Antoinette Silvestrini Carter
Jan. 9, 1926-Sept. 17, 2025
Corralitos, California
Antoinette was born in the coal mining town of Archbald, Pennsylvania to Pietro and Agostina Silvestrini. As the story is told, the midwife walked through the deep snow wearing her husband’s hip boots to assist with the birth. The family lived in a “company” house without indoor plumbing. Her father worked in the mines and her mother, known for her delicious homemade pasta, took in boarders. Nina, as her family called her, was a lively child with the nickname “Trumbetta” - always looking forward to hearing and sharing the news of the day. Until the end, reading the daily newspaper was one of her favorite activities.
Her older brother, Dominic, found employment in California, and at age eleven Nina and her parents followed him to San Francisco. They later moved to Redwood City where she attended Sequoia High School, and then the College of San Mateo. In 1947 she met Frank Carter, her “one and only”. They married in 1948, and made a home with Frank’s mother in Menlo Park. Toni and Frank stayed with his mom until 1980, when they moved to Corralitos. For the two of them, it was a dream come true, building their own home and planting a small orchard with a variety of apples, avocados, citrus, and various other fruits. They shared the bounty of the orchard with everyone they knew.
Toni’s greatest joy was hosting friends and family with meals she expertly prepared. Her culinary skills gained recognition when she was hired by Syntex, in Palo Alto, to prepare daily lunches in their executive kitchen for the president of the company and his associates. She loved the job. For her effort one of the visiting guests, who was based in New York City, declared her cheesecake the very best - “Mamma Leone’s never tasted this good!”.
Toni had seemingly boundless energy. Even in her later years, she spent many hours in her garden, raking bushels of leaves, picking fruit, pulling endless weeds, and tending to her roses. Another passion was opera. She loved attending San Francisco Opera performances, and also local live HD Met Opera broadcasts when she could no longer drive to the city.
Toni is survived by her two children, Chris (Karen) and Mary Louise, her grandson, Ben (Nicole), her great grandchildren, Frankie and Jennifer, her niece Laura (Paul) Sterbentz their daughters, Joanne and Janel and her great nephew Matthew. Her husband Frank, her parents, her brother, Dominic, her nephew Jim and most of her contemporaries preceded her in death, but she leaves behind a circle of dear friends, neighbors and extended family.
Her family extends sincere gratitude to Hospice of Santa Cruz County and Toni’s team of loving caregivers, Mary, David, Grace, and Jessica. In lieu of flowers pease consider a donation to Hospice of Santa Cruz County, The San Francisco Opera or the Peninsula Open Space Trust. A celebration of her life will be held at a future date.
