Obituary of Francesco "Ciccio" Laterza

Francesco "Ciccio" Laterza, 91, of Paterson, NJ passed away on November 19, 2014. He was born in Bernalda, Italy on May 11, 1923 to the late Cosimo and Donata (Dinocca) Laterza. Francesco and the late Rosina (Simmarano) Laterza immigrated to the United States with their four children in October 1971. Francesco was a very intelligent and hardworking man. As a young man he managed large grain properties and operated the large machines used to mine the grain. These machines were difficult to operate and repair, but when they needed to be repaired people knew who to call; he was known as "Masto Cicc" meaning teacher. He was able to figure out things that other could not. He served in the Italian Army in World War II. Thereafter, he met his beautiful wife Rosina. Together they worked their olive orchards and vineyards. Francesco mainly worked the land while Rosina took care of the children and ran a small grocery store. While in Italy, Francesco's day was very long. After working the land, he ran a business by making wine for people. In 1971, he came to the United States with his family and on the next day he started working at Perennial Print in Paterson. Here he worked extremely long hours, working 12-14 hour shifts and at times double shifts to support his family. During his spare time, he was a member of the San Rocco Club in Paterson and was elected President of the society in 1980. He was an avid soccer fan and loved to watch his favorite soccer team, Juventus on the Italian channel "RAI." He enjoyed writing all about his day in his journal as well. His writing was impeccable and he was extremely bright in mathematics. He followed politics and was able to tell you anything about the Italian government and its function. He also followed the U.S. government by listening to the Italian news. He enjoyed working his large vegetable garden and fig trees. He was the beloved husband of the late Rosina (Simmarano) Laterza for over 57 years until her recent passing in August 2014. He was the cherished father of Donata "Donna" Papile and her husband Giuseppe, Nunziatina "Nancy" Di Zuzio and her husband Donato, Cosimo Laterza and his wife Donna and Nicolino Laterza and his wife Reneé. Francesco was the treasured nonno of Joseph "Joey" and Rose Bella Papile, Rosella Milena and Daniel Francesco Di Zuzio, Francesco, Cosimo and Rosabrina Laterza, and Rosalina, Francesco, Nicola and Gabriella Laterza. He is also survived by a brother, a sister, nieces, nephews and other relatives in Italy. Visitation will be held on Friday from 4-8 pm at Santangelo Funeral Home, 635 McBride Ave., Woodland Park, NJ. A funeral Mass will be offered on Saturday at 10:00 am at Our Lady of the Valley Church, 630 Valley Road, Wayne, NJ. Entombment will follow at Calvary Cemetery in Paterson.