Alicia Constantino

Alicia Constantino passed peacefully on December 12, 2025, at home, surrounded by her loving family, at the age of 94.

Alicia was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, daughter of the late Alfredo DeFranco, late Marta (Bellovino) DeFranco, and late stepmother Maria (Turner) DeFranco.

After high school, Alicia worked as a bookkeeper and at age 18 met the love of her life, Jorge P. Constantino, a medical student. They married in 1956 and soon moved to the US where Jorge completed his medical training.

After returning for two years to Argentina, Alicia and Jorge relocated permanently to the Albany area in 1963 where they raised their four children, and husband Jorge established his cardiology practice.

Alicia’s greatest love was caring for her family, while keeping active in the community and continually learning. After years of encouraging her children towards their advanced degrees, Alicia chose to attend college herself. She enrolled at the University at Albany (despite fretting that she was the oldest student in her classes!) where she obtained her BA (1985) with Phi Beta Kappa honors, and, eventually, her Master’s degree (1991), both in Spanish Literature. She continued to “feed” her love of learning throughout her life, enrolling in adult education courses every semester, as recently as last year.

Alicia and her husband loved hosting parties and maintained their Argentine heritage throughout their lives, including singing and expertly dancing Argentine tangos in honor of Alicia’s father, a tango orchestra leader. Alicia was the co-founder of the South American Spanish Association (SASA) where she and Jorge helped organize social events, participated in the annual Festival of Nations, and served the Capital Region Latino community. Alicia remained active in SASA even after the passing of her husband in 2000.

Alicia especially cherished her summers in Ocean City, NJ and at their Hudson River camp where she shared wonderful moments with family and lifelong friends.

In her last months, Alicia was blessed to have her son Ricardo and daughter-in-law Laura move into her home, along with their pets Lolita, Maggie, and Mabel, whose enthusiastic love and care brightened her last months.

In addition to her parents, Alicia was predeceased by her beloved husband, Dr. Jorge P. Constantino. She is survived by her 4 children, Dr. Jorge L. (Sheila Hilley) Constantino, Graciela (James) Desemone, Eduardo (Kim) Constantino, and Ricardo (Laura) Constantino; grandchildren Jarrod Constantino, Travis Constantino, Marcela (Thomas) Draper, Cristina (Jalen) Nesbitt, Sophia Constantino, Lucas Constantino, Nicholas Constantino, Brody Moorman, Ryan (Lauren) Murphy, and Declan (Valerie) Murphy and three great-grandchildren Shane, Claire, and Callum.

Alicia also leaves behind her cherished family in Argentina with whom she remained in close contact during her 62 years in Albany. We are immensely grateful for her dearest siblings Susana (Norberto) Maldonado, Marta (late Roberto) Mel, and Horacio (Elena) DeFranco and her loving nieces, nephews, and cousins who filled her life with joy through their visits and daily chats on WhatsApp.

We are truly thankful to Marilyn Tralongo and colleagues at Symetry Hair Design, whose kindness and friendship enriched Alicia’s life for over 40 years. The family also thanks all those who provided compassionate care to help keep our mother comfortable at home.

Visitation will be held on Friday December 26, 2025, at the Applebee Funeral Home in Delmar, NY from 10 am to 12:00 pm, immediately followed by a Catholic service. 

Interment will follow at Our Lady of Angels Cemetery, Colonie, NY. 

In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial contribution to a charity of your choice.