Jacqueline ""Jackie"" Guarino

Jackie Guarino was born in Brooklyn, NY on July 8, 1934 to Joseph and Elizabeth (Campione) Saracino. Jackie was the second youngest of eight children. She adored and admired all her siblings and was especially close to her sisters.

Jackie grew up in the south section of Brooklyn, NY.  After high school, she worked in Manhattan for the Metropolitan Life Insurance company. She had fond memories of working in Manhattan and loved the energy of the city.

In 1954, Jackie married the love of her life, William “Bill” Patrick Guarino. They were in their 70th year of marriage when Bill passed. Jackie and Bill started their marriage in Brooklyn, and after a few years, they moved to the small town of Copiague on Long Island. In Copiague, they raised their three children and began life long friendships with their neighbors on 26th and 27th Streets.

During the early years of her marriage, Jackie continued working at Metropolitan Life and supported Bill as he attended night school. After a few years, she became a full-time mom to three children. She volunteered in the classroom and later became a teaching assistant when her son Billy was in elementary school. Jackie continued to work in the Copiague schools until she and her family moved to Wilmington, NC in 1981. While she had initially planned to retire, Jackie realized she was not quite ready to finish working. With encouragement from her sister, Vera, she found employment at Laney High School. She had a way of connecting with everyone, but Jackie loved working with young people—she was smart, loving, and sassy.

When she officially retired in 1995, she and Bill celebrated with a party held at the Elks Lodge #532, where they were active members for many years and made countless wonderful friends.

For the next 15+ years, Jackie, Bill, and their son Billy traveled all over the world. Jackie loved traveling! Whether it was to visit family and friends or embark on new adventures, her passion was creating fond memories about the journey with her traveling companions and dear friends. This lucky fellowship often included Jackie’s sisters and their husbands—Vera and Sam Carrera and Barbara and Joe Guarino—as well as close family friends Trudy and Joe Rutten. During their off-travel days, Jackie and Bill often spent Friday nights gathered around a table at the nearby Ruby Tuesday with her cherished friends and any fortunate visiting family members, relishing good food and warm companionship. On the third Thursday of every month, Jackie gathered local family members for steak night at the Elks Lodge. There, we reunited, exchanging news from our lives and eagerly listening to the latest travel adventures.

The most important parts of Jackie’s life were her family, her friends, and her faith. Jackie was a woman of faith and a prayer warrior with genuine concern for others. Jackie was a loving daughter, sister, wife, mother, aunt, grandma, and friend. She will be deeply missed. We will always remember Jackie for her kind and loving manner, her genuine interest in others, and her constant presence, always lending support or joining in the fun (especially her love of the NY Mets!!). She and Bill remained deeply in love throughout their marriage and their relationship set the tone for the family.

Jackie is survived by her three children, Donna Lyn Tennant (Steve Tennant), Lisa G. Kempton, and William “Billy” Patrick Guarino II; six grandchildren she fondly referred to as her “little dolls,” Ben Kempton (Carie Kempton), Nick Kempton (Frannie Jackson), Jared Kempton, Jonathan Tennant, David Tennant, and Alyanna Tennant; and many nieces and nephews.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Monday, June 16, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. at St. Mark’s Catholic Church, 1011 Eastwood Road, Wilmington, NC 28403. Inurnment will follow at the St. Mark's Columbarium.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital or a charity of your

choice in her honor.