Mariacristina McKendall

Mariacristina (DeMarco) McKendall, after a battle with an aggressive pancreatic cancer, died on Wednesday, June 24, 2026 at HopeHealth Hospice Center in Providence, RI. Her last weeks stood in heartbreaking contrast to the vibrant woman she had been just weeks earlier. Tina’s final days were spent rooted in her Catholic faith, surrounded by prayer, and with family and friends at her bedside and spilling into the hallway, an outpouring of love for a woman whose essence can not be truly captured in words alone; you really had to meet Tina to know Tina.

Born March 27, 1953 in Naples, Italy to an Italian mother and an American father, Tina moved to the United States when she was one year old. Growing up in Cranston’s Eden Park neighborhood with her two younger sisters, Tina was raised in a home by a mother who had a natural gift of providing hospitality and an acceptance of people for who they were, and a hardworking father who was devoted to providing a life of opportunity for his daughters. These qualities would forever shaped how Tina would see the world and what she valued.

It was in a Cranston High School East chemistry class where she met her husband Don who, as Tina would boast, heroically jumped in to light her Bunsen burner. The two would walk home from school together and Don is still in disbelief as to how many books she had that he would carry. They married at St. Matthew Church in Cranston in 1983, moved to North Kingstown, RI and started their family which grew by three children in just five years.

Tina began her career as a registered nurse after graduating from Rhode Island College, fueled by a passion for helping people and becoming a fierce patient advocate. The experience of giving birth to her first son instilled a deep respect and admiration for her nursing team and inspired her to move to Women & Infants Hospital to work in labor and delivery. Few things in life awoke Tina’s core sense of purpose than a newborn baby. She possessed an almost divine sense of comfort and ease around a baby and has provided advice and counseling to more women than we could possibly count. Despite retiring over two decades ago, Tina wouldn’t miss a chance to tell you that she was a board-certified nurse in high-risk obstetrics and a lactation consultant, and we’d be remiss to leave that out of here.

Family was at the center of Tina’s world, and she was immensely proud of her three children, Donny, Alex, and Christina, whom she had unwavering love and devotion for. She was a mother who pushed her children to strive for excellence in academics, athletics, and extracurriculars, but most importantly instilled strong values that emphasized family and relationships. Tina did not miss a chance to bring the family together and hosted innumerable holidays, cookouts, and gatherings at the family’s home over the years. Later in life, Tina deputized her children with responsibility of hosting many of these gatherings, but she was still the first person coordinating and scheduling the get-togethers and kept a tight watch on the meal selections being served.

To Tina, the concept of family reached far beyond the immediate and obvious. She maintained close relationships with distant cousins, adored her relatives in Italy, viewed her children’s in-laws as an extension of her own family, and formed strong bonds with Servpro families across the country, a network of business owners that she and Don met after launching their own franchise in 1999. Solitude was something Tina rarely sought, she thrived in social settings and assembled a vast network of friends that spanned the country and with whom she was in constant communication with. Her phone was like an appendage, constantly buzzing with updates and photos that she requested from the people she loved. She lived vicariously through loved ones and found joy in hearing what everyone was doing.

Whether it was her children, cousins, or her many groups of friends, Tina was the orchestrator of group activities, the gentle (and sometimes forceful) nudge to get everyone together. She never wanted too much time to pass before getting together again, intensely aware of how life can get in the way if you don’t make the effort. Tina loved to travel and would never miss an opportunity to plan a vacation or join you on yours—she always had a suitcase packed and ready to go. Tina was happy to take on the responsibility of bringing people together, a reflection of how she valued these relationships. Despite her being this driving force, punctuality was not an attribute Tina possessed. She operated on “Tina Time,” as it was affectionately coined by Don. If you ask him, the only day she was ever early was on their wedding day; a testament to how eager she was to get married.

It was about a decade ago when Tina became a resident of Fort Myers, Florida where she spent the winter months. The move was intended to allow her to avoid the cold of New England and extend her beach time year round, a place where she could sit for hours with good company so long as she had an ample supply of sunscreen on hand. Florida quickly became so much more though, it became a place where she built a strong sense of community. Her neighbors, the ladies of the Gateway Women’s Club, and her fellow church parishioners were all frequent recipients of her outpouring of love, containers of soups and sauces, and crocheting creations.

Throughout her life, Tina drew strength from her Catholic faith and the values of its teachings. She was active in her prayer groups and found comfort in attending mass. Tina’s other sanctuary was her garden, a place where over the years, thousands of flowers have been planted, transplanted, cut for vases, or dug up and gifted to seed new gardens all over the state. This effort would not have been made possible without the free labor of her children who have dug up dahlia bulbs for winter storage more times than Tina has said the Rosary.

Tina is survived by her devoted husband F Donald (Don) McKendall III, son Frank Donald (Donny) McKendall IV and his husband Kyle McKendall, son Alexander (Alex) Louis McKendall and his wife Michele Martel, daughter Christina Marie McKendall and her husband Jishnu Thakuria, two beloved grandsons, sisters Antionette (Toni) Shola and Adriana (Dri) Pagano, six nieces and nephews, and many cousins who loved her dearly.

A viewing will be held on Tuesday, June 30 from 4-8pm at Nardolillo Funeral Home, 1278 Park Ave, Cranston, RI. On Wednesday, July 1, a procession will depart from Nardolillo Funeral Home at 10:30am and proceed to St. Bernard Church, 275 Tower Hill Rd, North Kingstown, RI for a Mass of Christian Burial at 11:30am. The Rite of Committal and burial will immediately follow at St. Ann Cemetery, 73 Church St, Cranston, RI. Fitting with her colorful personality, Tina requested colorful attire be worn at her funeral services, foregoing the traditional black.