Albert J. Cicco, a longtime Chelmsford resident and business owner, died from pneumonia while surrounded by his family at Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Administration Hospital on Jan. 1, 2017. He was 91.

Al was born Alberto Giuseppe Ciccocioppo to parents Giuseppe and Ginevra on July 3, 1925 in Boston’s Hyde Park section. Days after graduating from Hyde Park High School in 1943, he enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard to serve in World War II. A carpenter’s mate, 2nd class, he took part in military campaigns in the African, Asian and European theaters, including the invasion of Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944.
After the war, he studied fine and commercial art. He received his degree from the New England School of Art and later took classes at Vesper George and Scott Carvey art schools in Boston and completed a certificate program at Lowell Technological Institute, a predecessor institution of the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

From 1949 to 1953, he served as president of Boston’s North End Union Social Club, where he met his future bride Teresa Orlandella. The couple married in 1951. That same year, Al was recalled to serve in the U.S. Navy, which sent him to Seattle to help recommission a ship for the Korean War. By then, his parents had legally shortened their surname to “Cicco.”

After his discharge from the Navy, he and Terry settled in Chelmsford, where they raised their family. He worked for many years as a graphic artist at Sanders Associates Inc. in Nashua, N.H., and then as an art director for Avco Corp. in Wilmington and Dynatrend Inc. in Burlington.

In 1974, Al struck out on his own, launching advertising agency Graficon Communications Inc. in Chelmsford. Terry joined the company in 1977, taking over its financial affairs while Al focused on the creative side of the business. Together they were a formidable team and throughout the enterprise’s 16-year run, the couple’s children worked for the company in various roles. Among Graficon’s clients were Acorn Deck House in Acton, ADS in Wilmington, Vicor Corp. in Andover and Lowell General Hospital. The couple retired in 1990.

Al enjoyed music, painting, sculpting, architectural drafting and carpentry. He often drew up plans and built interiors to remodel his home and those of friends and relatives. In 1983, he and Terry designed their beach house in Humarock, which became the focal point for many happy family gatherings by the ocean. After Terry passed in 1994, he sold the house, not wishing to live there without her.
Al spent other great times by the sea with friends and family in York, Maine and along Florida’s Gulf Coast. He returned to England and France with neighbors in 2007 to learn more about the military history behind D-Day and pay tribute to the fallen. He is perhaps best remembered for his self-effacing nature, his tireless work ethic and his devotion to his family.

Along with Terry, Al was predeceased by sisters Mary Esposito of Hyde Park and Helen Palazzolo of Dedham; brother Nicholas of Royal Oak, Mich.; and half-brother Enrico Ciccocioppo of Lanciano, Italy.
He is survived by sons Stephen of Chelmsford; Peter and his partner Karen Frederick of Dracut; Paul and his wife Deborah Del Mastro of Martinez, Calif.; daughter Nancy Cicco of Chelmsford; granddaughter Tiana Ellauri and husband Cristian of San Geronimo, Calif.; grandson Gianni Alberto and his partner Cristina De Melo Wirkala of Seattle; and extended family in the U.S. and Italy.

Family and friends will gather to honor and remember Albert J. Cicco on Wednesday, Jan. 11 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the BLAKE FUNERAL HOME, 24 Worthen Street, CHELMSFORD. A funeral Mass will be celebrated on Thursday, Jan. 12 at 9 a.m. at the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital Chapel, Building 81, 200 Springs Road, BEDFORD, 01730. Interment will be private at the discretion of the family. The Cicco family extends its gratitude to the Bedford VA’s medical and administrative staff, which provided Al with exceptional care during his stay. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations in Al’s name to the residential Alzheimer’s Unit, Building 62, Wing C/D at the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Administration Hospital, 200 Springs Road, Bedford, 01730.

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