By John C. O'Connell
So read the memorial card for Milady Zincone at her wake last week, at which lively music played and dozens of pictures of the cheerful, energetic Valley Stream woman were displayed. An American Flag hung on the wall above her and her funeral mass concluded with God Bless America.
Mrs. Zincone, mother of Stephanie Darcy, the wife of former Valley Stream mayor and state assemblyman James Darcy, now town councilman, had been hospitalized with a stroke on Oct. 20. She died Thursday, Jan. 17.
Her age, family members said, was "39 and holding," though many suspect she was an octogenarian.
"She was very outgoing, a very active person," said Ed Cahill, mayor of Valley Stream. "She was conversant with what was going on in the world, a great American and happy to be here in our wonderful country. She was active in the Elks and the League of Women Voters. You could tell she was well-loved by the outpouring of people who came to the Lieber Funeral Home and at the Mass Saturday."
"I knew Milady very well," said former mayor John DeGrace, Commissioner of the Nassau County Board of Elections. "I knew her when she was extremely active in the League of Women Voters. She was a regular attendee at all the Board of Supervisors meetings. She was always there to keep her membership abreast of all the issues coming before what was the county legislature at that time. She was extremely involved; a real community activist in a very positive sense." DeGrace described Mrs. Zincone as very sincere. "She was a true extrovert, a very warm person. Everything about her was positive. Whether she agreed with you or not on an issue, she was never a negative person. You always wanted to be with her. She was a very wonderful lady."
George Malekian, a state-level leader of the Elks and past president of Valley Stream's New York Elks Lodge Number One, knew Mrs. Zincone well.
"Milady was a past president of the Elk's Doe Club, our Ladies Auxiliary. She was an active member and a charming lady with a lot of style, a lot of grace. Her passing is a great loss. She was a shining light down here [at the Elks]. She was always involved with our Elks' charitable work, our community efforts, with the children. With her went a lot of memories and good times together."
Mrs. Zincone is survived by her husband, Matthew, daughters, Angela, Stephanie and MargaretGene, son, James, seven grandchildren and a great granddaughter.
"Nobody loved life as much as my mother did," said Stephanie Darcy. "She was so intelligent, so well read, up on all the latest events. She loved people. She had a heart of gold. She was so generous with her time and with her many gifts of spirit and optimism.
"For her," Stephanie said, "the glass was always half full. She was a dynamo. And she loved to dance. She would dance to the macarena, waving her hands in the air to the beat of the music. She would get anybody up to dance.
"I know that God brought my mother home to Him in Heaven. I know she's there now, dancing with the angels, teaching them the macarena."
Even near the end, Stephanie said, her mother would still have that special sparkle in her eyes when her children played music for her. She would look up at her visitors and move her hands slightly in the air to the beat of the music.
