Sydelle Cibener Pomi

Sydelle Cibener Pomi passed away peacefully on January 4, 2026 at the age of 98 as a resident of the Alamitos West nursing home in Los Alamitos, California.

She is survived by daughter Margo Minecki (Marek), sister Rosalind Seiden (Fred), granddaughters Tasia Agee (Reggie) and Rachel Melgoza (Hector), step grandson Michal Minecki, and great grandchildren Zachary and Samara Agee.

The daughter of loving parents Robert and Ada Borkon, “Syd” was born on November 25, 1927 in The Bronx. She lived most of her full, dynamic life in her beloved New York City and suburbs.

In 1951, she married first husband Donald Cibener, a junior high school teacher. In addition to daughter Margo, they had a son named Eric James who sadly died in infancy. She was married to second husband Marcello Pomi for 34 years until his death in 2011.

In many ways a trailblazer for women of her generation, she pursued a career in marketing for a large textile manufacturer in the 1950s. Starting as a secretary, she advanced to become director of Sales and Marketing. During her 33-year career at Tennessee Tufting she created the first “tank set,” which features contoured bathroom rugs.

Syd and Marcello later owned and operated the French restaurant Chez Renee in Manhattan and the Italian restaurant Da Marcello in Port Washington, New York.

Syd was a theater enthusiast and attended countless Broadway and off-Broadway productions in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, in addition to concerts and the opera. She kept every Playbill in a bound collection. She also enjoyed collecting art and antiques.

In 1999, Syd relocated to Southern California to be near her daughter and grandkids who were the center of her universe. She thrived in her new life at Leisure World in Seal Beach, making many new friends, taking classes at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Cal State Long Beach, and being active in the Leisure World Democratic Club and other groups.

She was a long-time supporter of social justice and charitable organizations such as the Southern Poverty Law Center, National Council of Jewish Women, and St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.

Syd gifted her body to the Willed Body Program at the University of California, Irvine to support medical education and scientific research. An engraved brick in her honor will be placed at the UC Irvine Willed Body Program Memorial Garden.