Melissa deCastro wife of the late Julian Edmund deCastro Jr., mother of Alicia (Ed) Kwietniewski , Capt. Samuel Fletcher (Jill) deCastro USN and the late Julian Edmund deCastro III. Grandmother to Eddie, Anna, Ben, Annie and Elliot. Aunt to many nieces and nephews. Daughter of the late Ruth and Daniel Sullivan. Sister of Alice Dillon and the late Barbara Cass, and Landers Sullivan . Melissa was born and raised in Buffalo, NY. She grew up on Lexington Avenue and bought a house with her husband 3 doors down from her childhood home, where she lived until 2017. She graduated high school from the Buffalo Seminary. Later, she worked as a secretary at the Trubee Collins brokerage firm from 1961 to 1963. After taking some time to have a family, she felt a desire to go to school. At age 30, in 1970, she started classes at Rosary Hill to become a reading teacher. She Graduated in 1974 and immediately went on to earn a masters degree at Buffalo State College. She became a Buffalo Public Schools Teacher in 1976 and retired in 1999. She deeply loved Buffalo and spent her career giving back to the youth of the city through her teaching. She was descended from Pascal Paoli Pratt, founder of the Manufacturers and Traders (M&T) Bank, President of the Buffalo Seminary for 20 years, and nephew of Hiram Pratt, one of the first mayors of the city of Buffalo. Melissa's great aunt was Katherine Pratt Horton, who ran the Buffalo Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Melissa loved her friends and kept in touch with many from childhood her entire life. She loved her book clubs and spending time in the Thousand Islands in summertime. She loved to laugh and had a wonderful sense of humor. There will be no prior visitations. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Wednesday at TIME at St. Joseph's Cathedral, Buffalo. Please assemble at the church. Flowers gratefully declined. Online condolences may be shared at www.hoyfuneralhome.com
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