Felicia Cerone
Felicia Cerone
November 20, 1913 ~ May 1, 2019
Rochester-Felicia passed away peacefully on May 1, 2019 at the remarkable age of 105 years. Her last moments were spent quietly sitting in her favorite chair with one of the many blankets on her lap she knitted for family and friends over the years. She was the consummate Italian mother, grandmother and great grandmother who spent her life doing for family, especially baking, gardening, mending clothes, knitting and shopping for the best food buys to make sure everyone ate well. By that we mean to say ate "the Italian way" with a dash of love in every cookie, pot of soup, meatball and carefully selected bowl of fruit. As a child of an immigrant family at the turn of the 20th century, and one who lived through the Great Depression, basic economy was never far from her mind even long after this was a necessity. She occasionally reminded the family of those difficult times and role modeled extreme industriousness, perhaps as a way to prevent them from ever returning again. Felicia worked as a seamstress at Michael Sterns Clothing Company where she hand sewed men's suits for 45 years, a position she inherited from her mother who also worked there for many years. Felicia also inherited her mother's and maternal aunts' longevity as Grandma Calabro lived to 104 years while her sisters lived to 99 years, 100 years and 101 years.
Felicia is predeceased by husband James Cerone (1972), son Joseph (January 9, 2019), sister Angelina Passalaqua (Frank) and brother Joseph "Cady" Calabro (Peggy). She is survived by her daughter Mary Ann Cropo (Ralph) and son James Cerone (Sharon Bidwell-Cerone), three grandchildren and six great grandchildren. Finally, she is survived by the large extended Cerone family, mostly still living in Rochester and numbering well over 150 people. Felicia was the last surviving family member of her generation. Special thanks to all of Felicia's caregivers, especially Dr. Lisa Downing, Karen Ramirez, Idalmis Gonzalez and Alesia Junious.
Felicia's mass of Christian burial will take place Friday May 10, 2019 at 9:30am at St. Lawrence Church, 1000 North Greece Rd. followed by burial in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, 2461 Lake Avenue.