Linda E. Cacciola

Linda Elaine (Adams) Cacciola transitioned into her eternal life on Sunday, January 29, 2023 at her home surrounded by her family with love and music.

Born on May 18, 1945 she was the daughter of the late Joseph and Claire (Greene) Adams. Linda grew up in southern Rhode Island and loved spending time at the ocean in her younger years, especially at Black Point. She graduated from South Kingstown High School in 1963 where she was involved in many extracurricular activities. After graduating from high school, Linda attended flight attendant school in Rome, New York where she met her ex-husband William D. Soriano. They were married in 1969, raised daughter Denise and son William. They enjoyed many years of skiing and snowmobiling.

In 1973 Linda moved back to Rhode Island and began working at the University of Rhode Island. She held multiple positions at URI including Assistant to the President, Administrative Assistant to the Controller, Athletics Business Manager, and Budget Analyst before retiring in 2008. While working full time at URI, she met her future husband James F. Cacciola, and they were married in 1980. Linda continued to further her education while working at URI and raising her children, and in May of 2002 graduated with a B.A. degree in Psychology.

Linda is predeceased in death by her brothers John, Richard, and Frederick Adams and sisters Shirley Sherman, Dorothy Essex, and Nancy Stephenson. She is survived by her husband James F. Cacciola, daughter Denise Soriano Birch and her husband Dean Birch of Kingston RI, son William D. Soriano and his wife Bobbi Soriano of Cranston RI, son Stephen J. Cacciola and his wife Elizabeth Eschen Cacciola of Concord MA, daughter Lauren E. Cacciola of Richmond RI, and sisters Marjorie Craig, Darlene Kissick, and Joanne Stasiunas and her husband Timothy, and brother in-law Richard Cacciola. She was the very proud and loving grandmother of Tyler Soriano, Justin Soriano, Bradley Parmer, and Austin Cacciola.

Linda will be remembered for her fierce love of family, especially her children and grandchildren. She continued to fight through multiple medical conditions in her later years in an effort to extend her life, so she could continue her loving relationships with them, providing inspiring memories they could carry with them throughout their lives. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the American Lung Association and any type 1 diabetes research organizations, especially those focusing on the impact on children.

A requiem eucharist will be celebrated Friday, February 3, 2023 at 10:00 am in St. Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church, 72 Central St., Narragansett. Burial will be in the Rhode Island Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Exeter. Visiting hours Thursday, February 2, 2023 from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm in Avery-Storti Funeral Home, 88 Columbia St., Wakefield.