Obituary of Joseph Lapiana
Spencerport: April 26.2015 at age 83. Predeceased by his parents, Anthony and Mary Lapiana; brother, Walter Rigato. Survived by his wife, Blanca (Martinez) Lapiana; children, Sandy (Brian) Wilson, Robert Lapiana, Beverly (Philip) Gelsomino, David Lapiana; brothers, Tony Lapiana, Richard (Jan) Lapiana, John Rigato; sisters, Sharon (Carmen) Morabito, Margaret Rigato; 4 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren.
Visitation is Thursday 4-6 PM at the funeral home, 15 West Ave, Spencerport where Joseph's funeral service will be celebrated at 6 PM. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Humane Society At Lollypop Farm, 99 Victor Rd., Fairport, NY 14450 in Joseph's memory.
Born July 23, 1931 in Mt. Morris, NY, Bob grew up at 4 Manhattan Street. His uncle Ralph used to take him fishing on Lake Ontario all the time. When he was young he and his brothers used to walk the railroad tracks and pick up pieces of coal that fell off the rail cars. They'd bring home that coal and use it to heat the house and cook with.
One night his mother made the most delicious chicken they had ever had…. It was a surprise to everyone to learn that the chicken was actually Bob's older brother Walter's pet chicken. Speaking of pets, 3 weeks before Easter one year, each child received a baby bunny. Margaret fed her bunny extra meals each day. One day her mother told her that "her bunny" ran away. In fact, he was delicious too… in the sauce!
Growing up Bob and his brothers were intrigued by the fact that Bausch & Lomb used to dump all their rejected glass in a gully nearby. One day, the boys went in search of magnifying glass in the gully and sure enough, they found a large magnifying glass. On they went back home with the glass. Curious as they were, Bob decided to test his science skills and used the rays of the sun through the magnifying glass to see if he could actually start a fire. As he pointed the magnifying glass towards his neighbor's house, he soon realized that his idea worked. The neighbor's curtains caught fire. Trying to decide what to do, Bob and his brothers broke in the back door and yelled fire…fire.. and put out the fire. That set his mom back 50 cents a week for some time to pay for those curtains.
As boys, Bob and his brothers went to Durand Eastman Park where the rearing ponds were and they would climb up the trees over the pond, sit on the branches, and lower their fishing lines to catch the fish and then eat them.
Continuing the mischief, Bob and his brother Walter went finishing at one of their favorite spots one day and used to camp out there overnight. After some time, they were both hungry and wanted hot dogs for dinner They remembered that there was a small store not too far away, so they walked to it, broke in, ate their fill of hotdogs and candy and went back to fishing. The next morning they woke to the sound of policemen talking to the owner of the store, trying to figure out who broke in and stole the food. Bob used to say, "That case is still unsolved, at least for the Rochester Police Department …"
As a young adult Bob worked in a bakery making donuts and chicken potpies. Bob said his hardest job was when he worked on the railroad. He used to have to pick up the railroad ties and throw them over the top of the rail cars. Every now and then he caught a break when one of the rail cars doors were open on each side so he could just throw the tie through the door.
Bob served in the US Army, artillery at Edwards Base in Massachusetts. His most memorable story is he went AWOL for 3 days and when he got back to base they threw him in the "brig". Whenever he was asked what he did during those 3 days, he pled the 5th! Another time he decided to "borrow" the Colonel's Jeep and when he came back, the Colonel was happy to see his Jeep, but Bob went back to the "brig".
He learned a valuable lesson one day when he forgot to fieldstrip his cigarette. He didn't get sent to the "brig" for that one - instead he had to dig a hole in the ground 4 feet deep.
One of his funniest memories at the mess tent was when they were done eating the process to clear and clean their plates was first to dump the food into the trash, then wash the plate in the soapy water, rise the plate in the clear water, and then stack the plate. The funny part was every day his buddy would first clean his plate but then take out his full denture, wash those in the soapy water, rise them in the clear water, and put them back in his mouth!
Bob's one regret was that he wanted to make a career in the Army, but because of his "sense of adventure" he was always "passed over for promotion". He was discharged from the Army as a Private First Class.
As a parent, Bob was a man of few words. If he looked over the top of his newspaper, the kids knew to "stop" whatever they were doing. Bob would often ask "Who wants to go for a ride with me?" What that really meant was if you joined him, most likely you'd end up at Annis Dairy in Avon for an ice cream cone or at Roseland Park in Canandaigua for a frozen banana. Bob often took the family on Day-Trips just to spend time together. Bob enjoyed spending time with his children and grandchildren. It really didn't matter where, but wherever it was, Bob always had fun. He laughed and everyone laughed with him.
In his spare time, Bob enjoyed fishing, hunting, and his guns of all types. When he retired, he learned very quickly how to master the Pacman video game on his new Nintendo. He wore out a dozen controllers over the next 10 years.
The saying everyone remembers the most from Bob is "God dammit Rose!" Bob loved to collect coins, movies, and commemorative and decorative plates; especially his Marilyn Monroe plates. All through his life he was fascinated with cars, their engines, how they worked and ran, and he read the Owners Manual cover to cover for each car he owned.
Bob used to say, "I don't get ulcers, I give them." He loved to "discuss" many topics and as long as you agreed with him the conversation went well. Bob always knew exactly what the solution was to every problem… even when he knew nothing about the problem. He opened his house to anyone and everyone and never hesitated to help others. Bob will be dearly missed.
