Marilyn T. DiCarlo Of Quogue Dies March 31

Marilyn T. “Chickie” DiCarlo of Quogue died on March 31 at the Peconic Bay Medical Center Skilled Nursing Unit, surrounded by her husband and daughter. She was 82.

Born Marilyn Theresa Brander, daughter of Agnes Kelly and William Brander, she was raised in Brooklyn and attended St. Ephrem Grammar School before graduating from St. Joseph High School.

Detail-oriented, and more widely known as “Chickie,” being proficient in both typing and shorthand, she was a favorite with employers, according to her family. After graduating high school, she went straight to Manhattan to work on Liberty Street for a steamship line. While raising her children, she worked for a book publisher and then a California-based residential developer, overseeing the building and finishing touches on several hundred homes at Village Greens on Staten Island. Her passion for interior decorating led her to a position with the esteemed decorators David Easton & Michael La Rocca, where she worked as their assistant before embarking on her own career as an interior decorator.

Know as “the life of the party,” her family said, her charismatic personality and sense of humor enthralled all who knew her. She was a very talented person who mastered the art of needlepointing, creating many intricately detailed designs that were then made into pillows and other accoutrement that adorned her beautiful homes.

Involvement in her community led her to serve as a Suffolk County Board of Elections inspector in the Village of Quogue. She was also a house watcher and pet-sitter for friends and neighbors. Her love of felines extended to feeding stray cat colonies in the community. The only member without a dog, she was also an honorary member of the Westhampton Beach “Mutt Pack.”

Her concern for the environment led her to volunteer for the then Group for the South Fork. She also devoted her time to calling home-bound seniors and delivering Meals on Wheels through the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program. A lover of opera and member of Center for Creative Retirement at Suffolk Community College, her last presentation featured a biography of the Italian operatic tenor Andrea Bocelli.

She loved to travel and live life to the fullest. She particularly loved life in Quogue, especially the village Beach and the Quogue Wildlife Refuge.

She is survived by her husband of 62 years, Joseph; beloved children, Marilyn and Joseph; and many nephews and nieces.

She will be forever cherished and remembered by family and friends, her family said.