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Hector Sossi (photo from funeral home)
Hector E. Sossi, owner of the Roma Cafe in Eastern Market that has fed untold numbers of Metro Detroiters over the decades, and some notables including Frank Sinatra, Liza Minnelli, Sammy Davis Jr.. and Vice President Joseph Biden, died over the weekend. He was 92.
An obituary on the website of A.H. Peters Funeral Home stated that Sossi died peacefully on Saturday at the William Beaumont Hospital of Grosse Pointe.
Born in 1923 in Cleveland, he was six when he and his parents returned to Masserano, Italy, according to the funeral home obituary.
At age 18, he returned to America and fought in the Army in World War II. He saw action in the South Pacific.
After the war, he returned to Detroit and began working with his uncle, Morris Sossi, at the Roma Café. In 1946, he married married Stella Martinico who was the restaurant's bookkeeper.
Sossi eventually became the owner of the Roma Café.
The obituary described him as having a "calm demeanor and joyful personality." It also said he loved his family, his restaurant, his customers and the City of Detroit.
The Roma Cafe Facebook page posted this:
It is with the saddest regret that we announce the passing of second generation Roma Cafe owner Hector Sossi on Saturday, January 23rd. Hector was a beloved father, grandfather and friend to many. He will be greatly missed.
Customers posted condolences on Facebook.
Jenny Jesky McAdams wrote: "He was a gentleman in every sense. It was my good fortune to have met him early on in my new home of Detroit. I wish there were more men like him."
James Schlaff wrote: "My condolences to the family. He was such a nice man. Always greeting the crowd with a smile and kind words. He and his wife will be missed but thought of every time a diner comes through the door."
Nancy Holloway wrote: "Mr Sossi had the best restaurant in Detroit. My favorite place to eat. God Bless Mr.Sossi and the entire family."
Sossi is survived by his daughter, business partner Janet Sossi Belcoure and her husband, B.J.; his granddaughter Jessica Belcoure Marcetti and her husband Thomas Belcoure Marcetti. His wife Stella died in September 2014.
Visitation is from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday at the A. H. Peters Funeral Home, 20705 Mack Avenue at Vernier Road in Grosse Pointe Woods. There will not be a funeral service.
