Catherine Annunziato, Mother and Cook, Dies at 86

Catherine M. Annunziato, a resident of Farmingdale for more than 50 years, wrote a cookbook during the last decade of her life.

She was married to the late Alexander Thomas Annunziato and had two children Alan Annunziato (Loraine) and Judy Tischler, five grandchildren (Jason, Stephen, Annie, Ali and Alexis) and one great grandchild (Alexander). She was 86 when she died on Aug. 4.

Among her favorite hobbies was cooking. Catherine was born on Dec. 3, 1924 in Brooklyn, where she lived until her family moved to Farmingdale in 1956. Both of her children attended

She worked as a receptionist for Richelleu Pearls in addition to working as a bookkeeper for the family business, BM Alter Erectors Corp. The company is a steel construction firm in Farmingdale.

Catherine enjoyed traveling. She was a frequent visitor of Italy and the Caribbean. The Farmingdale resident was also on the final United States Continental Cruise to the Mediterranean. At the time, the ship was the largest in the country.

“There was a pretty big party on the ship. It was a lot of fun,” said her son, Alan.

Above all, family was very important to Catherine.  

“She loved her grandchildren a lot,” Alan said. “We had a very close family with her sister Rachael, who also lived in Farmingdale and died just a year or two ago.”   

Catherine was laid to rest at