 Ferraro became engaged to Zaccaro in August 1959 and married him on July 16 , 1960 . He became a realtor and businessman . She kept her birth name professionally , as a way to honor her mother for having supported the family after her father 's death , but used his name in parts of her private life . The couple had three children , Donna ( born 1962 ) , John Jr . ( born 1964 ) , and Laura ( born 1966 ) . They lived in Forest Hills Gardens , Queens , and in 1971 , added a vacation house in Saltaire on Fire Island . They would buy a condominium in Saint Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands in 1983 . 
