He was born in Pratola Peligna a town in the Province of L’Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy, on April 15, 1932, to the late Quirino and Italia (Presutti) DiCioccio, the fourth of six children.

Born in Pratola Peligna, province of L’Aquila, Italy on May 4, 1933, a daughter of the late Salvatore and Antoinetta (Gualtieri) Santilli, she had been a resident of Hartford for the past 75 years.