Obituary - Antoinette "Anne" Ercolano

Obituary: Antoinette “Anne” Ercolano

Antoinette “Anne” Ercolano passed into the arms of Our Savior on Wednesday, July 17, following an illness. Born in Brooklyn, NY to Philomena (Ferrara) and Rocco Recce, Anne was educated at St. Thomas Aquinas School and the Brooklyn Manual Training High School. In 1944, she answered her country’s call and enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve (Women’s Reserve), known as the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service). She served for two years, was stationed in Washington, DC and Virginia, and rose to the rank of Seaman First Class. Anne married her sweetheart, Domenick Ercolano, on September 5, 1949. The couple lived in Brooklyn and Queens before settling into their family home in Nesconset on Long Island, in 1968, where they spent the next 50 years. They were blessed with three daughters: Donna (Sr. Maria of the Holy Face of Jesus & the Immaculate Heart of Mary, OCD; Debra (William T. Brennan); and Doreen (Stephen H. Truesdell). Anne worked as a school aide in the Smithtown Central School District for more than 35 years, including Great Hollow Middle School and Smithtown High Schools East and West. Generations of students and faculty remember Anne’s warm personality and smiling face. After retiring, Anne joined friends at the Smithtown Senior Center and volunteered for Catholic Charities Meals-on-Wheels program. She was a member and past president of the Suffolk Seagulls, an organization of WAVES dedicated to preserving the history of women serving in the military. Anne was also a member of WAVES National and the American Legion Sherwood Bros. Post 1152. She and her family were longtime parishioners of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Centereach. Anne is survived by her loving husband and three daughters, seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her sisters, Theresa King of Brooklyn, NY and Anna Boyce of Mission Viejo, CA. She was predeceased by her brothers, Vincent “Jimmy” Recce and Frank Recce. Anne will be interred at Sacred Heart Cemetery in Castleton, NY.

Mrs. Ercolano’s funeral arrangements were professionally supervised while the Ercolano Family was lovingly cared for during their bereavement by The Maher Family & Staff of the St. James Funeral Home.