Robert A. Mollicone

MOLLICONE, Robert A. of Clarkston, formerly of Clinton Township, passed away surrounded by his family, on May 4, 2023, age 68. For a charismatic man who lived life to the fullest, with constant surprises up his sleeve and a handful of near-death experiences to his name, his last shocking move was how gently he left. Robert was the romantic "secret admirer" of his wife Carmen for 36 years; the best, most fun-loving and supportive dad (aka Papito) of Mia-Carina and Gian-Carlo Mollicone; loving big brother of Lidia (Joe) Fanelli; adored son-in-law of Flora (aka Mamá); dearest brother-in-law, Zizi, and Tío to cherished family around the world; and devoted guardian of his sweet rescue dog, Cali. Known for his larger-than-life playful spirit and his affinity for, let's say, colorful language, Robert (aka Bob, Bomber, RoBear) will be greatly missed by his lifelong friends as well.

They don't make 'em like Robert anymore… Roberto Alex Mollicone was born on March 15, 1955, in a city in Ohio that will not be named (Go Blue!), the first-born to his beloved late parents Antonio and Carmela, who are surely spoiling him with unlimited Italian salsiccia now that they are reunited for eternal life. Robert moved to the east side of Detroit as a baby, where he grew up equally proud of his Casalverano Italian heritage ad of being a first-generation American. He graduated from Notre Dame Harper Woods, class of 1973, and immediately set out to live his one-of-a-kind, adventurous life.

He served honorably as an Airborne Medic in the United States Army stationed in San Antonio, Texas, and received his certification for parachute jumping. He then became a licensed pilot and studied business at Northern Michigan University. Wild exploits with his friends followed, like cliff-jumping with a broken leg and pulling off an emergency landing during a snowstorm. Robert opened a successful family-style restaurant at age 23 and, always an entrepreneur, made an investment in a jojoba bean plantation in the small country of Paraguay. On one fateful trip there, he met the love of his life, Carmen. After a whirlwind romance, Robert and Carmen came to Michigan as newlyweds, welcomed their children Mia and Carlo, and soon decided to settle in South Florida, where they lived for 13 years.

Robert's curiosity and giant heart kept him active everywhere in the community — as a eucharistic minister, Catechism teacher, Knights of Columbus member, notary public, frequent blood donor, Make-a-Wish volunteer, youth football coach, election poll worker, and on and on. He was a series 7-licensed insurance salesman and financial planner, who relished the challenge of selling "intangibles" and who, more importantly, knew how to make that sound like the most interesting job in the world. When the family moved back to Michigan in 2004, he worked with his family for years in new construction sales of luxury condos, which brought him to the Clarkston area. He was street smart and sharp as a tack. He knew how to read any room and enjoyed adding a personal touch to everything he did. Like with some menu items at his restaurant: the Paraguayan hamburguesa, the Little Man special, Mia-Carina's baby sundae. It must also be mentioned that he was lucky! If someone was going to be picked from the crowd, and Robert was in that crowd, 100% he was the one getting picked. He was a magnet for local news appearances, front row parking spots, and exciting little lottery winnings.

As Carlo's coach in his first year of little league, Robert stumbled upon his true passion: umpiring. He had various interests over the years, but the one constant was baseball. Robert felt blessed to be an umpire for over 25 years across Florida and Michigan. He achieved the distinction of officiating the high school state championships in both states — a personal goal he made upon moving back to Michigan that he finally accomplished in 2021 (just before his health worsened and forced him to retire). Robert took yearly trips to umpire in Cooperstown, NY, and eventually officiated other sports too, often repeating that he couldn't believe he got paid to do something he loved so much.

When some jobs and business ventures didn't work out as he'd hoped, Robert went through periods of depression, until he'd get a new idea that would fill him with so much energy that no one could keep up with him. These ups and downs eventually led to a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, which was not easy to live with for anyone in the family. However, seeing Robert work hard at his mental health was inspirational. He was brave in confronting his shortcomings and demons. Both his successes and failures were often related to this condition, and the positives ALWAYS outweighed any negatives. Between this and the chronic pain he lived with that compounded in recent years, Robert had every excuse to lose heart. Instead he worked tirelessly to overcome these challenges, and through it all he kept his irreverent, inimitable personality that caught people off guard yet charmed the hell out of them. Robert's core belief was that life is fun, man, and you only get one so let it rip while you're here.

This was truest in how he showed up for his family, showering them with over-the-top gestures of affection, like tattooing his kids' names on his arm and taking them on exciting trips across the US, Europe, and South America. Robert's favorite love language was showing up unannounced — at his parents' doorstep on Christmas Eve after driving through the night from Florida, in Casalvieri to surprise the relatives he so deeply loved there, at Mia's apartment building in California in the middle of the pandemic, and countless times at Carmen's tennis matches and at Carlo's restaurant job, where he would walk straight into the kitchen and treat himself to salami directly off the prep line.

Carlo will always cherish how his Dad attended every sporting event without fail throughout Carlo's years as an athlete growing up, cheering like a madman in the stands and even once getting ejected (umpires make the worst fans!). Mia will treasure how when she wrote a TV pilot for a college class, Robert and Carmen acted in it as heightened versions of themselves alongside her, and they all won an award for best ensemble acting at U of M. Fast forward to 2020 when Mia, living in Los Angeles, got Robert an audition for a national commercial. Of course he booked it and was flown to LA like a Hollywood star. The director of that commercial captured Robert's essence best, saying he was cast because he had a twinkle in his eye and a mischievous smile — "it's like you know something no one else knows."

Robert was a Casalverano/Detroit original who lived it up, fought valiantly, and will now rest in paradise with our Savior for eternity. He will be missed and remembered with pure, pure love, until we meet again.

Visitation Thursday 4-8 pm at the Lewis E. Wint & Son Funeral Home, Clarkston.

Funeral Mass Friday 10:30 am at St. Daniel Catholic Church, Clarkston.

Military Honors will follow mass at Great Lakes National Cemetery.

Luncheon at Deer Lake Athletic Club in Clarkston, 2-4pm Friday.

Memorials may be made to the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

The family would love to read your memories and stories of Robert on the online guestbook below.