Maria Antonia Amato, age 78, died Tuesday, Sept. 28.

She was born March 28, 1943 in Alcamo, Trapani, Sicily, to Pietro and Vitria Lombardo. She moved to the United States in 1962 and married Castrenze “Steve” Nov. 19, 1966.

Maria was an amazing wife, mother and grandmother. She loved cooking and the pretty things in life, which included her passion for flowers and nature. She enjoyed traveling with family and passing on traditions of her heritage in cooking and celebrations. She was always curious and wanted to be anywhere her family was.

She loved home making, cooking, traveling, discovering new places on family outings. Her adventures of traveling included going to Arizona in the winter with Steve and spending summers on Gun Lake. She also enjoyed camping, sightseeing, nature parks, and road trips.

She enjoyed teaching her family her talents such as gardening, cooking, and sewing. She was a hard worker and spent many years working in the family restaurant business serving up her rustic style Sicilian dishes.

She also enjoyed her career as a beautician and proudly owned her beauty salon in Wyoming, Mich. She was the first woman business owner in her family and was licensed for 45 years in cosmetology.

She will be lovingly remembered by her husband, Castrenze “Steve” Amato; children Tony (Brenda) Amato, Peter (Karen) Amato, Kathy (Thomas) D’Angelo; grandchildren Maria, Eddie, Nicolas, Shelby, Anthony, Vincent, Dominic, Isabella, Marco; siblings Joe Lombardo, Francis Stabile; and many extended family and friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents and her brothers Gino Lombardo and Vito Lombardo.

Visitation will be held from 2-5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 3, at Kubiak-Cook Funeral Home – Wayland Chapel, 312 N. Main St. with prayers of the Rosary at 4:30 p.m. A funeral fass will be held 11 a.m. Monday, Oct. 4, at St. Therese Catholic Church, 128 Cedar St., Wayland with visitation from 10-10:45 a.m. prior to the service. Maria will be laid to rest at Elmwood Cemetery