Robin M. (Oprie) Cicchetti, 64
Robin M. (Oprie) Cicchetti of Acton passed away at Emerson Hospital on June 9, 2025. She was 64.
Robin was born in Newton on February 15, 1961, the daughter of the late Wilfred and Jean (Manning) Oprie.
Robin grew up in Wayland and attended Wayland High School, Emerson College, the University of Massachusetts (bachelor’s in economics), Cambridge College (master’s in education), and Northeastern University, where she earned her doctorate.
She met her husband, Claude, in 1980, and they have been inseparable ever since, having married in 1984. The two moved abroad in 1985 and lived in Germany and then in the U.K. and Switzerland, where they raised their two children. A lifelong reader, Robin also found time while abroad to work in school libraries, founding a school library in London and directing an English language children’s library in Basel, Switzerland.
Upon her return to the U.S., Robin worked as the librarian at the Willard Elementary School for eight years and then joined Acton-Carlisle High School in 2007 as the librarian. A few years later, CCHS became one of the first schools in the country to offer AP Capstone courses when Robin participated in the College Board pilot. Since joining CCHS she was also the faculty adviser for reading clubs, which support a lifelong love of reading.
Robin was also a visiting professor at Salem State University McKeown School of Education. Robin was co-author of the “Massachusetts School Library Study: Equity and Access for Students of the Commonwealth.” In 2023, the Peabody Journal of Education published her follow-up research.
When not reading, Robin loved spending time with her husband, her children, and grandchildren. An avid open-water swimmer from May to September, she was found most every morning swimming across White Pond or Walden Pond with her swimming-partner neighbor.
In her personal and professional life, Robin was known as insightful, positive, joyfully witty, and consistently kind.
Robin is survived by her husband Claude; her son Chase and her daughter Christina Schidlowsky; her granddaughter Anaïs and grandson William; and her sisters Bethany Oprie, Jennifer Tabor, and Lynn Calado.
Relatives and friends are invited to celebrate Robin’s life during a memorial service at 11 a.m., Friday, June 27, at Trinity Episcopal Church, 81 Elm Street. Private interment will be at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory may be made to the Acton Education Fund, P.O. Box 202, Acton, MA 01742.
Arrangements are entrusted to Dee Funeral Home & Cremation Service of Acton. To share a memory or offer a condolence on Robin’s tribute page, visit DeeFuneralHome.com.
