Obituary of Santo DeCicco

Santo ?Sam? DeCicco, 71, of Stewart Street, passed away Sunday afternoon at Montgomery Meadows, peacefully after a long illness. Born in Amsterdam on January 15, 1934, the son of the late Giovanni and Maria Bombardatore DeCicco, he lived here his entire life and was a 1952 graduate of Wilbur H. Lynch High School. Immediately, he joined the United States Air Force and served as a Private First Class in Japan and Guam. Following his honorable discharge in 1955, he returned to Amsterdam and began working in various occupations until he went to work for the Greater Amsterdam School District. He retired in 1992 from its maintenance department. An avid Yankee fan, Sam loved to play cards and enjoyed the times he and his late wife Pat shared in Atlantic City and especially Las Vegas. He was a lifelong communicant of St. Michael the Archangel Roman Catholic Church and a member of the St. Agnello Congrega and the Rotterdam Elks. On May 20, 1956 he was united in marriage to Patricia Marie Ryan. They lovingly raised their four sons and celebrated nearly forty years of marriage until her passing on January 10, 1996. His family includes his sons, John and his wife Mary Ann DeCicco of Bellingham, MA, Steven DeCicco, Anthony and his wife Karen DeCicco all of Amsterdam and Michael DeCicco of Utica; his sisters, Nancy and her husband Ralph Rusilas of Charlton, and Josephine and her husband Gilbert Uhlinger of Ballston Spa; his grandchildren, Michael, Nicholas and Chelsea DeCicco; his aunts, Amelia Bombardatore of Amsterdam, Carmella Kazlauskas and Jean Eliseo and her husband Pat all of Schenectady; a sister in law, Madeline Agresta of Amsterdam, as well as nieces, nephews and cousins. Services are Wednesday morning at 8:15 am at the Betz, Rossi & Bellinger Family Funeral Home, 171 Guy Park Avenue, followed by the Mass of Christian Burial at 9:15 am at St. Michael the Archangel Church. Fr. Pascal Iannotti, celebrant. Interment will take place in St. Michael?s Cemetery. Calling hours are this evening from 5-8 pm at the funeral home. Contributions may be made to Community Hospice of Amsterdam, 246 Manny Corners Rd., Amsterdam 12010, to whom his family is most grateful for their care.