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Marie Riccobene Branchini

FAMILY:  I am blessed with a great family which includes my two kids, Michael (daughter-in-law Lourdes) and Michelle, my two perfect grandchildren, Amelia(5) and Max(1), and of course my siblings and 53 first cousins from my huge Italian family.   I was married for 30 years and got divorced in 2011.  I have been dating Jim Palmiere since 2019.

Family is everything and I will do anything to spend extra time with my children and grandchildren.

My favorite childhood memories center around having company every Sunday.   Being an entertainer, my father always became friends with people from the audience and invited them to Sunday Pasta Dinners.  To this day, I have continued Dad’s legacy of befriending everyone.  Having company over for dinner is the best.

OCCUPATION:  I had the best occupation ever!  For 39 wonderful years, I was a 5th Grade Teacher.  I taught 29 years in public school and then taught an additional 10 years in private school.  I officially retired in 2016 and still miss the classroom.  Luckily, I occasionally tutor children and help my daughter, Michelle, who is a teacher.  Michelle is a hard-working, dedicated, creative teacher.

FAVORITE HIGH SCHOOL MEMORIES:  Looking back, attending Gorman High School was one of the happiest times of my life.

I loved the teachers at Gorman (especially Father Bibeault, Father Wally Nowak  , Chuck Gerber, Mr. & Mrs. Roos, Steve Schneider, Elizabeth Scott, Mr. Naporkowski, Mr. Nolan, Mrs. Kelly, Mr. Lendini, and Mr. Borla), the activities, the friends, and the whole atmosphere.  Being quiet and shy, I probably wasn’t the most outgoing person, but I tried and found acceptance in whatever I joined.  Most people in high school did not know that I was a gymnast or that I tried out for cheerleading every single year (in those days, gymnastics was not needed to be on the cheer team).   Being a conscientious student, I was in Honor Society, Spanish Club, and Student Council.

Three of my favorite memories I have from high school (one sweet, one funny, and one embarrassing) are:

  1. Though I did date a little in high school, I was super shy. Sophomore year I found out that Bill Velardo had my same birthday.  Junior year, I bravely walked up to him and wished him a happy birthday.   He had no clue who I was, so I introduced myself explaining that we shared the same birthday.  I thought he was very handsome.  Then to my surprise, senior year, he saw me in the hallway on our birthday, came right over to me, kissed me on the cheek, and wished me a happy birthday.  For a shy girl like me, that was the sweetest thing ever.
  2. My father, Johnny Ricco, was a lounge entertainer and dressed up all the time (most of my friends did not know that). One time he came to a pep assembly to cheer for my sister, Stephanie, on the drill team.  He walked into the gym in a dashing white bell-bottomed suit and white dress shoes, Glen Campbell style.  Girls sitting in the bleachers next to me did not know it was my father and said, “Who is that hunk?” This really made me laugh.
  3. Going on a trip to Mexico with the Spanish Club gave me my most embarrassing moment in high school. Originally all 25 students in the club wanted to go on this trip.  Unfortunately, only 4 students attended, and we had 5 chaperones. Sister Gemma Marie (aka Betty Scott) put together a slide presentation of the trip to show to all the Spanish classes.  Shy me was shocked that she included a picture of me in a bikini on the beach!  Thank goodness I was thin at the time.  I would turn beet red every time someone would tell me that they saw me on the beach in Mexico.

HOW I LIKE TO SPEND MY TIME:  For the last ten years, I have been a caregiver for my blind and intellectually disabled brother and sister, Johnny, and Lia Riccobene.  In July of 2021, my life changed drastically when my siblings moved from my home into a group home at Betty’s Village, a housing community that was built and designed by Opportunity Village. I continue to see Johnny and Lia three times a week to take them to some of their activities and appointments.  I enjoy being active at Opportunity Village and Betty’s Village.  I am the Vice President of Family and Friends of OV, a parent group.

Some of my hobbies include making crafts (cards & appreciation gifts), spending time with my children, grandchildren, Jim, and my huge Italian family (I have 53 first cousins).  I joined a book club, love the Golden Knights, and have numerous groups of friends that I enjoy going out with for lunch or dinner. Now that I have more freedom, I have been traveling a bit.  I enjoyed visiting cousins on the East Coast, going to Disney World in Florida with my kids and grandkids, and I went on my first cruise.

FUN TIDBIT(S) ABOUT ME:  Here is a fun tidbit about me:  Being a Golden Grad on May 22, 2022 was especially exciting for me for two reasons.

1) I was thrilled to be a Golden Grad because four of my former students were part of the Gorman Class of 2022 and I got to watch them graduate.  Afterwards, they found me to take these awesome pictures:

2)  In 1972, we did not have great cameras or cell phones to take pictures.  Though I have known Linda Novak Giannosa, Debbie Maday Cochran, and Nadine (Dee) Chekowitz Dykes since elementary school, I guess we never took pictures then.  Thankfully, at my 1972 graduation, my parents took a picture of me with another dear friend, Debbie Romo Deittrick with our Kodak Instamatic camera (remember those?).  Debbie and I decided to recreate our graduation picture while we were Golden Grads.

HIGHTLIGHTS OF MY LIFE SINCE HIGH SCHOOL:  I loved going to college and graduated with a teaching degree from Towson State University in Maryland (1977). Later, I earned my master’s degree from UNLV (1981).  Until my retirement, my focus in life was raising my family and being the best teacher, I could be.  I am most proud of that fact that I truly cared about every student in my class and concentrated on their best traits.  To this day, many past students keep in touch with me or find me on Facebook.  Everywhere I go in Las Vegas, I run into my former students and I remember them all.  Teaching for 39 years brought me great joy.

Here's some more pictures: