Raffaella Carratelli

Raffaella Grazie (Pugliano) Carratelli, known to many as “Rae”, was born to Lorenzo and Maria (DeLuca) Pugliano in Cerisano, Italy, a small hill-town near the city of Cosenza, Calabria Region, on March 11, 1934. She spent her childhood with her mother and younger brother Vincenzo (Vincent, b. 1939) in the local countryside, during the Nazi occupation of World War II. Her mother and relatives instilled a deep Roman Catholic Faith upon her, including regular visits to the four Catholic Churches in Cerisano. Her father was a tailor/patternmaker who started working in the New York City Fashion District in the early 1920s and returned to Italy to get married and start a family. He went back to America to continue working, joined the U.S. Army, and sent for the Family after World War II was over.

Raffaella’s family settled in East New York section of Brooklyn and regularly attended mass at Saint Fortunata Church. Raffaella, not knowing how to speak English, was placed in 1st Grade at age 11. She quickly accelerated through the public school system and graduated from Franklin K. Lane High School. Raffaella’s sister Giovanna (Joan) was born in 1948, and she enjoyed spending much time with her. She worked as a secretary at a New York City Bank near Grand Central Terminal, and often attended mass locally at St. Agnes Church, home of her famous television preacher Bishop Fulton J. Sheen. She was very religious with her Roman Catholic faith and even considered entering a convent.

Raffaella went to Italy to visit family in the summer of 1958. On a family trip to picturesque beach, in the town of Amantea, she met Antonio Carratelli, her future husband of 32 years. They were permitted to date with chaperones, fell in love, and married on December 6th at Church of San Francesco di Paola. Her family could not come to the wedding, but her father made the custom wedding gown she wore, which she later donated to a local convent.

Raffaella and Antonio settled near her parents in Brooklyn, and she continued working until her son Mario was born in 1960, followed by Anthony (b. 1962) and Frank (b. 1967). While Antonio worked as a commercial painter, Raffaella raised the family in a classic railroad-style apartment. She would take her sons walking everywhere from local grocery stores, the laundry mat, movies, visits to her parents, and Sunday Mass at Saint Sylvester Church. She always told the story of how she was able to bring 3 children, baby carriage, and laundry cart up one flight of steps. She had fond memories of family trips to New York City to see Santa Claus at Macy’s Herald Square and Radio City’s Christmas Show. The most memorable vacation was in the summer of 1969 when the entire family spent a month at her husband’s home in Amantea, by the beach, and visited Cerisano.

The family moved to Rosedale (Queens), New York City, which was in the busy area of Sunrise Highway, Long Island Railroad, and under a JFK Airport approach (a true trains, planes, and automobiles location). Raffaella continued raising her family with walks to Saint Clare’s Church, grocery stores, the library, and Green Acres Mall. Raffaella occasionally liked to try different things such as once on the last day of school, she took her children to old-style McDonalds, which only had outdoor seating.

Raffaella received her driver’s license when her sons were in high school. She worked at Gimbels and Fortunoff as a sales associate and Bulova Watch Company as an administrative assistant. Raffaella loved to cook, bake, and host family parties, especially Thanksgiving. She enjoyed spending time with her family, playing Italian card games (Scopa, Brisca, and Solitaire), and watching classic black & white and Hallmark movies. She always looked forward to decorating the Christmas tree and creating the traditional Italian “Presepio”, Nativity Village, with her husband and sons. Raffaella enjoyed drinking espresso throughout the day, and she mastered the espresso machine so well that her children called her “La Dottoressa di Caffe”.

Raffaella’s children married, and the family grew. Mario and Elizabeth Marciano (Veronica and Antonio), Frank and Maryann Malinowski (Nicolas and Frances), and Anthony and Marietta Contadino (Luigi). Veronica married Peter Mangouranes, who added great-grandchildren Eliana and Petra to the Family. Rafaella enjoyed spending time with her mother, sister Joan, and her brother Vincent and his family - wife Tina, children Lorenzo and Maria, and their families. Unfortunately, Raffaella’s husband died of cancer in 1990, and Mario, her first son, died in a car accident in 2006.

Raffaella lived with her sister Joan in Valley Stream, after her children moved away from home. She regularly attended Blessed Sacrament Church and was active with the Rosary Society and other religious activities. She made many friends at Church and went on Pilgrimages to the Holy Land, Ireland, Lourdes, and Canada. She enjoyed watching EWTN, especially the daily mass, rosary, and novenas. Later in life she spent as much time as she could with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. After Joan died, she moved in with her son Frank and wife Maryann, until she required assisted living and finally hospice care.

Raffaella was predeceased by her parents (Lorenzo and Maria), brother (Vincent), sister (Joan), husband (Antonio), and son (Mario).