The Cincottas: A Big Family and Their Forever Home

Resident Feature

For over 50 years, this large -- and growing family -- has created a lifetime of memories in Broomall

by Craig Whitney

Photos courtesy of The Cincotta Family

Tony and Stelle Cincotta first met in Margate, New Jersey. It was the late 1950s, when families from all over the northeast found their way to the Jersey shore every summer. Tony grew up in Maryland and Stelle in PA, but their beach houses were only two blocks apart.

We met on the beach in Margate,” Stelle explained. “I was 13, the summer before I entered high school, and Tony was entering college. I was probably in love with some 14-year-old at the time, but that’s when we met.”

That’s how the summers would go: Shed the winter coats, your classes, your neighborhood back home, and reunite with your beach house, the salt in the air and your summer friends. After years of enjoying summers together, the two became close and the friendship grew.

Tony was drafted into the army, and after serving his country, he reunited with Stelle and they started dating. He graduated from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) in May of 1963, and by December they were married.

Anthony and Estelle Cincotta on their wedding day in December 1963

Tony was interning at a hospital in Philadelphia at the time, and Stelle was teaching business courses at Gwynedd Mercy College. They wanted to find a place that was equal distance to both jobs, and the map placed them in Broomall. That internship wouldn’t last much longer, but what was potentially a temporary living situation became their lifelong community.

So their lifetime home was built: Four bedrooms, a living room, dining room and kitchen, two treatment rooms, a patient waiting room and Tony’s office. It would be the home where they raised 8 children and ran a medical practice.

At 25 and 29, Stelle and Tony were excited to start their careers and build their family together. In the next 13 years, they had 8 children, all of whom were boys.

Eight kids just happened like that,” Stelle laughed. “It’s funny because people would think we were trying to have that one girl, but by the end, I honestly was hoping for boys so it wouldn’t mess up the bedroom situation.”

Mike was their first child, then Drew, John, Joe, Dave, Bill, Paul and Jim. Many sons now have wives and children, and some even live across the country. But they often return to the house where they grew up, and where the Cincotta family began.

The 8 Cincotta boys when they were young

They played every sport out there, and they were good at them,” Stelle recalled. “They were always active. The hardest part was keeping the fridge stocked. Not kidding, one day we went through four gallons of milk.”

Having eight sons came with challenges and adventures. In addition to sports, the Cincotta boys also love music, something passed down from their parents.

Tony, always a music fan, still plays trumpet in the same 16-piece band he’s played with since the ’80s. Stelle was in an hour-long music and comedy act called A Couple of Swells. They performed in local nursing homes and also venues as big as Valley Forge Music Fair.

One day when Jim was 8 and home from school sick, Stelle’s band had an afternoon perfomance scheduled at a nursing home. Unsure of how to perform there while also caring for Jim, Stelle decided to take him with her. He had started guitar lessons, so they brought his guitar along. Little did Jim know he’d be invited on stage in the middle of the performance. He played Michael Rowed the Boat Ashore.

After Jim finished his song, the crowd cheered and he had the biggest smile,” Stelle said. “The seniors loved it, and I could see on his face how special it was for him. Every day after that, he asked if I had a show that afternoon. If I said yes, he would say, ‘You know what, I should probably join you.’”

Music and performance ran in the family, with nearly every son also playing music into adulthood. Jim, Joe and Bill currently play in a classic rock cover band called Third Man In, with an avid fan base at the local bars. Tony often joins them on stage with his trumpet, thrilled to be performing with his sons.

Dr. Cincotta with his favorite patient

After the boys grew up, Tony continued with his Newtown Square medical practice, Suburban Primary Care. Stelle found MORE children to inspire: She served as a substitute teacher at St. Anastasia School for many years. Only recently have Tony and Stelle stopped working and now enjoyed retirement activities.

The Cincotta boys all grown up, pictured with parents, Anthony and Estelle Cincotta

Many of the Cincotta boys now have wives and children, and it can be hard to get the entire family together. Drew, Joe, Jim and Bill live locally and get together to watch the Phillies or practice their music. Mike and Dave live in New Jersey and get to visit often. Dave, who is now a sergeant in the Longport Police Department, married Lauren from New Jersey. Mike and Joe also married Jersey girls, Kim and Antoinette. Jim married Colleen, Drew married Christie, John married Pat, and Paul married Hillary.

With each new daughter-in-law, the Cincottas just feel like their family is growing. “I hear people with horror stories about daughters-in-law,” Stelle laughs. “I don’t get it! I adore all of them. If your son finds somebody he loves, and that wonderful person loves him back, it’s just a beautiful thing.”

John and Paul, who live in San Diego, usually come back about once a year, when all the brothers and all their children pack into a beach house down the shore. Just like when Stelle and Tony first met on the beach in Margate, something about beach towns in the summer brings the Cincottas together.

Stelle and Tony are nearing their 56th wedding anniversary. After all these years, eight children, and over a dozen grandchildren, there are many wonderful stories to look back on.

Dr. and Mrs. Cincotta at their home in Broomall

Unless you have a big family, you can’t understand it,” Stelle explained. “When people hear that I had eight boys, they say ‘God bless you,’ and I say ‘Thank you. He did.’”

In this one home in Marple, Stelle and Tony were able to run a medical practice for 30 years and raise 8 children. Their home holds a lifetime of memories for the entire family. Some of those happy memories are of kids running through the hallways, patients laughing in the waiting room, and old etch marks on the wall with stories to tell. Now with grandchildren running through the same hallways, the Cincottas are continually grateful to have found their forever home in Marple.

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