Diane Palumbo, Mattituck resident and mother of Long Island state senator, dies at 83

Diane Palumbo loved being a mom.

Her daughter, Sharon Palumbo, remembered coming home after school to fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies, watching her mother knit and crochet clothes, and seeing their house decked out for Halloween while her mother waited by the door for trick-or-treaters.

"She was one of those kinds of moms," her daughter said.

Palumbo died surrounded by family in her Mattituck home on Oct. 13 from vascular dementia and complications of lifelong diabetes, according to family members. She was 83.

A devoted mother

Palumbo was primarily a stay-at-home mom to her three children, Lori, Sharon and Anthony, who now represents State Senate District 1 as a Republican. Her husband, the late Anthony Palumbo, was a Suffolk County Police Department detective.

Palumbo was very involved in her children’s lives, volunteering with Little League and Girl Scouts and at their Catholic school. She was also a fantastic cook, her son Anthony said.

Although she was mostly of Danish ancestry, she learned to make great Italian food from her mother-in-law, he said.

"Her lasagna was the best around," Anthony Palumbo said. "She made phenomenal sauce. It dirtied every dish in the kitchen, but it was amazing."

She was also an avid card player, particularly enjoying bridge.

She lived with her family in Patchogue for about 40 years before moving to Mattituck.

"I think being near the water is what she appreciated most," her son said.

About eight years ago, her daughter Sharon moved back from Manhattan after working on Wall Street for two decades to help care for her mother as her health declined.

Diane Palumbo was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in her 20s, and the condition became a major part of her life, her son said. Although she took very good care of herself, she started experiencing significant health issues in her 50s, he said.

From Bay Shore to Mattituck

Palumbo was born Aug. 4, 1943, in Bay Shore. On June 21, 1961, she married the love of her life, Anthony Palumbo, and they would raise their three children together.

Palumbo was a "Past Beloved Queen" of the Southside Triangle No. 134 in Sayville, a local chapter of the Organization of Triangles, a Masonic-related youth group for young women in New York. She was also a parishioner at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Mattituck.

Palumbo is survived by her children, Lori Palumbo, of Westhampton, Sharon Palumbo, of Manhattan, and Anthony Palumbo, of New Suffolk; three grandchildren, Lorelei Palumbo, of Jersey City, and Ryan Palumbo and Madeline Palumbo, both of New Suffolk; and two sisters, Linda Johannessen, of Blue Point, and Janet Watts, of Petaluma, California.

The A funeral Mass will be celebrated on Monday, 10 a.m., at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Mattituck. Burial will follow at Sacred Heart Cemetery in Cutchogue.