Marie Antoinette Castelli

Marie Antoinette Castelli, 62 passed away peacefully on Saturday, December 3, 2022, at Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Hospital after a short illness. Her daughters were at her side.

Marie was born on September 11, 1960, in Raritan, NJ. She spent her childhood there playing with lifelong friend, Margie Saeed; watching The Young and the Restless and other soap operas with her mother, Lillian; and obsessing over all things Dark Shadows. She enjoyed watching the show, reading the books, listening to the albums and playing the board game.

In the small house that her carpenter father, Gregory, built, Marie dreamed of adventure. Once she got her driver's license, she frequently escaped Raritan by taking her younger brother, Jim, to dance clubs and punk and new wave concerts, where she would, if the mood struck her, talk her way backstage and hang with the bands. Throughout her life, Marie enjoyed writing stories and poems about life and love.

Marie began work as a ranch hand on a farm tending to horses, including the harness racer, "Oil Burner," which sparked her love for animals. Later in life, she assisted with the rescue of many stray and neglected dogs. In 1980, she found a passion for computer science which led to a 19-year career with AT&T.

The birth of daughters Nina Alicea Castelli Rivera in 1987 and Antoinette D. Rivera in 1990 fulfilled Marie's lifelong goal of being a mother. The family lived in Bridgewater, New Jersey, for nine years before Marie, motivated by a fascination with Egyptian culture, moved them to the Middle East in 1999. They settled in Maadi, Egypt, a suburb of Cairo. Marie took a job with USAID Hewlett Packard as a telecommunications engineer and became a devout Muslim. While in Egypt, she rescued many dogs, including her "lover boys", Tyson and Doupeh. During her final years in Egypt, she found peace in her villa in the desert of Helwan with her beloved dogs. Marie returned to the United States in 2013, settling in Maysville, Kentucky, in a small home that she dubbed the "Castelli Cottage." In January 2022, she moved to Houston, Texas, to be closer to her daughters. She joined a local mosque and fostered numerous friendships through her volunteer efforts. Marie spent the last months of her life spending time with her first grandchild, Raul Melquiades Gutierrez IV, and caring for her daughter's pets Jax and Cthulhu.

Marie holds an A.S. in Computer Information Systems from Raritan Valley Community College and a B.S. in Computer Information Systems from Excelsior University.

She was predeceased by her mother and father, Lillian M. Castelli and Gregory B. Castelli. She is survived by daughters Nina A. C. Rivera of Converse, Texas and Antoinette D. Rivera of Sugar Land, Texas; brothers Gregory F. Castelli of Glen Gardner, NJ, and James J. Castelli of Lambertville, NJ; stepsisters Carol Crider and Nancy Surber, both of Lantana, FL, and Marilyn Leonard of Shenandoah, PA; and grandson Raul Melquiades Gutierrez IV.

Marie was laid to rest in a private Islamic ceremony provided by IFGH Funeral Services on Monday December 5th, 2022. The graveside service was held at Madina Burial Cemetery.