Gabriella Camilleri

Gabriella Camilleri (“Gabbi”) passed away, surrounded by loved ones, on Sept. 15, 2025. She was 63 years old.

Gabriella was born on Nov. 9, 1961, to Stephanie Hughes, an artist, and Charlie Camilleri, a jazz musician. Always an island girl, Gabbi and her sister Juana were born on the island of Mallorca, Spain. She and her family spent the first few years of her life living in Spain, Morocco, Germany, and the East Village in Manhattan, before moving to Rockland County, N.Y., where sisters Kate and Naomi joined the family.

As a child, Gabbi attended the Rockland Project School, where she gained a love for music, dance, sewing, stained glass, and gardening –- all passions that would stay with her throughout her life. She graduated from Skunk Hollow High School in Pomona, N.Y., in 1979.

While walking down Lambert’s Cove Road during her first trip to Martha’s Vineyard with her family as a young teen, Gabbi turned to her mother and said, “We have to move here!” Gabbi made that dream come true when she was 17, moving to the Vineyard immediately after graduating from high school. She worked a variety of jobs throughout her 46 years living on the Island: fishing, waitressing, gardening, farming, baking, designing clothing and stained glass, and most recently working in the education department of the Wampanoag Tribe, and as the town clerk of Aquinnah. Gabbi was instrumental in launching the aquaculture training program at the Martha’s Vineyard Shellfish Group in the ’90s.

Gabbi’s greatest joy in life was her children, Ava and Adam. She loved being a mother, and gave them a magical childhood full of books, music, art, love notes in lunchboxes, homemade clothes, and silly songs that she made up on the spot. She held dance parties in the living room, and made the most delicious egg rolls and sugar cookies for Christmas. She had a gift for creating a cozy, warm, and inviting home wherever they lived, and for filling it with her signature creative touches. She always looked for ways to share her gifts with others, and a visit to her house meant leaving with fresh-baked muffins, a bottle of homemade pickles, a beautiful shirt that she had made, or even plants that she had just dug up from the garden for you. When she was blessed with becoming a grandmother, she jumped at every opportunity to spend time with her grandchildren, taking them on long walks and making art projects.

After having lived in nearly every town on the Vineyard, Gabbi made the town of Aquinnah her home for the past 12 years. She fell in love with the close community and the beautiful landscapes. She loved spending time in nature, and particularly loved walking on Philbin Beach and the trails surrounding their home with her husband, Hutch, and their dog Kora.

As a child, when Gabbi was asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, she simply said, “I just want to be happy.” She dedicated her life to creating joy for herself and for others. Gabbi was always busy with something fun and creative: starting new projects, trying delicious recipes, planning community events, or lending a hand to friends and neighbors. She created an impressive body of work including, her Gabriella Designs clothing, her stained-glass art, and an album of her original songs that capture her melodic poetry and her beautiful acoustic guitar-picking. However, her most treasured moments were the simple ones — family dinners around the kitchen table, sunny days at the beach laughing with her sisters, trips around New England with Hutch, and quiet evenings on her back porch with her dog Kora, surrounded by her sunflowers and nasturtiums. She built a life filled with beauty and happiness, and generously shared that joy with everyone she met. She was dearly loved by her family and friends, and will forever be deeply missed.

Gabriella is survived by her husband, Stephen Hutchinson; her children, Ava and Adam Castro, son-in-law Scott Goldin, and stepchildren Caetlyn, Dylan, and Alayna Hutchinson. She is also survived by her mother, Stephanie Hughes’ sisters Juana Camilleri, Kate Camilleri Ferguson, and Naomi Camilleri; her former husband, Scott Castro; and grandchildren Wren, Sawyer, Kaiya, and Ellis; as well as by many beloved cousins, nephews, nieces, and friends. She was predeceased by her father, Charles Camilleri.

Gabriella was laid to rest in the West Tisbury Cemetery on Sept. 17. A memorial and celebration of her life will be held this fall; please check gabriellacamilleri.com for more information.