Thursday, January 28, 2016
Frank John Coppola was born in Brooklyn New York to Italian Immigrant parents Dominick Coppola and Fortunata Chirico on November 15, 1925. He was the youngest of six children. His siblings were Joe, Charlie, Angie, Rose and Mary.
I remember being told by my Aunt Mary that as a young boy my father was always a little mischievous and always had a glint in his eye and smile on his face. He met my mother, Mary Gagliano, at Needle Trades High School in their early teens. I remember my father telling me that my mother was a little aloof so he washed her face with a snowball. My mother would always say "oh Frank" when he would tell that story.
In 1943 during World War II at 17 he joined the navy. He served in the pacific until April, 1946. Upon his return he became a longshoreman and worked at Brooklyn Bush terminal piers most of his life. He became a labor foreman and later a machine driver boss. As anyone who has seen the movie "On the Waterfront" could imagine my father had to be strong, tough and command respect to supervise and lead these hard men. We were all enthralled by his stories about his life on the docks. My father always provided for us, during periods of non-employment due to labor strikes he supplemented his income by driving a taxi. He also ran carnivals for the Italian Civil Rights organization.
My parents married and after a short period of living with my grandparents they bought a house in Brooklyn at 1122-72nd St. They had three children, Denise, Frank and Daria. They lived there until 2005 when they moved to 79 Yates road Manalapan. At 65 he was diagnosed with bladder cancer and had to have his bladder removed. He successfully fought the disease and became a cancer survivor My father loved to cook and experiment with his own recipes. We always looked forward to his Christmas eve seafood feast.
My mother and father were married for 70 years. My father's life centered around her and their family. He was devoted to both her, his children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and extended family. He always had something funny to say sometimes to my Mother's consternation which made his remarks even funnier. He kept his quick wit until the end. Luckily in November we had a 90th birthday party for him so he got to see his nieces and nephews. Even then he made me laugh with his quick witted quips.
My memory of my father is that of a tough man with a gruff exterior but a soft, warm and loving heart.
