Shirley Dzwonkowski

Longtime Tottenville resident Shirley May Dzwonkowski, 86, a devoted matriarch to three generations of family, died Monday at her home, following a long illness.

Born Shirley May Davey in Newark, she lived in New Brighton for a short time before moving to Tottenville 62 years ago.

A homemaker, Mrs. Dzwonkowski truly enjoyed her children and grandchildren, according to her family. "She really was a very loving mother,' said her daughter, Carol Driscoll. "She doted over her grandchildren and took great joy in watching them, keeping them on weekends. She was so proud of all of them."

One of the highlights of Mrs. Dzwonkowski's life, her daughter recalled, is when she traveled to Germany in 1972 to meet her first grandchild, Corinne Driscoll. The family then traveled extensively in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France - with the newborn in tow, she said. "It was a great joy for her,' Mrs. Driscoll said.

Mrs. Dzwonkowski enjoyed growing vegetables in her home garden, playing bingo and doing word puzzles. She also enjoyed traveling to the Catskill Mountains and Vermont, and visiting her son at his Pocono Mountains home.

She was a parishioner of Our Lady Help of Christians R.C. Church in her community and had been a member of its parents' club. She also had been a Cub Scout leader. She was a member of the Tottenville Chapter of the AARP and the Mount Loretto Friendship Club.

Her husband of 56 years, Kazimierz (Charles) Dzwonkowski, died in 2003.

Surviving, in addition to her daughter, Carol Driscoll, are two sons, Charles and Donald; a brother, Robert J. Davey; seven grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.

The funeral will be Saturday from the Bedell-Pizzo Funeral Home, with a mass at 11 a.m. in Our Lady Help of Christians Church, both Tottenville. Burial will be in Resurrection Cemetery, Pleasant Plains.

Services: Our Lady Help of Christian's RC Church Saturday, March 22, 2014 11:00AM

Visitation: Bedell-Pizzo Funeral Home Friday, March 21, 2014 7-9PM

Cemetery: Resurrection Cemetery (Staten Island)

Location: Bedell-Pizzo Funeral Home

Church: Our Lady Help of Christians R.C.Church