Norfolk City Virginia USGenWeb Archives Obituaries.....Cicero, Rosario A. December 13, 1987
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Robert Woolfitt http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00034.html#0008401 November 18, 2022, 8:30 am

Virginian-Pilot  December 14, 1987
ROSARIO A. CICERO; MUSICIAN, OWNER OF FURNITURE STORE

HAMPTON — Rosario A. Cicero, 80, a retired cabinetmaker and furniture craftsman, 
died Dec. 13, 1987, in a hospital.

Mr. Cicero, a native of Italy and a former resident of Norfolk, was the former 
owner of Cicero’s Inc. in Norfolk, a family-owned furniture and antique shop that 
had been in operation for 61 years.

His father, Salvatore, and his uncle, Eugene, and their families immigrated from 
Sicily in 1907, when Mr. Cicero was only 3 1/2 years old. Both families moved to 
Norfolk in 1909, and the two brothers worked for a furniture store downtown until 
they opened their own business in 1922.

The family business was passed down to Mr. Cicero. In an article from the 
Virginian-Pilot in June 1983, Mr. Cicero was quoted as saying, “The most important 
thing was that I took great pride in the work of my father and my uncle, and I 
learned from them either to make the best or don’t make it at all.” Mr. Cicero was 
remembered for his pride in craftsmanship and personal relationships with his 
customers.

For 15 years, he taught courses on handmade or fine furniture. Mr. Cicero thought 
this was the best part of his career. He taught a course for the University of 
Virginia extension service in the evenings on furniture and antiques.

His was reputed to be the most prestigious and most popular of all the courses 
taught and was constantly full. He also taught a course at Old Dominion University 
called “Distinguishing Antiques From Junk” in 1971.

Mr. Cicero also was a bass player for 28 years, working with such people as Henry 
Busse, Vincent Lopez, the Dorsey Brothers and Phil Napoleon. He and his father 
both played with the Norfolk Symphony in the 1920s. He played the cello and then 
the bass fiddle.

Mr. Cicero was the widower of Evelyn Fitzgerald Cicero and was a member of the 
Norfolk Musicians Union, Norfolk.

He is survived by three sisters, Zenobia Spasaro of Virginia Beach, Lugrezia 
Parker of Norfolk and Olga Harding of Melbourne, Fla., and two brothers, Ernest 
Cicero of Norfolk and Enrico Cicero of Williamsburg.

The funeral will be conducted at 10 a.m. Wednesday in H.D. Oliver Funeral 
Apartments, Norfolk, by the Rev. Edward L. Richardson. Burial will be in St. 
Mary’s Catholic Cemetery. Viewing will be in the funeral home from 7 to 8 p.m. 
Tuesday.

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