By Andrea McGovern
MAYFIELD VILLAGE-Toni Siracusa was an outdoor girl. Growing up in Euclid, the young daughter of Gordon and Joan Nichols was a sports lover and cheerleader, and dreamed of becoming a gym teacher.
“My sisters were the ones who would be in the kitchen with my mother, not me,” she laughed. The middle child of five, Siracusa said she spent her days out of doors, running and playing ball. She attended Holy Cross elementary school and Regina High School.
After attending Cleveland State University for a while, Siracusa decided not to pursue the teaching degree. She worked in a hotel for a couple of years, then found her niche as a dental assistant.
A cousin introduced her to Richard Siracusa. She said the night they met, she had told her friends before hand that she felt great and knew it was going to be a good evening. Turns out she was right. The couple has been married since 1982.
As newlyweds, Siracusa said it was easier and just as cheap for them to eat out. When they began having a family, however, it was time to learn to cook. “My mom, my mother-n-law and cousin all gave me recipes,” she said. She got interested and trying new dishes has become a real joy in her life.
Siracusa’s children went to St. Robert School, Euclid for a while until the family moved to Mayfield Village in 1995. They then transferred to St. Francis of Assisi. While at St. Robert, their mom’s proficiency in the kitchen had grown to the point where it earned her a job organizing and running the school’s new lunch program.
After three years, she went back to dental assisting full time. She is now the office manager for the Center for Dental Health in Willowick.
When the Nicholses were planning to retire, the family built a home together on a secluded street in Mayfield Heights. The house has an in-law apartment where the older couple lives for six months of the year. They now spend the winter months in Florida.
The family acted as general contractors on the project, doing much of the interior finish work themselves. Gordon Nichols, an electrician by trade, knew many people in the construction industries and acted as superintendent on the site.
Siracusa said she has really appreciated having her parents in the house during the past few years, when Richard Siracusa worked in different states for long periods of time. She also loves the fact that her mom takes care of a lot of the cooking and laundry while she is at work!
We’ve been very blessed,” Siracusa said. “We’ve always been comfortable, and during the times when you couldn’t have said there was abundance, there was always enough. Something would come through to help. We are really fortunate.”
Her future plans include more of the life she loves. “I really like it here,” she said of her home and neighborhood. “I guess when we retire we’d also like to live in a warmer climate for part of the year,” she said.
The Siracusas have three children. Their oldest son is in medical school and the second son is about to graduate from John Carroll. He has been hired in an editorial position at a magazine for high school athletes. Their youngest, a daughter, is studying early childhood education at Ohio University. They are parishioners at St. Francis of Assisi.
McGovern is a freelance writer.
ANDREA MC GOVERN
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