Antoinette Brugnola

Antoinette “Toni” Brugnola passed away surrounded by the love of her family — which, knowing Toni, she probably would have preferred to happen right after hitting a jackpot on her favorite slot machine.

Born in Oak Tree, NJ to Eugene Zotti and Rose DeStefano, Toni had a gift for making everyone around her feel like the most loved person in the room. Her warmth, sharp wit, and generous spirit touched everyone who crossed her path, and she had a remarkable way of turning any gathering into a celebration.

She was the beloved mother of Marie and Gene Brugnola, the pride and joy of her life, the cherished sister of Geraldine Knox, and the adored aunt of Judith Ann Ciraco. A devoted grandmother to Nicole, Jerry, C.J., Danielle, Michael, Joshua, and Giovanni, and a proud great-grandmother to Connor, Anthony, Ciara, Matty, Bella, Franco, Cooper, and Giovanni — she somehow made each and every one of them feel like her absolute favorite. That was a kind of magic all its own.

Though our hearts are heavy with her passing, we take joy in knowing that Toni has gone home to our Lord in Heaven, where she is reunited with her beloved husband Genaro, her dear sister Anna, her brother Eugenio Zotti, and her two fur sons, Stormy and Pepper — and we’d like to think she arrived with a winning ticket in her pocket.

When she wasn’t busy loving her family, Toni could often be found in the kitchen or at the slots — and she was legendary at both. Her dinner parties were famous, and no one ever left without a plate of Italian food in hand. She brought that same generous spirit to her other favorite pastime — scratch-offs and slots — and winning came naturally. Most famously, she once turned a single dollar scratch-off ticket into $1,000, which surprised absolutely no one who knew her. Luck had a way of following Toni, though those who knew her best suspected it wasn’t luck at all. It was simply Toni being Toni.

She leaves behind a lifetime of cherished memories and the enduring lesson that life is better when you show up for the people you love — and maybe keep a little something aside for the casino. Toni was a proud and faithful parishioner of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Venice, Florida, a cherished member of its Council of Catholic Women (CCW), a friend to Divine Mercy Cenacle, and a proud member of the American Legion — a woman who gave back to her community as generously as she gave to her family.

She will be deeply missed, forever loved, and never forgotten.