Emilia Siciliano, Former Shrewsbury Mayor, Dies At 90

FALLS CHURCH, VA — Emilia M. Siciliano, who spent much of her life serving the residents of Shrewsbury and Monmouth County, including serving from 1999 to 2008 as the mayor of Shrewsbury, has died, according to her obituary. She was 90 years old.

Emilia Siciliano "was a woman of many talents: a wife accompanying her sportswriter husband on assignments; a parent participating in all elementary, high school, college activities of her daughters while commuting to New York City to fulfill her 30-year career as a designer of lingerie, loungewear and casual dresses; and a public servant actively involved in government and politics in the Borough of Shrewsbury and Monmouth County," her obituary on the Thompson Memorial Home website said.

Shrewsbury officials announced on the borough's Facebook page that flags in the borough were being flown at half-staff to honor her memory. Several residents posted on the page, recalling her work ethic, her warmth and her intelligence.

"I and my husband, Mike are saddened to hear of this news," wrote Lynn Spillane. "Our marriage was the only one she ever performed. (I was proud of that) I miss her wit, her strength and her perseverance. She was 'Shrewsbury'!"

"An extraordinary public servant who worked tirelessly for the town she loved so much. A Shrewsbury legend!" wrote William Dodge.

Red Bank Mayor Pasquale "Pat" Menna paid tribute to Mrs. Siciliano as well, saying, "I am saddened to learn of the death of former Shrewsbury Borough Mayor, the Hon. Emilia Siciliano. Mayor Siciliano was a great neighbor to Red Bank and will be sorely missed." Flags were lowered to half-staff in Red Bank as well.

Her public service began early. She started as a member of the borough's Republican Club and served as its president. In 1968, she was appointed to the Borough Council to fill a vacancy. Five years later, she stepped into a larger role, when the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders asked her in 1973 to establish and direct the Monmouth County Department of Consumer Affairs. She went on to serve two terms as its director, from 1974-1976 and 1979-1982, her obituary said.

Mrs. Siciliano returned to the Borough Council in 1993 and served there until she was elected mayor in 1999 for the first of three consecutive terms. Following her retirement in 2008, Mrs. Siciliano was elected to the New Jersey League of Municipalities Hall of Fame, an honor reserved for those governing body members who have served 20 years in elected office.

In addition to serving on the council and as mayor, Mrs. Siciliano spent 22 years serving on the Shrewsbury Planning Board. In 1996 Gov. Christine Todd Whitman appointed her to the New Jersey Board of Professional Planners. An early champion of sustainable growth, Mrs. Siciliano received the New Jersey Planning Officials 2006 Achievement in Planning Award, which recognized her “indefatigable planning leadership.”

"Mayor Siciliano championed the goal of sustainable growth even before the concept became popular," a Greater Media report on the Achievement in Planning Award said. "She is a tribute to women in government and to exemplary citizenship.”

As mayor, she oversaw the construction of the Shrewsbury Municipal Complex, Manson Park, the 9/11 Memorial Gazebo, and the new Shrewsbury Hose Company firehouse. Mrs. Siciliano was particularly proud of the continuing preservation of Shrewsbury’s historic district and the preservation of a horse farm on Sycamore Avenue, her obituary said.

Her obituary noted that as a result of her work at the county Department of Consumer Affairs and her newspaper columns on the subject, consumer affairs, Mrs. Siciliano later became vice president of administration for an international manufacturing company.

Mrs. Siciliano moved to Shrewsbury in 1959, and lived there until 2013, when she moved to Falls Church, Virginia, where she died peacefully on April 27, her obituary said.

She was predeceased by her husband and companion of 48 years, Sam P. Siciliano. Surviving are her daughters and sons-in-law Carol Ann Siciliano and Kevin Ogle of Falls Church, Virginia, and Dianne and John Crilly of Shrewsbury, and her cherished grandchildren, Nathaniel and Jeremiah Ogle and Kate, Jack and Tara Crilly.

Viewing Friday from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. at Thompson Memorial Home, Broad Street, Red Bank. A funeral service will be celebrated at the Church of the Nativity, 180 Ridge Road, Fair Haven, on Saturday, May 6 at 1 p.m. with interment following at Mount Olivet Cemetery, Middletown, New Jersey.

Photo of Emilia Siciliano via Thompson Funeral Home. Used with permission