Josephine Carlet Enjoyed Cooking and Gardening

Josephine (Argenta) Carlet, known to family and friends as Nina, died peacefully in her home on Spring Hill Road in Vineyard Haven on Thursday morning, May 19, two weeks after her 98th birthday. She was the wife of Theodore John Carlet, who predeceased her in 1980.

Born on May 2, 1907, in Torrington, Conn., to Antonio and Amelia (Morelli) Argenta, Nina spent her childhood growing up in Waterbury, Conn. She loved learning but had to leave school at an early age to help support her family.

She and Ted Carlet were married in 1936. They lived in Middlebury, Conn., until Ted's death in 1980. Nina then moved to Martha's Vineyard so that she could be closer to her family.

She was an avid reader, visiting the Vineyard Haven Public Library on a weekly basis well into her nineties. She enjoyed cooking immensely. Her meals, especially her desserts and her "cowboy coffee," are legendary in her family.

Nina loved swimming and the ocean and, until she was 96, one of her favorite summer pastimes was to spend time at the beach with lunch and a good book.

She enjoyed planting flowers and gardening. Her home on Spring Hill Road in Vineyard Haven was surrounded by a wonderful array of flowering plants. She took great pleasure in using things from nature to create beautiful wreaths and flower arrangements. She also enjoyed collecting and working with beach stones.

She loved animals, especially the birds who still come daily to stuff themselves at several of the overflowing feeders she kept in her backyard.

Nina loved to drive and there are Vineyarders who still remember her eccentric driving methods, especially the day she came in first place at the Tivoli Day Races in Oak Bluffs with her blue Plymouth station wagon.

Nina was a member of St. Augustine's Church, Vineyard Haven, Parish of the Good Shepherd of Martha's Vineyard and took great strength from her Catholic faith. Until the time of her death she was a daily communicant. She will live always in our hearts.

Nina is survived by two daughters, Marianne Greene and her husband, Jack Greene, of Vineyard Haven, and Patricia Carlet and her husband, David Ferraguzzi, of Vineyard Haven; a son, Francis Carlet, and his wife, Janet St. Onge, of Peacham, Vt.; five grandchildren; four great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews, including her special niece, Alice (Walsh) Northrop. She was predeceased by her grandson, Noah Greene.

A memorial service for Nina will be held at 11 a.m. at St. Augustine's Church in Vineyard Haven on June 11 with a reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, donations in Nina's memory may be made to Covenant House, 356 West 17th street, New York, N.Y. 10011-5002 or to Hospice of Martha's Vineyard.