Elisa Ciccone was my mom's real name. 

My grandparents, Gaetano and Angelina Ciccone, came from Pacentro, a small village nestled in the mountains of Abbruzzo in central Italy.  They first settled in Pennsylvania where my mom was born, but the family later moved to Michigan when she was a teenager.  Elisa was the youngest of five children and grew up in a typical Italian-America household where she was taught to be fiercely proud to be American, but to never forget her roots.  She, in turn, taught my sisters and me to be equally proud to be American, but to never forget our Italian heritage.  I took that lesson so seriously that I made a point of spending long periods of time in Italy, especially Rome, where I became fluent in the Italian language and culture.  I still go to Italy at least once a year because I feel so much at home when I'm there.

So how did Elisa Ciccone become Bette Shearon? 

When my grandfather registered my mother's birth, the clerk wrote Elisa as Elizabeth and it became her legal name.  Later in life, Elizabeth was shortened to Bette  and she was comfortable with that.  When she married my Irish-Canadian father, she assumed the name Shearon.  She didn't speak often about the story of her name, but whenever she did, there was always a slight hint of regret or disappointment about it in her voice.

When asked about their mothers, especially if they have passed on, most people will say basically the same thing.  "She was a great person" , "She was always there for me", and "You would have liked her if you had met her."  I am happy to say that I can say all of the same things about Elisa Ciccone.