Yvette Dans
Winthrop’s greatest cheerleader
A life devoted to Winthrop High School student-athletes
Yvette Dans of Winthrop passed away peacefully on Tuesday, Feb. 11 at the Glen Ridge Nursing Home in Medford. The beloved and spirited sports fan was 70 years old.
Yvette was born in Belgium and was raised in the Point Shirley section of the close-knit Winthrop community, the daughter of the late Emile and Marie Rose (Drockman) Dans.
She was educated in Winthrop Public Schools and upon graduation in 1967 went on to work for 30 years for New England Telephone Company.
From her youth. arriving in Winthrop, she was a devout Boston sports fan, especially a Boston Celtics fan, during their dynasty. She would eventually become a season Celtic ticket holder, getting to know many of the Celtics personally. She loved calling sports radio shows to talk about her beloved Celtics or her beloved Winthrop High School athletes.
Her real love, cheerleading for Winthrop High School teams, started by watching the 1963 Winthrop Men States Championship Basketball team and then Winthrop’s 1964, 8-1 football season, the team coached by Ed McFarland. She also cheered for WHS Football Coaches DeFelice, Fucillo, Driscoll and Cadigan. For the next 50 years, she attended nearly every boys and girls athletic event at Winthrop High School. Yvette would be a fixture on the sidelines with her Vikings sweater, her megaphone and cow bell cheering on her Viking athletes with the WHS cheerleaders and the home-town fans. Every WHS men’s and women’s Freshman, JV and Varsity coach knew Yvette would be at their games.
During the 1970s, Winthrop’s Mens Basketball Coach Henry McCarthy allowed Yvette to ride on the team bus to games. Yvette would prepare sandwiches for the entire basketball team. Even though she didn’t have a driver’s license, she attended almost every home and away game for every sport. Somehow, she managed to get a ride to and from the games: team bus, friend’s car, willing Viking parent’s cars, taxi rides or public transportation.
Yvette was at the Boston Garden in 1976 for WHS Division 1 Hockey Title led by Coach Falasca; that was easy to attend because she could travel the Blue Line.
During the 1980s, she cheered Coach DeFelice’s Winthrop Football Team to a record 33-0. She cheered on Coach Ron Spinney’s 1984 Girls State Softball Championship Team. She attended hundreds of WHS sporting events: cheering and supporting every-one of her favorite female and male athletes. She cheered her family of athletes through the ‘90s into the new century, the 2000 seasons. Yvette attended the 2006 State Championship Football Game and followed the 1995 and 2011 Boys State Championship basketball teams, as well as the 1994 and 2015 Girls championship basketball teams that made it to the Boston Garden. Every WHS female and male athlete, in every sport, remembers looking to the sidelines into the stands and seeing Yvette cheering for them. Her legendary support for her WHS athlete did not end at high school, if she knew a Winthrop athlete was playing nearby at college, she would show up at his or her college sporting event.
Winthrop Transcript sports writers would write about how she was Winthrop’s Number 1 Fan. The Transcript covered her greatest honor when she was inducted into the WHS Athletic Hall of Fame.
Yvette was a most caring and thoughtful person, always remembering hundreds of Vikings athlete’s birthdays and other special occasions by sending them cards or thoughtful gifts. She loved attending athletic banquets, holiday celebrations, proms, senior nights, weddings, reunions and other special occasions. She especially enjoyed WHS graduation parties, with her Vikings and their families. She was welcomed and loved by so many of Winthrop’s families.
She was an avid reader always reading the Winthrop Transcript and Lynn Item to follow her Viking athletes. She tried to support her Irish friends to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day with some corned beef and cabbage, or eating latkes with her Jewish friends during Hanukkah, Thanksgiving with her football players or Christmas Eve with an Italian traditional feast of the seven fishes or Easter with the Greeks eating roasted lamb.
Yvette was in the WHS graduating Class of 1967. She loved her fellow classmates and loved attending their special class reunions.
Yvette will join other WHS Viking Heroes in the majestic enormous hall in Valhalla chanting the famous Winthrop Cheer:
We’re from Winthrop High School.
How do you do.
We came right over just to sing this song to you.
Marching on to battle smiling faces all. We’re with you by your side so let’s playball.
Yvette will forever be remembered as the Number One Vikings fan and she will never be out of our hearts and minds; as Yvette always cheered:
V-I-K-I-N-G-S VIKINGS ARE THE VERY BEST!
The funeral was conducted from the Caggiano-O’Maley-Frazier Funeral Home on Tuesday, Feb. 18, followed by a Funeral Mass in St. John the Evangelist Church. Committal was private.
To sign the online guestbook go to www.caggianofuneralhome.com.
Troy Lidicky
Of Winthrop
Troy M. Lidicky of Shirley Street, Winthrop passed away unexpectedly on Feb. 18. He was 30 years old.
Born in Germany, the beloved son of Romana (Volejnikova) and Miroslav Lidicky. he had a passion for hockey at an early age and went on to play goalie for the Winthrop High School Hockey Team. After graduation, he went on to work as a waiter for several restaurants in Winthrop and at Logan International Airport.
He was the dear brother of Julia Ann Lidicky and the loving companion of Shana Rassulo. He was also the cherished uncle of Vivian.
