Maria Miceli; Italian Cook

Maria Miceli, who handed down her Italian-Sicilian recipes to her sons, who later opened Miceli’s restaurant in Hollywood, has died in Clearlake, Calif. She was 100.

A longtime North Hollywood resident, Mrs. Miceli died Sunday of complications of pneumonia, said her granddaughter, Carol Testa.

Born Maria La Mantia in Monreale, Palermo, Sicily, she came to the United States with her husband, Girolomo Miceli, in 1921. The couple lived in Chicago, where she operated a fast-food stand in front of her home.

Before moving to California in 1952, she passed along her recipes to her three sons, Sam, Anthony and Carmen, who opened Miceli’s restaurant in Hollywood in 1949. Sam and Anthony each opened other restaurants in the late 1950s, while Carmen Miceli opened a second Miceli’s restaurant near Universal City in 1980.

Mrs. Miceli is survived by her sons Carmen Miceli of Toluca Lake, Anthony Miceli of Landers, Calif., and Sam Miceli of Clearlake; daughter Carmella Benestani of Northridge; 17 grandchildren; 27 great-grandchildren; and four great-great grandchildren. Her husband died in 1979 and her daughter, Angela Indovina, died in 1983.

Visitation is planned from noon to 7 p.m. today, with a rosary to be recited at 7 p.m., at J.T. Oswald Mortuary, 11020 Camarillo St. in North Hollywood, which is handling the arrangements. A funeral, with burial to follow, is scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday at the Chapel of the Risen Christ at Holy Cross Cemetery, 5835 W. Slauson Ave. in Culver City.