Karen J. Vetrano of East Hampton, 58, died at home on Aug. 19. Her family did not give a cause of death.
Mrs. Vetrano grew up on Hedges Lane in Amagansett and was "a beach girl," said her sister-in-law Elaine Vetrano of Centerport. "She loved swimming in the ocean, she loved Amagansett and being a Bonacker." And, she added, she was the favorite aunt of her nephews, Nate Close of Centerport and Dylan Kennedy of Denver, and her nieces, Sarah Walter of Israel and Caitlin Kennedy of Lititz, Pa., "whom she loved, doted on, and played practical jokes on all the time. Her sense of humor was priceless." Mrs. Vetrano spent a lot of time with them at the ocean, always turning to the right, said her sister-in-law, at Indian Wells Beach, and other happy hours with family and friends sledding at Quail Hill off Old Stone Highway.
Karen Jean Vetrano was born on Jan. 17, 1962, at Southampton Hospital, a daughter of Sally Stone Slattery of Southbury, Conn., who survives, and the late David Slattery. She graduated from the Amagansett School, East Hampton High School, and the State University at Plattsburgh, where she earned a degree in early education. She held a series of jobs here, in Amagansett and on Napeague, and remained friends with people from all of them for the rest of her life.
On Sept. 20, 1986, she and Joseph Vetrano of East Hampton, who were high school sweethearts, married at the East Hampton Presbyterian Church. Mr. Vetrano survives. The first time he asked her out, her sister-in-law said, she declined. He learned only later that she'd said no because it was a school night.
In addition to her mother and husband, she is survived by a brother, Thomas Slattery of Norton, Mass., and two sisters, Kathleen Kennedy of Lititz and Carol Slattery of Dalton, Mass., as well as a number of nephews, nieces, and two great-nieces. Family members received close friends on Saturday at a private service at the Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in East Hampton. On Sunday the immediate family held a celebration of her life at Indian Wells Beach.
She was cremated; her husband has the urn with her ashes.
Memorial donations have been suggested to East End Hospice, P.O. Box 1048, Westhampton Beach 11978-7048 or Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, 2502 North Rocky Point Drive, Suite 550, Tampa, Fla. 33607.
