Antoinette “Petie” Peters Macri—wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and matriarch—passed away peacefully in the early morning hours of Saturday, April 23, 2022. She was 91 years old and a lifelong resident of Byram, CT.
Born in 1931 to Paul and Anne Peters—a coal-miner’s daughter and the son of immigrants—Petie, as she was nicknamed as a young woman, grew up in Byram in a house that overlooked the ocean with her younger sister, Peggy.
She attended New Lebanon Elementary School as a child. Growing up, Petie always wanted to become a nurse and took classes at the Red Cross as a teen. After graduating from Greenwich High School in 1948, she entered the Greenwich Hospital School of Nursing. Upon completion of the three-year program, she was offered employment and happily accepted—she stayed with Greenwich Hospital for more than 40 years, including three in the operating room, and many years in Labor and Delivery. Petie ended up as night nursing supervisor. Her children often reflected how, when they were in school, every teacher and school nurse knew not to call their home during the day, because Mrs. Macri was sleeping after her overnight shift! Petie offered unwavering competence and compassion to patients of all walks of life, welcoming decades of babies into the world—including her own grandchildren—arriving to work every day with her nurses cap and a smile. She had many colleagues who were also close friends. After her retirement in 1994, Petie continued to be active in the Greenwich Hospital Nurses Alumni Association, where she was author of the association’s annual newsletter and keeper of their history.
In 1955 Petie married John Macri Sr. After honeymooning in Florida, they moved into a house her father built for them just across the street from her childhood home. They were happily married for 67 years.
She is survived by her children: John Jr. of Greenwich, CT; Paulette Macri Bodson of Greenwich, CT; Dean Macri (Marisa Macri) of Wellesley, MA; Meg Macri (James Doyle) of Watertown, MA; Nick Macri (Sherri Hutchinson) of Greenwich, CT; and Amy Jo Grant (Joe Grant) of Petaluma, CA. Her legacy includes 13 grandchildren and three grandchildren-in-laws (plus one betrothed). Two beautiful great-granddaughters were additional sources of light and joy in her life during these last two difficult years. Petie’s parents Paul and Anne Peters, her sister Peggy Lee and her daughter-in-law Brenda Macri predeceased her.
Petie was an avid, albeit amateur, photographer and kept lengthy and numerous albums to document her experiences. Flipping through them, one might find a grandson’s recital next to a jaunt to Mohegan Sun next to a backyard gathering next to a three-week tour of Asia. She opened her heart to all, and her home was always filled with the wayward, a comforting hearth during storms or a reliable pit-stop on a wanderlust journey. She always left an extra chair out, because she knew somebody would need a place to settle, and her dining room table seemed as good a place as any. She made every visitor feel like family, whether they were staying for just a meal, or for years. Her truly epic Halloween tablescapes and goodie bags made a visit to her backyard to see Mr. Pumpkin a must-attend event, not just for children in her neighborhood, but from all around town. Anybody and everybody were invited to gather around her Christmas tree—if you knew Petie, even in passing, you never again had “nowhere to go” during the holidays.
Petie Macri was loving, kind, nurturing, fun, ambitious, devoted, generous with her time and her ear, a world-traveler (especially with the Glenville Seniors, with which she and John made many wonderful friendships), a sprightly dancer, an incredible cook, an early adopter of selfies, a casino shark, an expert baker, a forgiving gardener, a Stanley Tucci fan and a friend to the friendless. She was a phenomenal pen pal, and she signed off every missive with her signature closing—a great comfort to her family as they mourn the loss of their matriarch:
“You’re loved.”
A wake will be held at Coxe & Graziano,134 Hamilton Avenue, Greenwich CT, on Sunday, May 1 from 3:00pm to 7:00pm.
Services will be held at Sacred Heart Church, 38 Gold St, Greenwich, CT, on Monday, May 2 at 10:00am.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Petie Macri’s memory can be made to the Greenwich Hospital Nurses Alumni Association, at 95-54 Intervale Place, Stamford CT 06905.