Carmelina (Persichilli) Duncan of Severna Park, passed away peacefully, surrounded by her loving family, on April 10, 2016.

Carmelina, 74, lived a full life as a wife, mother, grandmother, proud Italian-American, pianist, linguist, medical professional, adventurous traveler, and lifelong learner.

Born and raised in Trenton, New Jersey in 1941 to devoted parents Anna Sargiotto Persichilli and Alessandro Persichilli. Carmelina studied piano and performed as a concert pianist throughout her early life. Motivated by her need to help and care for people, Carmelina studied nursing at Helene Fuld Hospital in Mercerville, New Jersey, from which she graduated in 1965 and where she worked as an emergency room nurse for 10 years.

While in New Jersey, she met and married her husband, George Duncan, of Arnold, Maryland. The couple relocated to Severna Park, Maryland, in 1975, where they lovingly raised their five children.

Carmelina continued to work as a nurse at Anne Arundel General Hospital, for Dr. Sherman Robinson, and for home health agencies. In 1980, she helped open Meridian Nursing Home, which later became Genesis Health, in Severna Park. She worked at Meridian until 1989, when she joined Harbor Medical Center in Baltimore, from which she retired in 2007. She continued to stay active in the medical community, serving as a member of the Baltimore Washington Hospital Auxiliary in Glen Burnie.

Carmelina enjoyed an active retirement, singing in the choir of St. John the Evangelist Church, studying Italian, taking guitar and cooking lessons, and traveling to Europe with her closest friends.

Carmelina is preceded in death by her parents, Anna and Alessandro Persichilli, and her brother Joseph Persichilli, of Trenton, New Jersey. She is survived by and will be remembered with love by her husband, George, of Severna Park; her five children and their families, which include daughter, Francesca Rattray of San Antonio, Texas, her fiancé Joseph Diaz, and Francesca's two sons, Max and Duncan; son, George Duncan of Arnold, his wife Shannon Hodges, and their daughter, Harper; daughter Johanna Duncan of Crownsville, and her fiancé, Brett Siock; daughter, Gilda Duncan of Severna Park; and son, Michael Duncan, of Salisbury, and his wife, Julie, and their three children, Kelsey, Will, and Ethan; and her sister Gilda Persichilli, of Trenton, NJ; and several cousins in New Jersey, New York, and Florida.

Family and friends may visit on Sunday, April 17, 2016 from 2-4 pm and 6-8 pm at Barranco & Sons, P.A. Severna Park Funeral, 495 Ritchie Hwy, in Severna Park. A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered on Monday, April 18, 2016 at 10:00 am at St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church, 689 Ritchie Hwy, Severna Park, MD 21146. Interment will follow in MD Veterans Cemetery in Crownsville.

In lieu of flowers, please feel free to send donations to St. John the Evangelist Church.