Obituary: Gloria Ann Picardi Coppola of Brewster

From the Beecher Funeral Home

Gloria Ann Picardi Coppola, age 93, passed away peacefully at home with family by her side on December 15, 2020.

Gloria was born on July 21, 1927 in Brooklyn, NY to Elizabeth and Frank Picardi. In 1948 she married her loving husband Salvatore Coppola, who predeceased her in 2005, and whom she met on a blind date that was the start of a 55-year partnership. Besides Sal, Gloria’s other two loves were always family and music, and she also enjoyed travel to Italy, Caribbean cruises, dancing the fox trot, playing poker, good meals, and good company.

Her childhood parish in downtown Brooklyn was St Teresa of Avila, and she attended high school at Girls Commercial (later Prospect Heights) where she was a member of the All-City Chorus and studied voice with its director, Peter Wilhousky, after which she attended Juilliard. Gloria used her beautiful coloratura soprano for many years with the Brooklyn Philharmonia Chorus under Sydney Morrow and Siegfried Landau, later with the Brooklyn College Chorus, and throughout her years in Brooklyn as a soloist with church choirs of St. Catherine of Genoa and later St. Ephraim’s.

When she and her devoted husband, Sal, retired to Brewster, NY, Gloria continued her love of singing with the Putnam Chorale, and she volunteered for fourteen years with the children in the second-grade classroom of Deborah West at the Garden Street School.

Gloria always maintained her great devotion to the family, especially to her children and their partners (John Coppola and Jackie Daniels, Marian Coppola DiFabbio and Anthony DiFabbio, Catherine Coppola and Richard Frank, Annette Coppola and Joseph Helm), siblings and their spouses (Marilyn Picardi Giglia and Robert Giglia, Richard Picardi and Alfred Hall, predeceased by Robert and Teresa Picardi), devoted nephews (Robert Picardi, Mark Oxton, and David Oxton) and niece (Grace Baboukis), eight beloved grandchildren and six great-grandchildren all of whom she was very proud.

In her final years, Gloria was blessed with the loving attention of dedicated home health caregivers who became like a second family to her, for which she and the family are eternally grateful.

A graveside service was held Dec. 21 at St. Lawrence O’Toole Cemetery. Beecher Funeral Home, 1 Putnam Avenue, Brewster, NY assisted the family with arrangements.

In lieu of flowers please consider donations to the Brooklyn Academy of Music Community Programs www.bam.org/support, or to classical station WQXR www.wqxr.org,