Marian Filice was a
native Gilroyan, born in 1909. Her family moved to Morgan Hill, where she
attended Machado School and Severence School but they returned to Gilroy and
she graduated from Gilroy High.
She had begun studying piano with local teachers at the age of 14. But at
age eighteen, under the patronage of her aunt, Clara Bisceglia, and with the
support of her family, she moved to San Jose to undertake an intense course
of piano study. Guided by one of the noted teachers in the Bay Area, she
became an accomplished musician.
Following graduation from San Jose Business College, she was employed by the
Bisceglia Brothers Cannery where she met her future husband, Michael Filice.
They were married in 1931 and she moved back to Gilroy in 1939; she taught
piano there for many years.
Marian and her husband were married for 57 years, were active members of the
Gilroy community, passionate patrons of the arts, and enthusiastic world
travelers. But she never lost her love for the piano and she was able to
enjoy playing almost to the end of her life in 1999.
|