Family and friends are cordially invited to attend the visitation from the Caggiano-O’Maley-Frazier Funeral Home 147 Winthrop St., Winthrop on Sunday, Feb. 23 from 4 to 8 p.m. Committal will be private. Memorial donations may be made to the Jimmy Fund at www.dana-farber.org. To sign the online guestbook go to www.caggianofuenralhome.com.
Marianne Arciero
Of Orient Heights, East Boston
Marianne (Lombardi) Arciero of Orient Heights, East Boston passed away on Feb. 16 at the age of 79.
She was the cherished daughter of the late Nicholas and Victoria (Manzo) Lombardi, longtime partner of the late Pat DeLeo, loving mother of Richard Arciero and his wife, Diane, John Arciero, Lisa Arciero-Bocchino and her husband, Michael and the late Stephen Arciero; adored grandmother of Danielle O’Connell, Kristen Sordillo, Michael Bocchino III, Victoria Lee Bocchino and Brandon Flint; great-grandmother of Benjamin O’Connell and Maya Sordillo and dear sister of Nicholas Lombardi and his wife, Terry and Barbara Ferrera and her late husband, Ralph. She is also survived by many loving nieces, nephews and cousins.
Family and friends will honor Marianne’s life by gathering at the Vazza’s “Beechwood†Funeral Home, 262 Beach St., Revere, on Saturday, Feb. 22, from 11 to 11:30 a.m. with a Memorial Service beginning at 11:30 a.m. in our Chapel of the Resurrection. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Marianne’s name to tunnel2towers.org or St. Jude Children’s Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis TN. 38105. For online guestbook and directions please visit www.vazzafunerals.com.
Phyllis Mary Cali
Of Winthrop, formerly of East Boston
Phyllis Mary (Breault) Cali of Winthrop, formerly of East Boston, passed away unexpectedly in Florida on Monday, Feb. 10 at the age of 83.
The beloved wife of the late Philip M. Cali Sr., she was the devoted mother of Denise Cali of Florida, Philip M. Cali Jr. and his wife, Kathleen of Medford, Mishel A. Cali of California, Doug Cali and his fiancé, Deborah Addario of Danvers and the late Gregory Cali; dear sister of Dennis Breault of Saugus and Robert Breault of Lynn; cherished grandmother of Stacy Monaco, Joseph Monaco, Michael Monaco, Deandra Erdman and Gregory Cali and adored great-grandmother of Wyatt Cole Erdman, Ryan Monaco and Brayden Pires. She is also survived by many loving nieces and nephews.
Family and Friends will honor Phyllis’ life by gathering for a Funeral Mass in celebration of Phyllis’ life at St. John the Evangelist Church, Winthrop St., Winthrop, on Friday, Feb. 21 at 10 a.m. Please meet directly at the church. Services will conclude with Phyllis being laid to rest with her beloved son, Gregory in Winthrop Cemetery. For more information: www.ruggieromh.com.
Friedrich Fuchs
Longtime St. John’s School soccer coach
Friedrich “Fritz†Fuchs of Peabody passed away peacefully after suffering from heart failure for the past three years.
The son of Klara (Mund) and Erick Fuchs, he was the beloved husband of Florence (Pagliarulo) Fuchs with whom he shared 48 wonderful and happy years of marriage.
Born in post war Germany, he had a very difficult childhood. Food was quite scarce. He and his four siblings never had a toy. However, being resourceful, he went to the dump to see what he could find. Years later he found out the manager of the dump had been buying toys to give to him. As was typical of Fritz, he never complained. “It’s over, go on.â€
To get away, he joined the German Navy at age 19. He was sent to training school in America where he lived for four years. During that time, he met his future wife, got married and returned with her to Germany, where they lived for four years. When they returned to America to live, he was so happy; the most patriotic person ever. He was very proud when he became an American citizen. He always voted and considered it a great privilege to have a say in things.
He was employed as a material manager in the metal industry. The last seven years he worked in China, going there every other month to coordinate a smooth operation at the factory.
His main interest was soccer.
He was a soccer coach at St. John’s Elementary School for many years. The kids were proud to have a German coach, as soccer wasn’t popular here 35 years ago, so they felt that he really knew what he was doing.
He also loved car racing and cars. He really enjoyed tooling around on his BMW convertible. One of his childhood dreams was to own a Mercedes Benz, and he had two of them in his lifetime. Dreams can come true.
Having been in the Navy, cruising was his favorite vacation and the Cunard ships, QE2, Queen Mary and Queen Victoria. He enjoyed wearing a tuxedo (dinner requirement), said that he dressed like James Bond, one of his heroes. He saw every James Bond movie ever made and always looked forward to each new movie as they were released.
He loved kids. All of his nieces and nephews remember him rough housing with them, even the girls. One niece described him to a friend as a grownup who could act like a kid. It was a special gift that he had.
He is survived by his sister in Germany, Franzsica Vogel and her husband, Andreas; in laws, Henry and Sandra Pagliarulo, Joseph Pagliarulo and his late wife, Ruthie and Anita and John Carew; eight nieces and nephews, one great-nephew and one great niece and his lifelong friends: Elizabeth and Peter Bogutt and Christy and Wolfgang Koenig.
The funeral was conducted from the Caggiano-O’Maley-Frazier Funeral Home on Wednesday, Feb. 19, followed by a Funeral Mass in the St. John the Evangelist Church. Services concluded with interment in the Cross street section of Winthrop Cemetery.
To sign the online guestbook go to www.caggianofuneralhome.com.