Anna Gardiner

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - Lifelong Staten Islander Anna Gardiner, 84, of Prince's Bay, who is remembered for her zest for life and the happiness she brought into others' lives, died Tuesday at home.

Born Anna Del Priore in Mariners Harbor, she moved with her family to West Brighton as a child.

She and Robert Gardiner met in 1954, while she was working at Bankers Trust in Manhattan. After their marriage, the couple relocated to Idar Oberstein, Germany, where Mr. Gardiner was stationed in the Army from 1954 to 1956. They returned to the States after his discharge and lived in West Brighton until settling in Prince's Bay in 1964.

The home Mrs. Gardiner made for her husband and children was a welcoming place for relatives and friends.

"Her love of life was contagious," said her daughter, Margaret Gardiner. "Everyone who met her liked her instantly. Everyone who knew her loved her for the happiness she brought into their lives."

Mrs. Gardiner enjoyed needlework, baking, photography and traveling with her husband.

The end of her life was brightened by a visit from her grandson, Peter Marsh, who traveled from Texas to bring his infant daughter, Pepper, to meet her great-grandmother.

Robert, Mrs. Gardiner's husband of 48 years, died in 2003.

Surviving, along with her daughter, Margaret, her grandson and her great-granddaughter, are her son, William; her daughter, Grace Marsh; a brother, Paul Del Priore, and a sister, Mary Santilli.

The funeral will be tomorrow from the Bedell-Pizzo Funeral Home, Tottenville, with a mass at 11 a.m. in Our Lady Star of the Sea R.C. Church, Huguenot. Burial will follow in Resurrection Cemetery, Pleasant Plains.

Services: Our Lady Star of the Sea RC CHurch Friday, August 12,2011--11:00AM

Visitation:

Cemetery: Resurrection Cemetery (Staten Island)

Location: Bedell-Pizzo Funeral Home

Church: Our Lady Star of the Sea R.C.Church