Carrie D. DiGiaCinto Huber

HUBER, CARRIE D.; Was born in New Jersey on June 3, 1923 and passed away at her residence in Coronado, California on February 20, 2013. A Memorial service will be held on Friday, Apr. 5 at 10:30 a.m. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 655 C Avenue in Coronado. A luncheon reception will follow at the Coronado Golf Course Clubhouse.

Carrie Huber – Obituary

Everybody in Coronado, it seems, knew Carrie Huber. She was one of Coronado’s most active “front-line” volunteers, the type of person who was content to set tables for luncheons, prepare mailings and provide visitors with directions and send them on their way with a smile.

Carrie worked for more than 10 years at the Coronado Visitors Center and had completed one of her regular four-hour shifts just the day before she suffered a stroke on Wednesday, Feb. 13; she died a week later on Feb. 20 at the age of 89.

She was a longtime member of the Coronado Woman’s Club and Coronado Republican Women Federated, where she received an award at the January meeting for the member who had donated the most hours of service to Coronado organizations; working 598 hours in 2012 alone.

At the Coronado Senior Center, where she had served several years on the Board of Directors, she enjoyed playing bingo every Monday, and always showed up early to help set up and greet newcomers.

Many Coronadans met Carrie on her frequent walks throughout town, where she always had time for a friendly word, a comment on a garden, pet or a child.

Carrie never drove an automobile. In earlier years, she left the driving to her husband Master Chief Charles Huber (USN), who passed on in 1999. After his passing, her friends – and there were many – would take her shopping on the navy base and to social events in the evenings.

Carmela “Carrie” DiGiacinto was born June 3, 1923 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, one of eight children born to Sam and Mary DiGiacinto. Sam had traveled to America from his native Villa Pette, Italy with just $25 in his pocket and established a hauling business in the city. Carrie’s mother, who lived to be 103, was a talented cook who made sure the family always enjoyed healthy Italian home-cooked meals, including through the Depression years.

Charles Huber, then a chief petty officer in the navy, met Carrie at a USO dance in Atlantic City. The couple married on June 2, 1951 and enjoyed Charles’ Navy career that included duty stations in Naples, Italy; Key West, Florida; Kodiak, Alaska and Coronado. The couple bought their home on Pomona Avenue in 1957, at a time when a train still traveled down the street.

Carrie worked at a bookkeeping firm in Downtown San Diego, where today’s Horton Plaza is located, commuting via the ferry. While Charlie was stationed in Kodiak, she worked on the base in a clerical civil service position.

When people asked Carrie if she had children, she would reply, “There are people who were put on the Earth to have children, and people put here to care for them.” She found herself in the latter category and over the years provided guidance, love and financial support to a wide circle of young relatives and friends spanning multiple generations, all of whom regarded her as “Aunt Carrie.”

A top-notch cook, Carrie was known for simple yet delicious cooking and mouth-watering apple pies, many of which found their way to the Senior Center’s annual ice cream socials. Holiday gatherings of a dozen or more friends and relatives regularly filled her modest home with warmth and good cheer; Carrie did the cooking as recently as last Thanksgiving, with a host of nieces and nephews doing kitchen cleanup.

Through all of life’s innovations, Carrie stayed grounded. She hung her clothes on the line to dry and never had a dishwasher or garbage disposal. She never had a computer but did take the time to send hand-written letters to family and friends throughout the country. She didn’t feel the need to travel the world, since she and Charlie had seen much of Europe while he was stationed there and they explored much of America and Mexico on Charlie’s hunting expeditions. And, so, over the past 20 years of her life, Carrie could always be counted on to just “be there” for all who loved her.

Carrie and Charlie were generous to Coronado and San Diego charities. One of the emergency rooms at Sharp Coronado Hospital is named in their honor; and Carrie was a longtime “Partner” of the Coronado Hospital Foundation. The Hubers also gave to the Coronado Historical Association, Friends of the Coronado Library, San Diego Zoo, UCSD Medical Center, and numerous other Coronado institutions.

Carrie Huber is survived by sisters Josie DiGiacinto, Anna Marie Woods and Marina Previti of Atlantic City, New Jersey; 19 nieces and nephews, and many grand nieces and nephews spread throughout the country.

A mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, April 5 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 655 C Avenue in Coronado.