Clara Polizzi
A Woman of Great Faith, Her Family Was Her Priority
Clara (Cieri) Polizzi was born in East Boston on October 17, 1928, to her late loving parents Francesco “Frank” and Elvira Cieri. Clara was one of eleven children raised and educated in East Boston and a proud graduate of East Boston High School’s Class of 1948.
The year of 1948 was a year of accomplishments for Clara. She married her high school sweetheart and love of her life, Anthony “Tony” Polizzi in November of 1948. East Boston was a place they both loved and where the couple decided to raise their family. In the summer of 1949, the newlyweds welcomed their first child, their daughter, Bernadette and six years later, in 1955, they added to their family with the birth of their son, Phillip.
Clara’s priority was her family. She took care of those she loved and always gave words of wisdom and sound advice. A woman of great faith, Clara, was always in attendance at Sacred Heart Church on Brooks Street, and could be found lighting candles, saying prayers, and donating to those less fortunate.
If you were lucky enough to know Clara, you know how much she loved playing Bingo. The local Catholic church bingo circuit was something Clara took joy in being a part of, she made her mark at St. Anthony’s in Revere, along with St. Mary’s, Mount Carmel and Sacred Heart in East Boston. Not only did Clara enjoy socializing and winning money while playing Bingo, she also enjoyed watching “her” shows in the comfort of her own home. These shows included, Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, The Price is Right, $100,000 Pyramid and Press Your Luck, nobody enjoyed saying “NO WHAMMIES, NO WHAMMIES, NO WHAMMIES” more than Clara.
Clara was blessed to be a grandmother, but her grandchildren were the ones who benefitted from having a woman like Clara in their life. Derek, Joshua and Zachary learned how to play card games like gin rummy, go fish and war while spending time with her. Clara made it a point to bond with each of her grandchildren and always had home cooked food waiting for them. But one thing Clara enjoyed the most was sitting at the window with them, watching the cars pass and feeding the birds stale scali bread.
After a brief illness, Clara passed away on October 21st, 2023, at the Ledgewood Rehabilitation Center in Beverly, four days after her 95th birthday.
She was the beloved wife of the late Anthony “Tony” Polizzi, the loving mother of Bernadette Spitaleri and her late fiancé, Joseph Vacchio along with her late son in law, Nicholas Spitaleri, her late son Philip Polizzi and his surviving wife, Brenda Polizzi; the cherished grandmother of Derek and Callie Spitaleri, Joshua and Marci Spitaleri, and Zachary Polizzi and his fiancé, Liz Mazzarella. Clara is also survived by her two treasured great grandchildren, Ava Marie and Angelo Nicholas. Clara was the dear sister of the late Dominic “Sonny” Cieri, Frank Cieri Jr., Helen “Honey” Pollock, Pasqualina, Mary Morelli, Philomena Farias, Adrianna Salini, Rose Tenaglia, Lorainne Cioffi and Jean Anastasopoulos. She is also lovingly survived by many nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.
A visitation and Funeral Service was held privately for Clara Polizzi on November 6th, 2023. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital 501 St. Jude Place Memphis, TN. 38105.
To send online condolences, please visit www.vertucciosmithvazza.com. Funeral arrangements entrusted to the care and direction of the Vertuccio Smith & Vazza, Beechwood Home for Funerals, Revere.
Nicola Di Libero
Owned Libero Construction Company; member of Bricklayers Union, East Boston Community Development Corporation and the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts
Nicola R. Di Libero (Nick), 84, passed away peacefully on Sunday, November 5. He was in the presence of his loving family at Kaplan Family Hospice in Danvers where he received exceptional care after a brief illness.
Nick was born on April 6,1939 in East Boston, the son of the late Alessandro and Rose Di Libero from Sant’Apollinare, Italy.
As a lifelong resident of East Boston, Nick met and married his high school sweetheart and love of his life, the late Maria (Di Beardino) Di Libero. Together
they raised their three children, Lehana and her former husband, John LaPlaca, Nicola “Nick Jr.” and his wife, Joellen, and Erik.
Nick was a loving grandfather, the best “Papa” to Leah Gibbons and her husband, TJ, John and Joshua LaPlaca, Perry Di Libero and his wife, Vanessa, Nicola “Nicky” Di Libero III, Erik Jr. and Matthew DiLibero and the cherished great grandfather to Ella, Hallie, Tommy and Lily Gibbons and Vincent Di Libero.
He was a caring brother, cousin and friend.
Nick was a bricklayer by trade. Being a mason was a family tradition Nick was very proud to uphold. Together with his wife they built Di Libero Construction Company leaving a legacy of structures and architecture throughout Boston and
New England. He was a proud member of the bricklayers union, East Boston Community Development Corporation and the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts.
Nick spent his free time playing handball and making exquisite wine. Later in life he found a love for cooking. His favorite to cook were his delicious pizzas, in the pizza oven he built, for his family and friends to enjoy.
He also took great pleasure in traveling the world with his wife and family, where together they owned homes and spent time in both St. Croix and Pescara, Italy.
Funeral Services were held privately. Remembrances may be made to Care Dimensions Hospice, 75 Sylvan Street, Suite B-102, Danvers, MA 01923 or www.caredimensions.org/giving.
To send online condolences, please visit www.vertucciosmithvazza.com. Funeral arrangements entrusted to the care and direction of the Vertuccio Smith & Vazza, Beechwood Home for Funerals, Revere.
Leslie Ann Seaman
Of East Boston
Leslie Ann (Cutlip) Seaman of East Boston passed away peacefully on November 8.
The loving daughter of the late Warren and Mary (McPhee) Cutlip, she was the beloved wife of the late Robert L. Seaman, devoted mother of Jayson Seaman, cherished grandmother of Kylie Seaman and Camille Seaman, dear sister of Barbara Kelble and her husband, James of New Hampshire, Paula Forster and her husband, William of Winthrop, Mary Duber and her husband, Jeff of Ohio, Patricia Leone and her husband, Anthony of Taunton, Warren Cutlip Jr. and his wife, Marie of Ipswich, and Richard Cutlip and his wife, Deanna of Everett. She is also survived by many loving nieces and nephews. The family would also like to mention their loving family friend, Gerard Labella.
A memorial service will be held at the Ruggiero Family Memorial Home, 971 Saratoga St., East Boston, on Saturday, November 18th from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. To leave an online condolence, please visit www.ruggieromh.com.