Former Lynbrook resident Antoinette Grieco, 107, dies

Antoinette Grieco was not your typical 107-year-old, her daughters said.

She was often spotted around Lynbrook, where she lived for 88 years, practically jogging with her walker to and from the movie theater, beauty salon and church. She played poker with the boys at the nursing home until she was 105, and got over colds more quickly than her daughters did.

Grieco, who died last Sunday at White Oaks Nursing Home in Woodbury, was an independent woman known for her good health, sharp mind and never-ending energy, her children said.

"My mother was a very resilient woman. She lived through everything that life threw her way and she bounced back and just kept going," said Grieco's daughter, Ronnie Fluken of San Rafael, Calif.

Grieco was born on Jan. 23, 1903, in Boston to Salvatore and Maura Dimila. She was one of six children.

Although she loved school, Grieco dropped out of Lynbrook High School in the 10th grade because she had to work and help support her family, said another daughter, Dolores Grieco of Oyster Bay.

In 2008, during an alumni reunion, Lynbrook High School presented her with an honorary diploma. Never graduating was a great sorrow to her, Dolores Grieco said.

Grieco first worked odd jobs, including sewing, but later went to business school and became a stenographer for an accounting firm in Jamaica, Queens.

In 1926, she married Edward Catena, an accountant, and had four daughters. Catena died in 1958.

She then married Victor Grieco, the widowed father of her son-in-law, Joseph Grieco, Dolores Grieco's husband. They enjoyed a marriage filled with traveling and cruises until his death in 1984.

Grieco didn't work after she was married. "She was happy to stay home," Dolores Grieco said. "Her job was to take care of the family."

Grieco remained in Lynbrook until forced out in 1999 after a fire at Nathan Hale Senior Village. She then moved in with Grieco. She moved to White Oaks Nursing Home last year as her vision failed and she slowed down, her daughter said.

"She was a very lively person. She loved to play cards, loved to dance and loved music," Dolores Grieco said. "She was a lot of fun to have around. She was a beautiful woman, very snappy dresser. She always wore hats." Grieco said her mother wore big-brimmed hats that made her look like a movie star.

When Grieco turned 106, the Doubleday Babcock Senior Center in Oyster Bay hosted a birthday party for her. Among the attendees, according to her daughter, was Nassau County Legis. Judy Jacobs, Oyster Bay town board members and other county officials, who gave testimonials.

Grieco was honored, recalled her daughter. " 'No one ever gave me a party like this,' she said."

In addition to daughters Fluken and Grieco, she is survived by daughter Janet Ambrose of Gambrills, Md. Another daughter, Vivian Neuweiler, of Lynbrook, died 12 years ago, Grieco said. She is also survived by 12 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren.