Grace Vele

Grace Vele, or as she liked to be called, Amazing Grace, passed away March 18, 2025, a few months shy of her 92nd birthday. She was one of the most resilient, tough and passionate women around. A lot of this came from her early years growing up in Carroll Gardens Brooklyn. It was at a dance in Brooklyn where she met the love of her life, Michael. They wed and eventually moved to Massapequa, Long Island where they raised their three sons, Louis, Michael, and Steven. Her husband was a Space Systems Engineer, Grace an artist.

Always progressive, Grace was an advocate of public education and the arts. She dedicated her spare time to painting and sculpture. After her boys had grown, she put that passion to work becoming the Director of Cultural and Performing Arts for the Town of Oyster Bay and, more recently, she was a member of the Warwick Art League.

As her boys grew, so did their family. Grace and her husband Michael are grandparents to three grandchildren and five great grandchildren.

As with life, just when you think everything is okay, there’s a curve ball. This is when her Brooklyn toughness and dedication to family came into play. Her husband Michael developed Alzheimer’s. Supported by her family, she cared for him at home for 8 years, until his passing.

Grace was always the consummate host, loved to cook, socialize and strike up a conversation with anyone she met. She was an avid reader, a big fan of old movies, and enjoyed going for boat rides and enjoying the sunny weather. But the one thing she enjoyed the most was being with her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and extended family.

Her disposition was always sunny, and she loved sunflowers. She may have been almost 92, but you would never know it. She was resilient and truly amazing.

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