Carmela DeQuinzio, 92 years young, died peacefully surrounded by her family on March 11, 2024. She was predeceased by her loving husband of 62 years, Thomas, and her devoted daughter, Diane. Carmela is survived by her cherished children: Denice DeQuinzio (New York, NY), Marilyn and Steven Hart (Darien, CT), Thomas and Marie DeQuinzio (Hasbrouck Heights, NJ), and Jeanmarie and Oliver Armas (Chatham, NJ.); her grandchildren Thomas, Emily, Joseph, and Grace DeQuinzio, Nicholas, Robin, Christopher, and Sarah Hart; Jordan and Henry Casserley; and Maria and Isabel Armas; and her great-grandchildren Thomas DeQuinzio and Eliza Hart. Carmela is also survived by Mary Tucker.

Raised with her siblings Marilyn and Bart in downtown Jersey City, and named after Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Carmela was the daughter of Grace and Bartolo DiPietro. She was a proud graduate of St. Dominic Academy, and later went on to lead their Mothers' Guild as a parent of four daughters attending the Academy. After graduation Carmela began her career at Morgan Guaranty Trust Company of New York, eventually retiring as a Supervisor in the Stock Transfer Department.

Carmela's proudest role was being a mother. She and Tommy raised their children to have roots and wings, and provided them with the richest of childhoods and the happiest home. Theirs was the apartment kitchen where all the neighborhood gathered.

With Tommy, Carmela enjoyed twenty glorious years of retirement in her beloved Ft. Myers, Florida, making more friends and sweet memories than thought possible. She also loved having been from Jersey City, fondly remembering nightly parish bingos, mass at St. Aedan's, shopping on Journal Square, riding the Central Avenue bus, and sitting out by the stoop with the ladies on summer nights.

Carmela was a fantastic dancer, a skilled crocheter, a Sunday gravy-making expert, a roadie for Tommy's band, a strict disciplinarian, a fierce protector, a true friend, a respected boss, and a lover of The Golden Girls. Her life was a blessing, and her legacy of love and loyalty will live on in all who knew her.

Arrangements have been made by Costa Memorial Home in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ. Visitation will be on Thursday, March 14th from 4-8 PM at the funeral home and a Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Corpus Christi R.C. Church 260 Boulevard in Hasbrouck Heights on Friday, March 15th at 11 AM. Entombment will follow at Holy Name Cemetery, Jersey City.

Donations in her memory may be made to St. Dominic Academy, 2572 Kennedy Boulevard, Jersey City, NJ 07304; or Villa Marie Claire, 12 West Saddle River Road, Saddle River, NJ 07458.

"I've lived a life that's full, I traveled each and every highway, and more, much more than this, I did it my way."

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