Roberta Faye Cicero

It is with heavy hearts we announce that Roberta Faye (Bortle) Cicero affectionately known to family and friends as Mom, Grandma, GG Berta and “Mrs. C”, passed away on December 14, 2020 at the age of 86.

Born July 4, 1934 to John and Elizabeth Bortle, Roberta was the youngest of thirteen children. She grew up on Neville Island, PA and it was during her high school cheerleading days that she met a rival school football star, Frank (Mario Lanza) Cicero. It was love at first sight and a few short years later the two were married and soon had their own family of three children, Bob, Debbie and Pam.

In 1960, the family of five relocated to the Garden Grove/Anaheim, CA area where Roberta held various jobs, mostly in the mortgage industry, until she opened her own mortgage loan processing company, Home Buyers Packaging Service in 1975. In addition to owning her own business, she still found time to be highly involved in her children’s and later, grandchildren’s lives.

Where do we begin to list all of Roberta’s many talents. She was best known for her phenomenal cooking and baking abilities. Although she was of French, English and Irish descent, no one made Italian food better than her. If you ever came by to visit our parents, she would never let you leave on an empty stomach. In our eyes, her greatest talent was her baking ability. There wasn’t a Baptism, Holy Communion, Confirmation, wedding, or any of the holidays that did not include her famous cookie trays and/or her cakes. If she wasn’t in the kitchen, she was working on one craft project or another while watching her favorite sports teams, the Angels and Steelers on TV.

Family was everything to her. She gave of herself endlessly not only to her immediate family but to her extended family and friends alike helping in every way possible. During the later years of their lives, she dedicated herself to caring for our beloved Dad and, knowing Mr. C., this wasn’t always an easy task but she did it lovingly with grace and style.

Her three children, nine grandchildren and twelve great grandchildren brought such joy to her life. Our mother, grandmother and GG Berta will remain forever in our hearts. Our greatest comfort is knowing that she is now reunited with the love of her life, our Dad, Mr. C.