1 Photo
Eleanor “Ellie” Catena Finalborgo died on March 2 at home, surrounded by her family. She was 92.
Ms. Finalborgo and her late husband, Victor Finalborgo, were proprietors of Catena’s Market in Southampton, a butcher shop and specialty food market founded by her father Vincent “Pop” Catena in the mid 1930s.
She worked in the family store her entire life and was an integral part of its success, carrying on the tradition of quality and customer service started by her father. She was known and loved by the store’s many loyal customers who often looked to her for advice on everything from recipes to child-rearing. When a fire destroyed Catena’s in 1982, she was the driving force behind the effort to rebuild it. In 1992, she and her husband turned the store over to their sons, Victor and Vincent Finalborgo, the third generation of Catenas to operate the business.
Born in the Bronx in 1923 to Vincent Catena and Mary Cuomo Catena, she graduated from Hampton Bays High School in 1941. She was married in 1949 at Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Church in Southampton. She was a woman of deep faith and started her day by attending mass, often with a close group of friends whose prayers supported each other and the community over the years.
Ms. Finalborgo was the center of her large and close-knit family, and, survivors said, it was the strength of her love and devotion that held them all together. One of her greatest joys was cooking for her family and friends and she especially loved gathering the family around the table on Sundays. She enjoyed playing tennis and winter vacations in Naples, Florida. For her 90th birthday, her family honored her with a party following the christening of three of her great-grandchildren.
She was predeceased by her husband of 45 years, Victor Finalborgo; two sisters, Rose Onisko and Marie Warner; and a brother, Dave Catena.
She is survived by her children and their spouses, Victor and Jane, Vincent and Kathy, David and Kathleen Finalborgo, and Mary and Richard Manzo; seven grandchildren, Bill Finalborgo, Mary Crosby, Ragan Ingram, Danielle Manzo, Jason Manzo, Bryan Finalborgo and Michael Finalborgo; and five great-grandchildren, all of Southampton.
A memorial mass will be held Tuesday, March 15, at 10 a.m. at the Basilica of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in Southampton.
Memorial donations may be made to the Ellie Finalborgo Memorial Fund at the Basilica of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, 168 Hill Street, Southampton, NY 11968, or to East End Hospice, Inc., P.O. Box 1048, Westhampton Beach, NY 11978.
on Mar 7, 2016