeLong, 94, of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., a retired business owner who will be remembered for her kindness and generosity, died Friday in Palm Beach Gardens Hospice.

Born Marie Toto in Manhattan's Greenwich Village, she moved with family to New Dorp as a child. She later settled in Palm Beach Gardens.

Mrs. DeLong began her career as a dental assistant for Dr. Benjamin Gross in Stapleton. She later opened The Village Shop, a dress shop on New Dorp Lane, and reopened the business in Lake Worth, Fla.

Her favorite pastime involved her business. She enjoyed selling and dealing with customers, family said. And she was a loving aunt to her niece, nephew and greatniece, they added.

While living on the Island, she was a parishioner of St. Margaret Mary's R.C. Church, Midland Beach.

Surviving Mrs. DeLong are her husband of 53 years, Arthur, and her brother, Joseph Toto.

The funeral will be Thursday from the Virginia Funeral Chapel, Dongan Hills, with a mass at 10 a.m. in St. Margaret Mary's Church. Burial will follow in St. Mary's Cemetery, Grasmere.

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