Antonietta DiNapoli - Obituary

ntonietta Cerreta DiNapoli, a 31-year resident of Annapolis and previously of Camp Springs, MD, passed away on December 1, 2023 at the age of 96. Born on November 11, 1927 to the late Luigi and Maria Miano Cerreta in Calitri in the Province of Avellino, Italy, Antonietta was one of four children. A talented seamstress, she began creating dresses when she was only 10 years old. It was a talent that she would develop into an expertise, especially in men’s clothes. In 1955, Antonietta married Angelo DiNapoli (born 1916 in Calitri, who immigrated to the United States in 1929) and left Italy shortly thereafter. The couple arrived in Brooklyn, NY where Antonietta was welcomed into her new family with a lavish wedding reception. A week later, the couple arrived at Angelo’s home in Washington, DC where they began building a family. Antonietta also continued her passion for sewing, working as a tailor and seamstress at various men’s clothing stores and operating her own business from her house. She designed and created wedding gowns and other women’s attire and expanded into home fashions including draperies and slipcovers. Antonietta loved to cook Italian food from scratch, serving up dishes of ravioli, lasagna, braciola, manicotti, gnocchi, spaghetti marinara and cannoli. She was a longtime member of Holy Rosary Church in Washington, DC and active in the Sodality of Mary there. She also attended St. Philip the Apostle Church in Camp Springs and St. John Catholic Church in Clinton. She enjoyed traveling but her greatest joy came simply from spending time with her family and friends. Her motto was “accomplish the impossible while being a trailblazer”; for example, having not yet learned the English language, she managed to obtain her U.S. driver’s license, prompting some of Angelo’s U.S.-born nieces to obtain their licenses. In addition to her parents, Antonietta was preceded in death by her loving husband of 30 years, Angelo; her daughter Anna Marie; her brothers, Giovanni and Giuseppe Cerreta and sister, Lucia Cerreta. She is survived by her son, Marco and his wife, Susan of Arlington, VA and many dear relatives and friends locally, nationally, and internationally, especially throughout Italy. A visitation will be held from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8PM on Tuesday, December 5 at the Kalas Funeral Home & Crematory, 2973 Solomons Island Rd., Edgewater, MD. A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 11AM on Wednesday December 6 at Holy Family Catholic Church, 826 W. Central Ave., Davidsonville, MD followed by entombment at 1PM at Resurrection Cemetery in Clinton, MD. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Jude Children’s Hospital at: www.stjude.org. Online condolences may be offered using the Memories tab on this page. ******************** To view today's funeral service, click the link below *********** Click Here