Whirl With Merle

Retired Judge Gloria Coco wanted to fulfill the dying wishes of her mother by finding out where her mother's little brother had been buried after coming into Ellis Island.  After much searching it turned out that her great uncle Alfio Freddie Manninici 1917-1921, was at a non-descriptive “story stone” site at Maple Grove Cemetery located in Kew Gardens, NY. 

Having heard stories and active in the search, Gloria Coco wrote a play titled Finding Uncle Alfio and has been performing this one woman show all over the world.  She will be performing the play at the cemetery on Saturday, June 16 as part of Heritage Month.  She is the first Italian-American woman to sit on the bench in Chicago. 

We will be talking with the judge and hear all about her experiences both searching and performing.