Annette D. Caruso of The Villages, Fla., passed away at UF Health Spanish Plains Hospital on Feb. 2, 2026. She was 83 years old. Daughter of the late Dominick and Rose Buzolich, she was born in Manhattan, New York, on Aug. 21, 1942.
After graduating from high school, Annette started working at Con Edison, where she met her future husband, Anthony Caruso. They lived in Stuyvesant Town and Whitestone, Queens, after their marriage on Feb. 20, 1965. She had two children, Denise and Philip, and lived in the city for 10 years. They moved to Highland Mills in 1975. After her third child, Renee, started school, she started working part-time as a School Aide at the Monroe-Woodbury Middle School. She worked there for 20 years.
In 2004, Anthony and Diane moved to The Villages, Fla. Diane enjoyed water aerobics, bocce, and antiquing. She loved watching Hallmark Movies, especially Christmas ones, dog shows, and HGTV. Diane cherished spending time with her family and spoiling her grandson.
Left to cherish her memory are her loving children: son Philip Caruso, of The Villages, Fla.; and daughter Renee Reynolds and her husband Harold, of Central Valley, N.Y., sister, Carol Gallo of Wayne, N.J., her grandson, Bryan Anthony Reynolds, niece and nephews, Lorie, Gregory, Peter, Lenny, Michael, Joseph, and Christopher, brother-in-law, Leonard Caruso.
In addition to her parents, Annette was predeceased by her beloved husband of 60 years, Anthony Caruso, and also by her daughter, Denise M. Caruso.
Visitation will take place from 4:30 – 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, at Smith, Seaman & Quackenbush Funeral Home, 515 Route 32, Highland Mills, N.Y. Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, at St. Patrick’s Church, 26 Hunter St., Highland Mills, N.Y. Interment of Cremains to follow, at Cemetery of the Highlands, Route 32, Highland Mills.
In lieu of flowers, you can make a donation to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society or the ASPCA in her name.
Arrangements made by Smith, Seaman & Quackenbush, Inc., 515 Route 32, Highland Mills, N.Y.