Anna Conte 84, of Mineola, NY passed away peacefully on Saturday, August 23, 2025 at Winthrop University Hospital (NYU Langone) surrounded by her loving family.

Anna was born in San Tomasso, Italy on October 3, 1940.  She is survived by her loving daughter Delia DiFiore and son-in-law Anthony, grandchildren Lisa Marie and Anthony Gabriel, and predeceased by her husband Gabriele and daughter Lisa.  Born to Angeladea and Franco DeNovellis, Anna was the youngest of 7 children, Guido, Antonio, Donato, Nicola, Camilla and Elena, all of which predeceased her.

When Anna emigrated from Italy as a teenager, instead of attending school, her father needed her to help out with the family expenses, so she started working as a seamstress in a factory in Brooklyn.  In 1961 in Canada, she married Gabriele Conte, her lifelong friend from her hometown of San Tomasso.  They then came to the US and settled with her family in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and then in 1974 moved to Mineola, Long Island.

Anna was very hard working and took pride in her cooking and baking.  With the help of her daughter, and family and friends who also moved to Mineola, she especially enjoyed the annual ritual of canning hundreds of jars of tomatoes to be used for the following year’s Sunday tomato sauce.

Throughout her life, Anna had to overcome many obstacles.  In 1968, her second daughter Lisa was born with cerebral palsy.  Anna was her devoted caregiver for 20 years until Lisa passed away.  Shortly after Lisa’s passing, Anna’s brother Guido suffered a debilitating stroke.  Once out of the hospital, Anna immediately had him move into her house so she could care for him.  Then, unfortunately a few years later her husband Gabriele had a traumatic brain injury that left him severely paralyzed for much of his remaining 24 years.  Amazingly Anna had the strength to take care of both of them simultaneously until recently, when she herself needed her daughter Delia's and professional caretaking.

Through it all, Anna did enjoy spending time with her family.  Besides the usual holiday celebrations and milestones, there would usually be a weekly barbeque, or card game, or just dessert with her siblings’ families that also lived in Mineola.  It was a common occurrence for friends or family members to just drop by each other’s houses.  She especially enjoyed teaching her grandchildren her recipes and traditions that she brought from Italy.  For her, this was the enjoyment of family.  She was loved by everyone.  She will be greatly missed and will be forever in our hearts.  May she rest in peace.

Visitation will be Thursday, August 28, from 2-4pm and 7-9pm at Weigand Brothers Funeral Home, 49 Hillside Avenue, Williston Park, NY.  Funeral Mass will be on Friday, August 29 at 10:00am at the Church of St. Aidan, 505 Willis Avenue, Williston Park, NY.  Entombment will follow at the Cemetery of the Holy Rood, 111 Old Country Road, Westbury, NY.