Norman "Chicki" Raciti passed away on February 2, 1998 in San Diego.
Photo from Bobbie Barker shows Chicki (left) with Bobbie Mossman Barker.
A relative of Chicki shared the following information:
I attempted to find out more details about Chickie's demise but without much luck. I believe it was about 30 years ago or so in a hotel in San Diego where he left this earthly plane.He was always quick with a smile and made friends easily, unfortunately he misused his charm and intelligence, he could have done well in life.Whenever I meet people from 40 years ago or so, Chickie is by far the one that people remember and ask about.
Bobbie Mossman (Barker)
So loved Chickie, and we were pretty good friends...his family owned Raciti Jewelry in Costa Mesa.
He did have a great smile and quite a personality...loved him...!
Good memories of Rea and hangin out with him....
Bobbie Mossman Barker.
Mike Buford '65
WOW! Chickie Raciti and Russ' Hamburgers!
Too many stories.
Sheila Hart (Miller)
I remember being at a party in Junior Hight School - we were playing spin the bottle. Got a great kiss from Chickie. The song I remember is "Sea Cruise".
Carol Phillipson (Clark)
I looked him up on Ancestry.com and found that he passed February 2, 1998, in San Diego. He died way too young.
Larry Motschenbacher
Thank you Carol. I used that to update his information.
Jeffrey Lear
Chickie was an amazing character... when he first came to Rea, he was the center of attention... Everybody seemed to love him for his humor and pranks... he was always smiling... Never knew his first name was Norman... I thought his older brother that worked in the Jewelry store was Norman...
Blessings,
Jeffrey
Bobbie Mossman (Barker)
The photo is of Chickie and me, Bobbie...not Bob Shipman
Michael Williams
Thanks for the closure - I've been thinking of Chickie off and on for years. He was another proponent of 'high school gets in the way of surfing' and we spent a number of foggy, cold mornings at the Newport Pier around a fire pit - being surf outlaws. As short a time as it was - it had a influence. Some of the dark-haired boys had sun-bleached stripes in their hair - Chickie took the next step and somehow changed his hair color to bold, yellow-blond. That's all it took. At the time, I was working at the Roller Rink, and with such inspired guidance form chickie's doo- being o toe-head - I had to make a statement. So since my hair was white-blond I decided to dye it brown - as a base coat. So shopping for dye - I found a color called auburn which on the label was the brown for me. So, after dye job (with the help of neighbor/friend Richard Purcell) I had lovely reddish-brown hair - like a maiden fair. Then time for the sexy surfer streaks that set the elite apart - rubbed lemon into it and sat in the sun for it to take. The result was off the wall wrong - more like a David Bowie show doo. Back to the drawing board - decided to turn it all blond again to avoid ridicule and used enough peroxide to cure a full-body canker sore. This rendered my color into a bold, bright orange with pink high-lights (popular in some circles these days) - and I had to work at the Ring that evening. All went well - the change was just avant-garde enough for everyone to wonder how I pulled it off. But - I counted the days until Chickie's hair style influence finally passed. Then there was the search for Dick Dale's top-secret surfing spot Mile Zero - a tale for another time. His nick-name should have been Chickie Charisma ..
Franie Overlees
Chickie was so adorable. I'm sorry I didn't have the chance to know him throughout the years. George & I were just talking about him the other day.
Peace be with him, Franie
Jeffrey Lear
This was a Peroxide job on a Wally's Flat-Top special... 10th grade?