Obituary of Grayce M. Cutroneo

Grayce Marie Cutroneo (nee Patafio) passed away peacefully on January 9, 2021. Grayce was born in Brooklyn, NY, on Valentine's Day, February 14, 1927, to Katherine and Peter Frank Patafio. As a young adult she enjoyed trips to Coney Island and worked as a secretary and switchboard operator in the Bush Terminal buildings on the Brooklyn waterfront for the Shlitz Brewery Compoany. In her spare time, Grayce sang in her church choir and as a soloist as well as performing in competitions and winning prizes at Carnegie Hall. In 1955, she married the love of her life, William Joseph Cutroneo (1925-1982). They had four children: Catherine, Christopher, Caroline and Matthew, raising them all in the home they bought on Staten Island (Sunnyside). In addition to being a wife, mother and homemaker, Grayce was active in local poetry writing groups and book discussion clubs, as well as a quilting group and also enjoyed cooking, gardening and sewing. Grayce is survived by her four children: Catherine (Swords) Gelman (Dave), Christopher (Kath Nyhus), Caroline, and Matthew (Anna Marie); grandchildren: Kevin Swords, Brian Swords (Christine), Justin and Juliette Cutroneo, Marielle Gelman, as well as step-grandchildren: Liz Brodie (Dave), Christopher, Allyson, and Jenna Lombardo. She is also survived by four great-grandchildren. She is the beloved sister of Nino Patafio (Antoinette) and Carmela Savarese and the late Millye Levine (George). Also surviving are many loving nieces and nephews. Grayce was a woman of faith and she was a devout parishioner of Our Lady of Good Counsel on Victory Blvd. for over 50 years. A private funeral mass will be held at Our Lady of Good Counsel R.C. Church, on Thursday, January 14, at 10:00 am, with a burial to follow at Moravian Cemetery. A memorial gathering to celebrate her life will be held during late Spring/early Summer, 2021.