Anna G. Ricco, a great friend and supporter of UNT Dallas, passed away on June 1. Less than one month earlier, on May 4, her husband of 48 years, Nicholas Ricco, a U.S. Navy Commander and University of North Texas graduate, also passed away

Together, the Riccos shared a love for higher education, providing scholarships and mentoring hundreds of students throughout the years. They endowed the Ricco Ethics Scholarship Award at UNT Dallas, as well as at UNT Denton and the UNT Health Science Center, to encourage and promote ethics among students.

Anna and her late husband served on the UNT advisory boards of the School of Music, the Mayborn Graduate School of Journalism and the College of Business. The offices of the Dean and its administrative staff at the UNT College of Music was renamed the “CDR Nicholas and Anna Ricco Dean’s Suite” in 2018.

She was born Billie Ann Gray near Blue Ridge, Texas, located north of McKinney. Anna and Nicholas married in 1971, combining their families of six children. They enjoyed a life of adventure, love, travel and great business success.

They have 17 grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. Funeral and interment will be Tuesday, June 4 at 2 p.m., at the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery (2000 Mountain Creek Parkway) alongside her late husband.