Lila Ciciola

Lila Mary Ciciola passed away on July 11, 2021. Lila was born in Pittsfield Massachusetts on January 14, 1926 to Jose and Manuela Cabo.  She is the Sister of Josephine Fortuna.  She lived in Pittsfield and later moved to Mamaroneck, New York and then to the Bronx, New York, She married Emilio Ciciola on December 4, 1948.  She and Emilio (Neil), along with her parents, lived on Grace Avenue their entire lives.  There, they raised three children, Randy Ciciola, Dawn-Marie Ciciola (Marcianti), and Thomas Ciciola.  The house on Grace Avenue was always full of family and friends, love and laughter. 
Lila was a force to be reckoned with.  She dedicated her entire life in the service of our Lord and especially Our Lady.    She spent countless hours doing charitable deeds.  She was a member of St. Anthony’s Church in the Bronx and then joined Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church in Mt. Vernon, New York.    Through Mt. Carmel, she began a life long devotion to the Little Flower Altar Society, where she served as a keeper of the Altar, spending many days and nights gathering, washing and ironing the altar cloths.  She served in many roles and was elected President of the Altar Society numerous times.  She organized various fundraisers such as the annual 13 Tuesdays St. Anthony devotion, Communion Breakfast and the Christmas 50/50 raffle.  
While her oldest son Randy attended Mt. St. Michael Elementary and High School, Lila was a member of the Ladies Guild and continued to help on many fundraising efforts.  It was during this time that she began to foster and care for sick children through Catholic Charities.  
While Dawn-Marie and Tommy attended Villa Maria Academy,  Lila dedicated herself to the Sister Servants of Mary in the Bronx, the convent next door to their school. She organized numerous fundraisers for the Sisters for over 50 years.  The Sisters became part of her extended family.  Dawn and Tommy participated in many of these activities, like driving to the south Bronx after school to distribute clothing to needy families through Sr. Miriam Thomas at St. Athanasius Church and the South East Bronx Community Organization.  
When Dawn attended María Regina High School, Lila joined the prayer group, Apostles of the Resurrection through the Sisters of the Resurrection,  In 2010, Lila received a dedication from Pope Benedict for her commitment to over 25 years of prayer.  
Lila also served as a Member of the Ladies of Charity of the Archdiocese of New York for more than 50 years.  It was through here that she provided counsel to expectant mothers during a weekly commitment to taking phone calls at home through their Layette Ministry.  In 2015, Lila received a dedication from them for her over 50 years of Service.  
 
Lila loved to travel and often accompanied her husband on business trips all over the world.  She also traveled solely on pilgrimages to Medjugorge, Israel, Rome and Ireland to continue her devotion to Our Lady.  In 1983 and 1992, she completed the Camino Santiago walking with her sister and a friend over 100 miles through Spain.  She also enjoyed gardening, eating in restaurants, and was an avid reader,  her favorite Saint is St. Therese de Lisieux, and her favorite prayer was saying the Rosary.  

 
A Celebration of Lila’s life will be held at the funeral home on Wednesday from 4-8pm. Mass of Christian burial will be held on Thursday at Sts Peter and Paul Church at 10am. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Servants of Mary Convent   3305 Country Club Road. Bronx, NY 10465-1296 http://www.servantsofmary-ny.org/wp1/
or Providence Rest Nursing Home https://www.providencerest.org/charitable-giving/ in Lila’s Memory. 
 

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