Denise A. Tuite

Brooklyn-native and self-made business woman, Denise A. Tuite passed away on January 3, 2025, after a nearly-five year battle with ovarian cancer. She will be missed by her loving sister, Maureen Barbieri; brother-in-law, Bob; brother, Martin; sister-in-law, Agnes; and long-time family friend, Lucielle; among five nieces and nephews (Gabrielle, Michael, Matthew, Danielle, and Brittany); three great grandnieces and grandnephews; and many cousins from her tight-knit and gregarious, Irish-Catholic family.

From a young age Denise was resilient, resourceful, and possessed a keen sense of social justice.

Denise started a business -- a luncheonette on Avenue L in Midwood, Brooklyn in the 1970s. Subsequently, she turned her passion for antiquing into a thriving business on Atlantic Avenue in Cobble Hill/Brooklyn Heights, while also working for the U.S. Postal Service. Her success launched her into expanding her business with historical reproduction period chairs and she acquired another store to accommodate that growth. This set her on a path to New York’s Design District, first having a showroom in the Decoration and Design Building and then the Fine Arts Building. She was renowned for her Giacometti reproductions and had clients across the United States and even internationally.

Denise used her success to help others. In the 1980s she volunteered at The Lesbian Switchboard, a lifeline for queer women. You can hear an NPR interview with Denise about this experience here. She also took in stray cats and dogs and even a hamster and gave them spectacular lives. At one point she joined up with her friend Sheila in animal rescue. There is not a friend or acquaintance, who cannot say that Denise had not helped them out of a jam, patiently listened to their woes, or showed up with a caulking gun to grout the tub in their bathroom.

With an infectious and hearty laugh, Denise always had a kind word to say to you, a cup of tea or a beer in a frosted mug to offer you, and a comforting presence that will remain with the many people, whose lives she thoroughly enriched.

Visitation will be held at the Timothy Ryan Funeral Home, 145 St. Catherine Blvd., Toms River, NJ on Tuesday, January 7, 2025 from 4:00-8:00 pm. A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered Wednesday,  January 8, 2025 12:00pm at St. Maximilian Kolbe RC Church, Berkeley Twp.

Donations can be made in her honor to an animal shelter or rescue of your choosing.

Condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.ryanfuneralhome.com.

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