Albert Sicotte

Albert Henry Sicotte, born June 15, 1927, in New Bedford, Massachusetts, passed away
November 4, 2021, in Rockford, Illinois. Al, the son of Lucien Sicotte and Lydia Riendeau, was
named after his paternal grandmother Albertine. His early years were spent in a community of
French-speaking immigrants from Quebec among a huge, loving extended family. He fondly
remembered family get-togethers and clambakes on the seashore. At the age of ten he and his
family moved to Rockford. He attended St. James Elementary School and St. Thomas Catholic
School, was a paperboy and later worked at National Lock during World War II when it
manufactured firing pins for rifles. He graduated in 1945, was promptly drafted, and served in
the U.S. Army in Alaska. His single days featured prolific bouts of dancing and bowling, and
summer trips back east to visit his cousins. A high point was when he won an Arthur Murray
dance contest and a trip to Havana in 1950 where he competed at the famed Hotel Nacional. In
1953 he married Marlyn Joan Stokstad, his wife of 68 years. The young couple moved to Ohio,
where their first two children, Michael and Susan, were born. A momentous decision in Al’s life
was to return to Rockford to partner with his father and brother in Sicotte’s Western Auto in
Loves Park. Al worked tirelessly at the family hardware store for more than two decades. He
loved working with his father and his brother George. In the 1980s he began a new career with
Equitable, where he worked until his retirement. Both of his jobs permitted him, as much as
any of us, “to be his own boss,” something that was immensely appealing to him. He was a
proud member of the Lion’s Club and committed to their charitable activities.
Everyone who knew Al will agree that he was a lot of fun at a party, and that he loved to
laugh. He loved games of all kinds and was sometimes gracious in victory and defeat. His
family believes this is due to the merciless, but ultimately loving, teasing and competition
between him and his brothers growing up. He loved golf and the Cubs the most, but it did not
take much coaxing to get him to play any game or watch any sport. He loved movies and
sitcoms, and a favorite aphorism of his was, “I’d rather laugh than cry.” His love of food was
also legendary, be it spaghetti, steak, or seafood. Dining with Al was an experience for all the
senses. Al was an inveterate aviation buff and loved to travel. He carefully took note of the
aircraft in which he traveled as well as the details of their flight paths. He and his wife were
fortunate to enjoy some great trips together. One that was especially meaningful for them was
a visit to Europe with his sister-in-law Sonja Rae Hogan and her husband Jack Hogan. More
recently Albert and his daughter Susan visited Hawaii together. Much of his travel, though, was
to visit his children as they moved about over the years. These trips took him to St. Croix, New
Orleans, Florida, Texas, Utah, California, Calgary, Vermont, and Spain. He soaked it all in.
What meant the most to Al was his family and his faith. He was blessed with a wonderful,
loving family growing up, and later a wife, three children, and seven grandchildren who loved
him very much. He was devout and prayerful, and a parishioner of St. Bridget’s Catholic Church
in Loves Park since 1959. His funeral will take place at St. Bridget’s Catholic Church at 11am
Monday, November 8. A visitation will take place at Fitzgerald’s Funeral Home at 1860 S.
Mulford Road in Rockford on Sunday, November 7, from 5pm to 7pm. There is also a visitation
from 10am to 10:45am Monday, November 8 at St. Bridget’s Church.

Al is survived by his wife, Marlyn, his children Michael (Adriana) Sicotte, Susan (Ed Jepson)
Sicotte, and Richard (Catalina Vizcarra) Sicotte, and his grandchildren Aaron, Mitchell, Carolina
and Julian Sicotte and Nicholas, Eric and Halley Jepson. He is also survived by sisters Jeannine
King (Stephen) and Diane Didier (Larry (d.)) and sisters-in-law Jean Sicotte (George (d.)) and
Sonja Rae Hogan (Jack (d.)). He is pre-deceased by his parents, brothers Paul (Joanne
Holzworth), George, Lucien (Marion Cazzaniga) and Charles and brothers-in-laws Lawrence
Didier, Kenneth Johnson, Jack Hogan, Gordon Stokstad and sisters-in-law Virginia Johnson and
Irene Stokstad.

In lieu of flowers, please send any donations in Al’s name to either Lighthouse for the Blind
https://chicagolighthouse.org , or the American Lung Association https://www.lung.org