Sebastian and Maria Micciulla

Sebastian J. Micciulla (89) and Maria (Sparagna) Micciulla (87), soul mates, spouses, and best friends, passed away less than four months apart in 2019. Sebastian passed on September 2 at Beacon Place hospice home in Greensboro, NC from dementia-related complications; Maria passed on December 25 at her home in High Point, NC from a urinary tract infection. It was no surprise that one couldn't live long without the other, for Sebastian and Maria's 57-year marriage thrived on their constant devotion to each other and love for their family. They did everything together. Among their greatest shared joys were family camping trips to Ocracoke Island, North Carolina, and Putney, Vermont; hosting big Sunday dinners with their siblings and their families; and setting up the lighted Christmas village every year. Family always came first for Sebastian and Maria. If they had their way, their kids would have lived with them forever! They worked hard all their lives – Sebastian in his barbershop, Maria at various jobs and in the home. All the while, they taught their three children how to live with honesty, integrity, and love. Their unconventional union began in the fall of 1961, when Sebastian started exchanging letters with a young lady in Italy who was looking for a husband – or so he was told. In truth, the letters from Maria were actually written by her siblings, who wanted to ensure that she had a good, stable future. Initially Maria was not keen on the idea of marriage, but when she saw Sebastian's face in-person for the first time, she felt as if she had known him for years. The two were married on June 24, 1962-and their remarkable journey together began. Sebastian was born on Jan. 6, 1930, in Hartford, CT, the second child of Gaspare and Vincenza (Bordonaro) Micciulla. He took his first job at the age of 12, shining shoes on the street corners of Hartford, and later picked tobacco during school vacations. In his late teens, his love of country music led him to the steel guitar, which he played at local clubs and on the radio. He graduated from East Hartford High School in 1949 and served in the United States Army from 1951 to 1953, mainly in Landstuhl, Germany. After working various jobs, Sebastian earned his Master Barber License and opened the Silver Lane Barbershop in 1965. For the next 40 years, he ran his shop with passion, good humor, and genuine pleasure in serving his clientele. He dedicated his life to his shop and his customers, which included many military service members and employees of Pratt and Whitney just down the street. When he retired to North Carolina in 2010, the mayor of East Hartford awarded Sebastian with a plaque for his many years of service to the community. Though small in stature, Sebastian showed his Sicilian toughness by surviving, over a 15-year period, three bypass surgeries (nine bypasses), one heart attack, and one angioplasty. Yet he never pitied himself or let his health issues keep him from living the life he wanted. Maria was born on September 4, 1932, in Cellole, Caserta, Italy, the third child of Giovanni and Michelina (Maurillo) Sparagna. She worked hard from a young age: Maria's father pulled her from school when she was in the second grade so that she could help the family work other people's land for a portion of the crop and a little money. Maria wasn't yet a teenager when World War II and the Italian campaign swept through her town. She and her family suffered much. Her mother, Michelina, passed away in 1943, the day after her father, Giovanni, and her uncles were taken by German soldiers to work in factories (Giovanni returned two years later). After marrying Sebastian in 1962, she came to the United States, earned her citizenship, and settled into raising her family. Maria ran the Micciulla household from the kitchen, where she spent countless hours cooking traditional Italian dishes and putting her own twist on American favorites. As her kids got older and brought their friends over, she welcomed them into her home like family, stuffing them full of pasta and desserts. Maria also worked for Coca-Cola, Union Carbide/First Brands, and other companies until retiring in the 1980s due to health issues. Though she suffered from arthritis pain and congestive heart failure in her later years, Maria kept on cooking until shortly before she passed. Predeceasing Sebastian and Maria were siblings Concetto "Jack" (Mary) Micciulla, Salvatore Micciulla, Antonietta (Pasquale Peretta) Sparagna, Antonio (Lucia) Sparagna, and Elisabetta (Paolo Perretta) Sparagna. Grateful for having shared in Sebastian and Maria's lives are their three children Jeanette MacLellan, Robert Micciulla and his partner Rebecca Sierra, and Michael Micciulla and his wife Linnea; grandchildren Lucas MacLellan, Laura MacLellan and her partner Jeremy Biggs, and Xio Micciulla; sister Salvatrice Brezza and her husband John; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.