Donna M. (Deibler) Cardarelli

Donna M. (Deibler) Cardarelli of Waltham died Sunday, August 2, 2026, at her home surrounded by her loving family. She was 98.

Born in Granville, North Dakota on March 4, 1928, Donna was the daughter of the late Frank and Lola (Hamilton) Deibler. She was raised and educated in Granville, graduating from Granville High School. After high school she joined her sister in Chicago, where she met Felix A. “Phil” Cardarelli, a Newton, Massachusetts native who was studying architectural engineering at Chicago Technical College. They married and began their family in Chicago before returning to Newton, where Phil joined the family-owned Cardarelli Construction Company. In 1957 they built their dream house on Trapelo Road in Waltham, the home Donna would call her own for the next sixty-nine years.

That house quickly became the heart of family life. Donna loved to entertain. Pool parties were always full of cousins and grandchildren, and she could usually be found in the kitchen cooking. An outstanding cook and baker, she brought the knowledge of fresh ingredients from her childhood on a North Dakota farm and later mastered Italian dishes that Phil and everyone else who tasted them thoroughly appreciated. She was deeply proud of her family, and nothing made her happier than spending time with them.

Donna was civic-minded and actively involved in the community. She had a remarkable ability to recall names and details about nearly everyone she met; not only because of her sharp mind, but because she genuinely cared and took a real interest in people. In earlier years she was a familiar presence at the polls during Waltham elections. She enjoyed membership in the Waltham Ballroom Dance Club, the Sons of Italy, and the Moose Lodge. She was especially devoted to her daughters’ activities as they grew up and served as a Girl Scout leader at Cedar Hill. She kept herself young and energetic well into her nineties by attending Jacki Sorensen’s aerobics classes in Arlington, always known for her endless energy.

Donna was predeceased by her husband of 61 years, Felix A. “Phil” Cardarelli, her daughter Paula J. Keane; and by her three siblings, Donald, Frank Jr., and Mary Misek.

She leaves her daughters, Pamela M. Vecchione and her husband John of Centerville; Diana L. Daley and her husband Shawn of Osterville, Lisa A. Pratt and her husband Robert of Waltham and her son-in-law, David Keane of Easton. She was the proud grandmother of Tara, Lauren, Alyssa, Jeffrey, Stephen, Erica, Kristen, Katelyn, Ryan, Mark, and Matthew, and the cherished great-grandmother of 22 great-grandchildren.

Family and friends will honor and remember Donna’s life by gathering for an Evening Wake in The Joyce Funeral Home, 245 Main Street (Rte. 20), Waltham, on Thursday, August 6th, from 4 to 7 p.m. and again on Friday morning at 10:30 a.m. before leaving in procession to Our Lady Comforter of the Afflicted Church, 880 Trapelo Road, Waltham, where her Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11:30 a.m. Burial will be held privately at a later date in the Massachusetts National Cemetery, Bourne.

Memorial donations in Donna’s name may be made to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute by mail to: P.O. Box 849168, Boston, MA 02284, or online, at dana-farber.org/gift.