Betty Francullo, was a woman of great strength and vitality. She was a loving wife to her husband Bill, devoted mother to Billy, Cara and Thomas. Her life’s darkest moment was living through the death of her oldest child, Billy, when he was nine. After suffering and surviving, she dedicated herself to raising Cara and Thomas with care, optimism and great joy. Betty delighted in seeing her family grow, first with her children's wonderful spouses, Anders and Norma and later her beautiful grandchildren Will, Eve, Parker, Emma, Jordan, Tess and Sophia.  

Betty Coniglione grew up in Maspeth, Queens in 1929, during the Great Depression. She was the oldest of five children. It was there and then that, she honed her street smarts and resilience and was born to be a boss. She reminisced warmly of growing up with her younger siblings, Dorothy, Rosemary, Roy and Phillip remembering mostly the great love and fun that her family created even in the midst of scarcity.  But soon after Betty began daubing her cheeks with makeup and noticing boys, she fled the hustle and bustle of her large family for the exciting work world of Manhattan’s Garment District. She attributed much of her early fashion mentoring to Arthur Gerber and her furniture and home design knowledge from friend, Lee Lisi. She built relationships with the many small clothing manufacturers along Seventh Avenue learning the field and honing her business acumen which led to her eventually opening her own dress boutique on East 80th Street. Betty was known by many professional women for her good taste and ability to help put together versatile and stylish wardrobes. She had an expert eye for beautiful things and was a natural marketer; her elegant boutique window often stopped women in their tracks. 

Betty was the ultimate multi-tasker. She was blessed with boundless energy and enjoyed doing six things at once, even up into her early 90’s. Other than her busy family and professional life, Betty was an active and long-standing member of her community, especially the Kew Gardens Civic Association. She loved her home and living among fine neighbors on 82nd Road---especially, her dear family friends Carol and Murray Berger. As did many on the street, she enjoyed getting to know the new homeowners who arrived over the years. 

While Betty and Bill travelled the world together, her last international trip was to Venice, Italy for her 90thbirthday with Cara and Thomas and their spouses. It was one of those wonderful trips that happen every now and again and Betty and the family remembered the shimmering beauty of those days in Venice happily and often. At 94, Betty danced at her oldest granddaughter’s wedding in Naples Florida. After hearing she was to become a great grandmother in December, she clapped her hands and said it was the best news she had heard in a long time. Betty loved reasons to be alive, the possibility of the next event thrilled her, she loved hearing about positive things that would make life better for individuals and the world. She was a glass half-filled kind of person who couldn’t help encouraging people to persevere through adversity and offering heartfelt advice on virtually any subject, especially the benefits of frugality and building one’s independence. Betty would not tolerate bullies or snobs and would naturally stand to the defense of anyone suffering unfairness or cruelty. She enjoyed taking part in anything social, day or night, high or low and struggled to turn down any invitation. She had a natural buoyant enthusiasm that made her fun to be around. She could make a party out of the simplest fare.  She cooked delicious family dinners with a fresh salad without fail. But Betty’s cooking skills were best displayed as a dinner party hostess where she enjoyed bringing people together around good food and wine. According to her grandchildren Betty was known for her meatballs, chicken cutlets and lasagna and by others for her impressive paella and chocolate layered birthday cake. 

Betty had many devoted friends and neighbors who checked in on her over the years and helped support her autonomy. Her dear friends, Dinny, Selma, Marilyn, and Nadene were true friends until the end even when her mind and body had begun to fail. Together they shared the ups and downs of life with much laughter, comradery and meals. I know Betty would also want to thank all those who helped her navigate old age--- Sandra, Barbara, Elizabeth, Lois, Ivet, Viveene ----for their companionship and gentle care when she was waning and then utterly dependent. Many thanks to her niece Lisa, who shipped sweets, presents and several homemade cards each week so Betty knew she was being thought of. Thank you to Visiting Nurse Service Hospice unit ---especially Nurse Ernesto, home health aide, Marva and weekend nurse, Tatiana for their skilled attention and the rest of the team who looked after our morale so we could be better caretakers.

Betty passed from this life two weeks after her 96th birthday surrounded by her children and caretakers in the Kew Gardens home she lived in for more than 60 years. She also leaves behind a stray cat she adopted late in life named Roux whom she had grown very attached to in her last years. Betty will be sorely missed by the many who knew and loved her.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Betty's name can be made to the Visiting Nurse Service of NY Hospice by clicking on the link below:

vnshealth.org