Denise Barnes Casto (born Denise Lynn Stratton), 73, passed peacefully in her sleep on November 23rd, 2024, while surrounded by loved ones.
A viewing will be held on Saturday, November 30th from 2 to 4 p.m. at Peninsula Funeral Home in Newport News, Virginia. Her funeral will be held on Sunday, December 1st from 2 to 4pm at Peninsula Funeral Home, followed by a gathering at the Village Green Clubhouse from 4:30 to 7 pm.
Denise was preceded in death by her first husband, Edward S. Barnes, her parents Jenny Lou and John Percy Stratton, her brother Thomas Stratton, and brother-in-law Frank Cruz. She is survived by her beloved husband, Wallace Ronald Casto, daughter Stephanie Barnes Kloster (Matthew), grandsons Tayo and Tommy, sisters Gigi Jarman (Nace) and Kimberly Pickle, brother Patrick (Heidi), stepdaughter Melissa (Jim) and bonus grands Emma and Colton, a bevy of nieces and nephews including Lottie Roane, Pablo Juan (Liz), Brianne Cavazos (Fredrick), John Cameron, Christopher Cruz (Alyssa) and Alexandra Denise Cruz (Brady), and her dachshunds Segrid Mae and Ginger Mae. Denise is also mourned by her Village Green neighbours and her long running Bunco group.
Denise was born on July 11, 1951 in Cincinnati, Ohio. She and her family moved to the Menchville neighborhood of Newport News, Virginia when she was 5 years old. She was a proud oldest sister, and babysat every child who grew up on her street. Denise graduated from Denbigh High School in 1970, and went on to become a hairdresser before marrying Edward in 1972.
Denise was a faithful Navy submariner’s wife who moved all over the U.S. whenever the Navy told them it was time to head to a new port. Denise, Eddie, and their Irish Setter, Red, spent the 70’s and 80’s in Groton CT, Bremerton WA, San Francisco CA, and Chesapeake VA. Denise earned her Realtor’s license, and then worked as a successful saleswoman up and down the Eastern Seaboard. After many moves Denise and Eddie finally settled in Virginia Beach, where their daughter Stephanie was born in 1984 after many years of fertility struggles.
Denise often said that being a mommy was the best thing she ever did, and that her daughter Stephanie was “the glory” of her life. Denise was a friend to all children. Over the years she volunteered as school room mom, Brownie troop leader, PTA president, and VG Swim Team Booster. She donated handmade flags to Stephanie’s school for fundraisers, and altered costumes for the Warwick High School musicals. Denise styled countless teens’ hair for school dances, and as those girls grew, she tailored their wedding gowns as her gift to the bride.
Denise was also a secret philanthropist. She grew up poor, and she remembered how hard it was as a child to never have any pocket money for something special. Denise secretly “adopted” children in Stephanie’s classes, and would pay for their backpacks, school supplies, field trip fees, winter coats, and yearbooks. She would put trendy candy or jewelry into the coat pockets so that the child would have something special that was just for them. Denise bought something from every school child peddling a fundraiser, and she also generously supported the USO and LINK of Hampton Roads.
Denise may be best known in our community as the Flag Lady. Denise owned and operated the garden flag company Fancy Flappers and, later, the sport’s kiosk Fancy Fans. Denise opened Fancy Flappers after taking a NN Parks and Rec class on how to sew a decorative garden flag. Over the next twenty years she expanded her business, and in the early 2000s she was she largest decorative flag retailer on the East Coast. In the 90’s, Denise used her business to employ local Korean immigrants, none of whom spoke English, as seamstresses, and she prided herself in paying them well above minimum wage for their skilled work. On Sundays the seamstresses would come to her house with their children, bringing gifts of tea and bulgogi. When Fancy Flappers became a full-time kiosk in Patrick Henry Mall, Denise employed neighborhood teens, as well as her nephew, nieces, and her daughter. Denise decided to go full time at the mall (a grueling 72 hours a week) so that she could pay Stephanie’s college tuition herself, “in cash money”.
When she wasn’t hard at work, Denise excelled in many arts and crafts. She won multiple ribbons from the Virginia State Fair for her jams, jellies, caramels, truffles, cakes, crochet, and sewing. Some of her award winning State Fair entries include her sister Gigi’s wedding dress, Stephanie’s prom dress, and her goddaughter Allie’s christening gown. Denise sewed christening gowns for many of the special babies in her life by repurposing the fabric and lace from their mother’s wedding gowns. Needlepoint, face painting, macrame, flower arrangement, oil painting, pottery; Denise did it all.
Denise used her many skills to build a beautiful home that was full of love. On any given day a guest could find her hanging wallpaper like a pro, giving her Aunt Dallas a perm in the kitchen, or cooking a feast for her Bunco group. Denise loved to decorate for the season, and she would mix her own wall paint until the color was just right.
After losing her husband Edward in 2012, Denise was blessed to find new love and joy in her second husband, Ron. Ron and Denise had both been widowed, and they were lucky to spend their golden years together after marrying in 2015. Ron is a retired Commander in the Navy, and he and his first wife, Freda, had been stationed at many of the same bases that Denise and Eddie had lived at. Ron and Denise were so grateful to have found in each other someone else who “spoke the same language”. Ron and Denise adored each other, and they loved “keeping their foot in the road”. Denise and Ron traveled the U.S. extensively in their R.V. with their two dogs, Sigi and Gingersnap. They also traveled extensively abroad, and their travels included Guam, Italy, France,and the United Kingdom. When they were in town they loved to eat at Surfrider and Mr. Crab, catch a show at the Ferguson Center, see a movie at Cinemark, visit with their great nephews Valentino and Giovanni, or go for their daily drive to Starbucks. Denise’s family is grateful to Ron for the joy he brought to Denise’s life, and for his selfless care of her during the two years when she became ill.
Denise was one of a kind, and she will be deeply missed. She would be delighted if you honored her memory by shopping at a local small business, buying ice cream for a child, wearing cheetah print, or taking an elderly friend or relative out to lunch. The family thanks Jennifer Yox, Diane and Pete Fry, Beck and Jon Martin, Dave and Laura Cvitanovich, Debbie Henderson, Dr. Kimberly Smith, Joanne Moeller, RN, and Heartland Hospice for their help in caring for Denise. Donations in her memory can be made to the Newport News chapter of the U.S.O.
