BY ALBERT AMATEAU | Marie Bartone, a Greenwich Village resident with eight great-grandchildren, died on March 24 surrounded by her extended family. She was 97, and had been in ill health for the past year.
A registered nurse, she worked part time with her husband, the late Dr. Joseph Bartone, in his practice at 10 Downing St.
“My mother and dad met when she was a nursing student and he was a doctor at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Staten Island,” said a daughter, Jackie Bartone. “They were married in 1942, and my dad was in the Coast Guard during World War II.”
Born in the Fordham section of the Bronx to Lena and Anthony Speroni, Marie and her two brothers, both now deceased, went to high school there.
“My dad’s family were Villagers from way back,” her daughter said. “They lived on MacDougal St.”
In addition to working part time with her husband, she was on the nursing staff at the old St. Clare’s Hospital on W. 51st St. That hospital merged with St. Vincent’s in the Village and finally closed in 2007.
The couple moved in 1958 to an apartment on W. Houston St. just off Sixth Ave., where they raised their family. Dr. Bartone died in 1963, and Marie began working as a nurse for AT&T. She retired in 1983 and spent the rest of her long life helping to raise her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
“Nursing was not just a profession with her, it was a way of life. She was that kind of person, caring in that way for everyone she met,” said her sister-in-law, Pat Speroni. “No matter how busy she was, she always made huge Sunday dinners for her family and friends. Her hobby was people,” said Speroni.
“She was also an amateur astrologist — she enjoyed lining up the planets.”
In addition to her sister-in-law and her daughter, Jackie, another daughter, Carole Opedal, survives, as well as her three grandchildren, Cristina Porfidio and Lars and Joseph Opedal, along with six great-granddaughters and two great-grandsons. A devoted niece, Jackie Barton, also survives.
Perazzo Funeral Home, 199 Bleecker St., was in charge of arrangements. The funeral was March 30 at St. Anthony’s Church, at Carmine and Bleecker Sts.
