Francesca Puglisi Miceli

Our beloved mother, Francesca Puglisi Miceli, passed away peacefully and surrounded by her loving family on August 22, 2020 at the age of 100. She was born in the small town of Carlentini, Sicily on September 24, 1919. She was one of 5 children born to Ignazio Puglisi and Giuseppina Rossitto. She and her family witnessed WWII.

Francesca was married to our dad, Salvatore Miceli who preceded her in death in 1990. Dad was also from Carlentini. He immigrated to the U.S. with his father as a young man and had become a naturalized American citizen. After the war, in 1948, he returned to Sicily to marry Francesca. The original plan was to live in Sicily and raise a family there, but conditions after the war were difficult so after the birth of their first child, the decision was made to return to America for a better life. The move from Carlentini to Omaha, Nebraska was a difficult one for mom never having traveled far from her family and town. She was homesick but with courage and dad’s help, she persevered. The family grew and two more children were born in Omaha. In 1959, the family moved once more to San Diego where they made their permanent home.

Mom was an excellent Italian cook. Growing up, we loved her spaghetti and meatballs every Sunday. She was also gifted in sewing, needlework, and knitting. In her last few months with us, she knitted a blanket for the birth of a great grandson this past July.

Mom’s life can be defined by “Love of Family”. Raising her family was the focus of her life. She instilled this love in all of us. She was a devoted wife, loving mother, grandmother, and great grandmother. She is survived by her 94 year old, brother Rosario Puglisi in Sicily, her three children and their spouses; Cettina and Steven Jones, Marcella and Douglas Jones, Robert and Patricia Miceli; six grandchildren and eleven great grandchildren. All of us loved and adored her. We will miss her beautiful smile, her infectious laugh, her crystal blue eyes. We are consoled in the knowledge that mom had a long, beautiful, and blessed life while on this earth and is now resting in heaven with our Blessed Lord, Jesus, Blessed Mary and the loved ones who preceded her.