Emma (nee Casciaro) Cecco, 86, fortified with the sacraments of Holy Mother Church on Saturday, March 12, 2022. Beloved wife of the late Joseph Cecco; loving mother of Joan (James) Drain and Anthony Cecco; dear grandmother of Emma Palleja, Arianna (Andrew) Cecco, Gabriella Cecco, and Cassidy Cecco; dear sister of Ersilia (the late Luigi) Lamaccia, Bianca (Luigi) Esposito, Faustino Casciaro, Settimia (the late Giuseppe) Isabella, Maria (Bruno) Chassier, , Antonio (Anna Maria) Casciaro, Liberata "Assunta" (Aldo) Alu, and the late Salvatore Casciaro, Triesta (Orlando) Molinaro, and Rita (Franco) Grecco.
Emma Cecco was born on April 7, 1935 in Spezzano Piccolo, province of Cozensa, in Calabria Italy, to her parents Luigi and Francescina Casciaro. Emma was the middle of 11 children, where she had 3 brothers and 7 sisters.
She was the first in her family to come to the United States in May 1962. She came with the clothes on her back, literally, as her suitcases were stolen when she arrived in St. Louis. Within a few weeks, she was set up on a blind date (at an Italian restaurant, of course) where she met her future husband, Joe. They hit it off and got married within 2 months at St. Ambrose on the Hill.
Her husband Joe was a cobbler and owned a shoe repair shop next to Pietro's on Watson Road, where they also lived. She started working at a sewing factory on the Hill and in less than one year, they had their first child, Joan. When they found out they were expecting a baby, they bought their first house on Hoffman. Three years later, they had their son Anthony, whom later in life, Emma always endearingly called "testa dura", which is hard-headed in Italian.
To help support her family, she started doing alterations. Around this time, her youngest sister Assunta immigrated to St. Louis, where she lived with Emma until she met her husband, Aldo. They were the only two of their siblings in the United States, and so they were always there for each other.
In the 80s, Emma and Joe decided to embark on their new careers from "the shoes to the booze", as Joe would say, when they opened up a bar up the street on Watson called "Cecco's". Later, they added a restaurant, where Emma was the head chef.
Around 1990, after working many long hours at Cecco's, they decided to sell the restaurant and Emma opened "Emma Cecco's Tailoring" in an attached apartment on the side of Cecco's. In 2000, they sold the building and she moved her business to their new home on Hillsland in a room addition they added for her shop, and she worked there for the next 22 years. From these endeavors, Emma and Joe were southside staples, and they couldn't go anywhere without someone knowing them.
She loved gardening, cooking, and her family; though not necessarily in that order.
She was known in her neighborhood for her garden & flowers. She gave people plants, as well as fruits and vegetables. She grew cucumbers, which she called "coo-coom-bers", tomatoes, peppers, figs, peaches, basil, green beans, zucchini, and more.
Every time you came to her house, you were offered food and you better eat it! One of her favorite sayings was "mangia, mangia! (eat, eat!)" and she would make sure to offer you seconds and thirds of everything. She didn't know how to cook for less than 12 people. Some of her family's favorite things that she cooked included meatballs, lasagna, rice balls, cannolis, baked mostaccioli, Italian Christmas cookies, and so much more.
She also always offered people "coff or cooks", which stood for "coffee or cookies". Everyone was family at Emma’s house, even if you only came over one time. So much in fact, she would speak to everyone in Italian, even if they weren't Italian.
She also loved her house, and would always give everyone a tour. She was always taking care of her home, still cleaning it from top to bottom every day, and she even painted her own garage last year by herself, unbeknownst to any of her family. She also insisted on still shoveling her own snow, even if others tried to help. She was an extremely strong, independent woman and the hardest worker. If she saw you sitting idle, she would loudly suggest that you "do something!!"
She didn't drive, but she would walk by herself to the grocery store, again unbeknownst to her family. When they did go for her, her list was short and sweet. She'd always ask for "the fruits", which encompassed all kinds of different fruit.
She loved to go to the boat with her friends and family. You couldn't drag her out of the casino, where she loved playing the slots.
She was the most proud of her family, especially her 4 granddaughters: Emma, Arianna, Gabriella, and Cassidy. She would brag about them to every customer that came in and her house was a shrine to them, with a picture of each of them in every room. She loved spending time and talking to them. She helped raise her oldest granddaughter and namesake Emma, and they had a very close relationship. One of her proudest moments was being able to bring Emma to Italy to see her hometown and her family.
Her husband Joe passed away in 2009 after being married for 47 years, which devastated her. But luckily, after a few years, she reconnected with a childhood friend from Italy, Vincent. He became her life-long friend. They spoke multiple times a day, everyday. He got her hooked on soccer and fishing. He welcomed her family into his, and she welcomed his family into hers. Emma had two great men in her life.
She was the most unselfish person and always thought about and put others before herself. She will be greatly missed, but her family feels so lucky to have her for almost 87 years.
SERVICES: Visitation 4-8pm Thursday, March 17, 2022 Hoffmeister Colonial Mortuary. Mass of Christian Burial 10am Friday, March 18, 2022 St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Church. Interment Resurrection Cemetery. Memorial contributions to St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Church or to the American Heart Association appreciated.
