Thursday, March 28, 2024

Ines Maria Cuadrado, 97

HAMPSTEAD — Ines Maria Cuadrado of Hampstead, NC, was born in Stignano, Italy, on December 1, 1924 to Anthony and Teresa Beltrone.

She passed away unexpectedly on August 6, 2022 at her home in Hampstead.  She was several months short of her 98th birthday. 

Brought to the United States by her parents as an infant, Mrs. Cuadrado attended New York City Schools, and then began a career at Lord & Taylor, the celebrated New York City department store on Fifth Avenue.  Mrs. Cuadrado advanced rapidly and soon became a buyer, an important job in what was still a man’s world.  She was lured away from Lord & Taylor by Daks-Simpson of London, famous for their luxurious English woolens, and worked for them as a fashion designer, creating successful lines of men’s and women’s apparel.  

She married John J. Cuadrado in 1954, and was mother to two children, Anita Cuadrado and John A. Cuadrado.  She was very much her husband’s partner in life as well as in business.  As her husband, John, a well-known executive in the chemical Industry, rose to high-level leadership positions in large international trading companies, Mrs. Cuadrado became known as a consummate hostess and chef.  She was well-versed in Spanish, Italian and French cuisines.  Mrs. Cuadrado traveled all over the world to business meetings with her husband and was an important asset to him, later working directly in business with him.

At the same time, she maintained an active career in real estate sales.  She lived in Eastchester, NY, for much of her life, and maintained a second home on Long Island Sound in Mamaroneck, NY. Mrs. Cuadrado was known for her love of both Italian and German opera and attended the Metropolitan Opera in New York City regularly as a young woman and as an adult.  In North Carolina, she was involved in bringing the Metropolitan Opera HD broadcasts to Wilmington.   

In Hampstead she involved herself in the Women’s Club, the Hampstead Ladies of Leisure, the Lions Club, and the Garden Club.  She enjoyed many close and supportive friendships and succeeded in living independently at home until her passing.  She was grateful to be able to manage all her affairs, create wonderful gourmet meals for herself, and to socialize with her friends until her last day. Mrs. Cuadrado’s husband, John, passed away in 1999. 

She was predeceased by her daughter, Anita, a much-loved Dean in the Engineering School at Boston University, who passed away in 1998.  She is survived by her son John, of Princeton, NJ, formerly a senior writer and editor at Architectural Digest magazine, and currently a speechwriter and business owner. 

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:00 AM on Thursday, August 18, at All Saints Catholic Church in Hampstead, NC. 

Interment will follow at the Coastal Carolina State Veterans Cemetery, Jacksonville, NC, at 2:00 PM.  Friends and family will gather afterwards at Mrs. Cuadrado’s home at 3:00 PM. 

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to the All Saints Catholic Church in Hampstead, and to the American Cancer Society.

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