Vanda T. Coppola

COPPOLA - Vanda T. (nee Vispi) Of the Town of Tonawanda, entered into rest September 25, 2018. Beloved wife of the late Peter L. Coppola; devoted mother of Peter (Linda) Coppola, Paul (Patricia) Coppola, Robert (Maria) Coppola and Patricia (Jeffrey) Farrell; cherished grandmother of Jessica (Derek) Eastwood, Sarah (Darren) Heimburg, Robert A. Coppola, Anthony Coppola and Nicole Farrell; adored great-grandmother of Luciana and Violet; loving daughter of the late Nazareno and Benvenuta Vispi; dear sister of the late Joseph (late Theresa) Vispi and the late Blanche (late Joseph) Missico. Relatives and friends may visit the LOMBARDO FUNERAL HOME (Northtowns Chapel), 885 Niagara Falls Blvd., near Eggert/Sheridan, on Thursday from 3-8 PM. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Amelia's Church, 2999 Eggert Rd., Tonawanda, on Friday at 9 AM. Please assemble at church. Interment at Mt. Olivet Cemetery. July 1, 1924 Sept. 25, 2018 Vanda T. Coppola, of the Town of Tonawanda, co-owner with her husband of Del-Ridge Hardware in the Town of Tonawanda, died Tuesday in Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital, Amherst, after a short illness. She was 94. Born in Buffalo, the youngest of three children, the former Vanda Vispi was a 1942 graduate of Grover Cleveland High School and remained close with many of her classmates throughout her life. She and Peter L. Coppola, a friend of her brother's and a paint salesman for Glidden Co., were married in 1947. The Coppolas opened Del-Ridge Hardware at Delaware and Oakridge avenues in 1953 and after her husband was appointed chief court officer in State Supreme Court in 1973 she continued to operate the store with her father-in-law until it was sold in 1984. For many years, she was a poll worker in the Town of Tonawanda for the Erie County Board of Elections. She was a member of the Ladies Auxiliary of Brighton Volunteer Fire Company No. 5, where her husband was president and a longtime member of the board of commissioners. A parishioner at St. Amelia's Catholic Church, she was active in the Ladies of Charity and a Bingo volunteer. She also was a volunteer for several other community organizations. She was a devoted Bills, Sabres and Yankees fan. She and her husband, who died in 2006, had been Bills season ticket holders in War Memorial Stadium.