Salvatore Lauricella

Salvatore Lauricella, a dedicated public servant, Italian-American community leader, and longtime administrator with the Small Business Administration, died on Sept. 11. He was 94.

Born in Caltanissetta, Sicily, on November 10, 1931, to Luigi and Michelina Lauricella, Mr. Lauricella immigrated to the United States in 1937 aboard the ocean liner SS Rex. He crossed the Atlantic alongside his sisters, Lucia (Lucy) and Luigina, (Louise) while his mother was pregnant with his brother, Giuseppe (Joseph).

The family settled in Ansonia, Ct., where Mr. Lauricella entered the first grade without knowing English, mastering the language within months. Upon graduating high school in 1949, he enlisted in the United States Army, serving in Europe during the Korean War until 1952.

Following his military service, Mr. Lauricella pursued higher education while working a variety of jobs, including a formative stint in an insurance office. After a year at Quinnipiac College in Connecticut, he transferred to Wayne State University in Detroit, earning a Bachelor of Business Administration in 1957.

He remained in Detroit to launch his career in the insurance industry and establish a family with his wife, Nancy, raising three daughters: Dina, Julie, and Stacy.

Throughout the 1960s, Mr. Lauricella emerged as a prominent civic leader within Detroit’s Italian American community. He served for several years on the Columbus Day Celebration Committee, acting as General Chair in 1966, the same year he attended the official signing of the bill designating Columbus Day a state holiday in Michigan. In 1968, he represented Detroit in Washington, D.C., at the inaugural national Conference of Italian American Organizations, where he met with Vice President Hubert Humphrey.

Mr. Lauricella relocated his family permanently to the nation’s capital in 1971 to join the Small Business Administration, where he spent over three decades supporting American entrepreneurs until his retirement in 2002.

In his personal life, Mr. Lauricella served on his condominium community's Board of Directors from 1986 to 1993, where he was a constant, friendly presence at the clubhouse. In retirement, he moved to Florida, spending his later years playing golf, dancing, enjoying shooting sports, and hosting visits from his four grandchildren.

In addition to his children and grandchildren, Mr. Lauricella is survived by his two sisters and brother and numerous nieces and nephews.

A committal service with military honors will be held at Sarasota National Cemetery, 9810 State Hwy 72 in Sarasota, Florida on Tuesday, September 22, 2026 at 10:30 AM.  The family is requesting that no flowers be sent.