Nassau Woman Killed In Fire Loved Yankees, Dogs, The Doors

PLAINVIEW, NY — Relatives and family friends are mourning a Plainview woman and Italian immigrant who died when a fire swept through her home.

Friends and relatives confirmed Ann Punzi was the 65-year-old woman found dead Saturday afternoon in an upstairs bedroom of the two-story home on Audrey Avenue following the blaze. Punzi's dog, a 6-year-old Maltese named Jesse, also died in the fire, Sue Coll, a close family friend, told Patch.

The cause of the blaze remains under investigation, though it was deemed not criminal in nature.

Punzi and her family settled in Plainview in 1963 after living in Mola di Bari, Italy. She later graduated from Plainview-Old Bethpage in 1973 and went on to work as a bookkeeper.

Relatives and friends remembered her as a devout New York sports fan who cheered for the Knicks, Jets and, most of all, her beloved Yankees.

"Oh my God, she was a huge Yankees fan," Coll said, adding that Punzi followed individual players and was extremely knowledgeable about their performance.

"She would call up her brother and just like 'Hey, did you catch that game last night?' She could rattle off stats. Just a huge, huge Yankees fan," Coll said.

Punzi was also a fan of the rock band "The Doors" and loved animals. She owned dogs for decades, mostly Maltese dogs in recent years, though she did have Japanese Chin. She was also known to spend time by the water and boardwalk in Long Beach.

The family was devastated to learn of Punzi's sudden and unexpected death. Her brother had been heading to their home when he learned what happened.

"He got a call from the neighbor that the house was on fire," Coll said. "He rushed over and it was unfortunately too late."

Punzi had shared the home for years with her 83-year-old mother, though the mother was not in the home at the time of the fire. Her death has been hard on the family.

"You don't expect anybody to go through, you know ... die in a fire," Coll said, holding back tears.

Coll created an online crowdfunding effort through GoFundMe to raise money for the family's unexpected funeral costs. The family hopes to have a funeral service for Punzi and seek the community's help to make it happen.

"The Punzi family needs help," Coll wrote in a GoFundMe campaign post. Punzi was on disability for years and had been taking care of her mother in that home after the mother suffered a stroke.

"This tragedy has happened to a dear family already struggling to get by," Coll wrote. "Ann, the fatality in this fire, did not have any life insurance that would help to cover funeral costs."

Patch has verified with GoFundMe that donated funds will go to the family. Relatives and friends are trying to do "anything and everything" they can to quickly raise money for a funeral.

"Please donate if you can, losing one's child at any age is unthinkable," she wrote. "It breaks my heart that she will be worrying about how to pay for everything on top of dealing with her grief."

The daughter of the late Giacaomo Punzi, a former Plainview baker, Ann Punzi is survived by her mother, Giovana Punzi, and her two brothers, Vito and Anthony.

GoFundMe is a Patch promotional partner.