Lorraine Cicchini, 91, of Kenosha, passed away peacefully on September 3, 2021, at Brookside Care Center after a long illness. Born on October 26, 1929, she was the daughter of the late Serefino James and Julia (Ryan) Cicchini. Lorraine was a lifelong resident of Kenosha, attending St. Thomas Elementary School, McKinley Junior High, and graduated from Bradford High School. She was a member of Mt. Carmel and St. Mary’s Catholic Churches.
Lorraine had a varied work career including jobs at Simmons Mattress Factory, Aiello Dental Services, Kenosha Title Company, and Jockey International, but her favorite roles were as Caregiver and Aunt! She provided many months of round the clock comfort for her bedridden Mother and brothers, Louis and Tim, and sister Lucille. As Aunt, she spent many loving hours as the favorite babysitter to her numerous nephews and nieces. Aunt Lorraine was always devoted to her family.
Hobbies were plentiful for Aunt Lorraine, including cooking – especially Christmas Eve dinner for the extended family, baking her renowned banana cakes, and watching her “story” As the World Turns, for so many years. She also enjoyed bowling, playing Bingo with her sisters Dorothy, Madeline and Lucille, and playing the lottery. Aunt Lorraine loved trips to Las Vegas with her siblings, playing the slot machines, Keno, and the Craps table, as well as the occasional gin martini. Even if she didn’t always understand the plays, Aunt Lorraine never missed a Chicago Bears or Chicago Cubs game on TV. For us nieces and nephews, Aunt Lorraine loved to load us up with Christmas and birthday gifts. Her trademark was stuffing our birthday cards with the exact amount of lottery tickets to match our age and mailing it at just the perfect time, so it would arrive right on our special day! She enjoyed taking us to the movies, playing games, and staying up late on sleepovers.
Surviving Aunt Lorraine are 11 nieces, 4 nephews, 18 grandnieces, 11 grandnephews, 14 great-grandnieces and 18 great-grandnephews. She is also survived by numerous Ryan and Cicchini cousins, as well as many longtime friends.
As the last of eight children, Aunt Lorraine was preceded in death by her three brothers, Herman, Louis, and Attilio (Tim) Cicchini, her four sisters Frances Presta, Lucille Cicchini, Dorothy Besch, and Madeline Cardinali, niece Nancy Cardinali Allen, and nephews Jimmy Presta, Steven Besch, Nicholas Allen, and Eliot Anderson.
