Renee Zunino

COOKEVILLE CHAPEL - Renée Zunino, a beloved wife, mother, sister, and friend, passed away on February 3, 2025. Born on August 2, 1946, in Manhattan, Renée lived a life filled with adventure, laughter, puppies and cards, sharing her journey with family and friends. A quintessential New Yorker, she always told it like is and was the life of the party. 

Renée was born and raised in New York City and spent summers camping in Connecticut with her parents and brother Rich. She made lifelong friends at St. Joseph’s Commercial High School, attended Brooklyn College, and worked on Wall Street as a clerk at DeCoppet and Doremus. She survived the 1965 NYC blackout in a hotel room party with lots of friends and tasty beverages.

Renée moved with her young family to the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. in 1971. She managed to finish her nursing degree while working and raising three amazing children, becoming a registered nurse in 1978. She worked as a labor and delivery and neonatal nurse for many years. Renée loved to tell stories about how she and other nurses would “train” the new doctors on how to do their jobs.

Renée was thoughtful, friendly, irreverent, and impulsive. She loved boats and sailing and even spent a few weeks sailing with friends down the Intracoastal Waterway from New York to the Virgin Islands. She loved her family and friends. This Leo was always ready for a fierce game of canasta.

In 1984, she moved her family to Florida to be closer to her mother. Renée was a fiercely supportive and proud mother. She enjoyed watching her children as they made their way through school. While she missed them when they moved across the country for college and careers, she was extremely proud of them and enjoyed seeing them on frequent visits.

Renée married her best friend and love of her life, Joe, in a beautiful ceremony on a yacht in Fort Lauderdale just after Christmas in 1998. They found much love and enjoyment together and embarked on a wonderful married journey. They moved to the scenic mountains of Tennessee in 2005, making friends, raising dogs, and enjoying the relaxing Cove life together.

Renée leaves behind her loving husband Joseph, her daughters Kerry (Greg) Knowles and Jennifer (Jeff) Mulcrone, her son Richard (Janice) Foley, her stepsons Dominic (Alyse) and Brian Zunino and her precious and talented grandchildren Haley, Jack,Nathan, Devin, Carson, Reece, Ben, Gianni and Luciano. She was preceded in death by her parents, Jack and Mary Carlson, brother Richard and grandson Colin.

A celebration of life will be held with family and friends in the spring at Renée and Joe’s house in Monterey.

Hooper, Huddleston & Horner Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. (931)526-6111. Share memories and condolences at www.hhhfunerals.com.