Gaetana Sibilio
December 22, 1947 — July 2, 2011
Gaetana M. “Tana” Sibilio, 63, of Stamford passed away peacefully after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer, on July 2, 2011 at the Richard Rosenthal Hospice Residence at Stamford Hospital.
Born in Stamford in on December 22,1947 to John and Margaret Sibilio, Tana attended St. Mary’s School and graduated from Stamford Catholic High Class of ‘65. While still in high school Tana was instrumental in starting Stage Door for Youth, a theater company that put on musicals in Stamford for 11 years.
She was a devoted Alumna of the College of New Rochelle, Class of ’69. At CNR, Tana was the Editor of the college paper, the Tattler, and directed plays for the drama department. She received the Angela Merici Medal from her college, given for outstanding demonstration of exceptional loyalty to the college and the Church.
After college, she taught art for the Archdiocese schools of New York City, and for the Stamford Public School system at Cloonan Middle School. Most recently she taught art and drama at Westhill High School where she directed the dramatic plays and musicals. She was the personal assistant to actress/playwright June Havoc until her death in 2010. She held this position for 38 years, and it took her across the country and around the world. Recently she worked for the ARLUCK Entertainment/DESILU TOO production company as an assistant to Lawrence Luckinbill.
She was very active at her church, Our Lady Star of the Sea, where she helped start the summer bible camp for young children, directed the Passion Play with the confirmation class for the last five years, and acted as a Eucharistic Minister and Lector, was a member of the choir and the parish council.
Besides her parents she was predeceased by her godmother Carmella Robustelli. She is survived by her sister Rosemarie Sibilio, her loving niece Sara Fleming (Megan Dubay) of Natick Mass, and her loving nephew Nick Fleming (Melizza Chavez) of Stamford, her maternal uncle Peter Rosa (Gloria) of Newtown, Ct, her paternal aunt Cora (Anthony) Sibilio of Stamford. She leaves behind a host of bereft surrogate nieces and nephews and friends all of whom became her family.
Those of us who love Tana know how many lives she touched with her kindness, her humility, her generosity, her incomparable wit and her boundless faith. While her talents were many, perhaps her greatest was her endless capacity to love. We are all so grateful to have loved and been loved by her.
“Well done, my good and faithful servant.”
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday, July 9, 2011 at 11:30 AM at Our Lady Star of the Sea Church, 1200 Shippan Avenue, Stamford. Interment will be private. Family and friends may call at The Nicholas F. Cognetta Funeral Home & Crematory, 104 Myrtle Avenue, Stamford, CT 06902 on Friday, July 8, 2011 from 4:00-8:00 PM. The family will be planning a Memorial Service for the Fall.
Born in Stamford in on December 22,1947 to John and Margaret Sibilio, Tana attended St. Mary’s School and graduated from Stamford Catholic High Class of ‘65. While still in high school Tana was instrumental in starting Stage Door for Youth, a theater company that put on musicals in Stamford for 11 years.
She was a devoted Alumna of the College of New Rochelle, Class of ’69. At CNR, Tana was the Editor of the college paper, the Tattler, and directed plays for the drama department. She received the Angela Merici Medal from her college, given for outstanding demonstration of exceptional loyalty to the college and the Church.
After college, she taught art for the Archdiocese schools of New York City, and for the Stamford Public School system at Cloonan Middle School. Most recently she taught art and drama at Westhill High School where she directed the dramatic plays and musicals. She was the personal assistant to actress/playwright June Havoc until her death in 2010. She held this position for 38 years, and it took her across the country and around the world. Recently she worked for the ARLUCK Entertainment/DESILU TOO production company as an assistant to Lawrence Luckinbill.
She was very active at her church, Our Lady Star of the Sea, where she helped start the summer bible camp for young children, directed the Passion Play with the confirmation class for the last five years, and acted as a Eucharistic Minister and Lector, was a member of the choir and the parish council.
Besides her parents she was predeceased by her godmother Carmella Robustelli. She is survived by her sister Rosemarie Sibilio, her loving niece Sara Fleming (Megan Dubay) of Natick Mass, and her loving nephew Nick Fleming (Melizza Chavez) of Stamford, her maternal uncle Peter Rosa (Gloria) of Newtown, Ct, her paternal aunt Cora (Anthony) Sibilio of Stamford. She leaves behind a host of bereft surrogate nieces and nephews and friends all of whom became her family.
Those of us who love Tana know how many lives she touched with her kindness, her humility, her generosity, her incomparable wit and her boundless faith. While her talents were many, perhaps her greatest was her endless capacity to love. We are all so grateful to have loved and been loved by her.
“Well done, my good and faithful servant.”
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday, July 9, 2011 at 11:30 AM at Our Lady Star of the Sea Church, 1200 Shippan Avenue, Stamford. Interment will be private. Family and friends may call at The Nicholas F. Cognetta Funeral Home & Crematory, 104 Myrtle Avenue, Stamford, CT 06902 on Friday, July 8, 2011 from 4:00-8:00 PM. The family will be planning a Memorial Service for the Fall.
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