Santina 'Sally' Abaldo, longtime Huntington resident and homemaker, dies at 107

When longtime Huntington resident Sally Abaldo turned 90, her family started celebrating her birthday with a large party that attracted relatives and friends from around the country, her family said.

On her 105th birthday, Abaldo was recognized as the oldest patient to undergo a heart valve replacement. The milestone was honored with three official proclamations, including one from Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine.

Abaldo died of natural causes on Sept. 1, at age 107 in Athens, Texas, where her son John Abaldo lives.

Her son said if his mom liked you, she wanted to cook for you.

"She cooked everything homemade — her signature dish was gavideels [cavatelli pasta] and eggplant parmigiana — and she loved drinking wine," John  Abaldo said. "If you mentioned a party she was the first one there."

Santina "Sally" Abaldo was born on June 8, 1919, in a West Philadelphia row house. A seamstress by trade, Abaldo became a homemaker after the birth of her first child. She married Joseph Abaldo a few months before the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941. The couple was married for 67 years and raised four sons: John, Steve, Guy and Joseph, her eldest, who predeceased her.

"She loved her sons and she was a fantastic mother who was hands-on," John Abaldo said. "She was a kind person who loved her family, genuinely loved being around people. Her door was always open."

In 1954, the family moved to Huntington. Sally Abaldo fell in love with the town and watched it grow.

"Her house was a mile from St. Patrick's Church and she transformed it into a welcoming gathering place for family and friends," her son said.

Eileen Keane, of Huntington, met Abaldo in 2005 at St. Patrick's Church and the two became fast friends.

"Sally always had a kind word to say about everybody," Keane said. "She touched everyone's lives and she remembered everything. People who knew her will never forget her."

Suzanne Surdo, who met Abaldo 10 years ago, said "there was no greater gift than her friendship."

"To be in her company was priceless. When you were with Sally, she made you feel like you were the only person on the planet. She was a great listener, she made you laugh, but most of all, you knew that she adored you," Surdo, of Deer Park, said.

An avid Yankees fan, Abaldo enjoyed sewing and spending time with her family.

"Her secret [to a long life] was being a part of all her children's lives. She loved and lived for her sons, and as a grandmother and great-grandmother she was fantastic," her son John said.

"She was an amazing lady,"  Keane said. "Everything Sally did, she did it with passion and intensity, and she would want to be remembered for all the good she did for everyone."

Abaldo is survived by her sons John, Stephen, of Vero Beach, Florida, and Guy, of Wellington, Florida; four grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and three great-great-grandchildren. A funeral Mass was celebrated on Sept. 18 at St. Patrick’s Church in Huntington. Interment followed at Pinelawn Memorial Park and Arboretum.