Celebrant Pam Meily Vetter


	Celebrating Life Everyone Has A Story...

Jesse "Jay" Cuppari was born in 1915 to Catherine and Joseph Cuppari in Youngstown, Ohio. Known as Jay, he was raised with five siblings: Mary, Joe, Frances, Rocky and Carmie. When Joe and Jay contracted pneumonia, the doctor said they wouldn't survive the cold weather and advised the family to move to a better climate. The family soon moved to Southern California. Starting over, Jay's father, who had worked as a teacher in Italy, found work as a shoe cobbler. His mother had a great influence on Jay's life and he loved her very much. He attended Lincoln High School, but when he was 14-years-old and in the 10th grade, he went to work with a cement contractor to help support his family.

Professionally, Jay was a hard worker. He and his brother, Rocky, were building a strong business with a gas station when he was drafted by the United States Army. He sold the gas station and started boot camp. He was discharged from the service because of nerve damage he suffered from childhood pneumonia. With resilience, he returned home and started over a second time with his brother, Rocky. They found success with the Cuppari Brothers Auto and Body Shop. Over the years, it grew into the second largest auto body shop in Los Angeles with more than 30 employees. Jay absolutely loved his work.

In his personal life, Jay found happiness. When he was 23-years-old, he met a lovely lady named Jodi at Ange and Mike's wedding. The couple danced at the wedding and started dating. Jodi and Jay married in 1939 in a lovely church ceremony in Lincoln Heights. The couple went on to have two daughters: Arleen and Diana. Parenting and work intertwined as both Jodi and Jay worked at the auto body shop. Since Jodi worked as a bookkeeper at Cuppari Brothers, the girls often went to work with their parents after school. There were many memories of playing in the famous Helms Bakery trucks, as Helms was one of their clients. As parents, the couple was protective of their daughters and supportive of all of their interests. In 1954, the family took a vacation back home to the farm in Ohio. They traveled by train with Frances and Joe and they had a ball going back to visit. The Cuppari family enjoyed celebrating holidays with extended family. For Easter they boiled 12 dozen eggs and colored them. Each person would take an egg and hold it to play a special game trying to crack the eggs. If your egg didn't crack, you won a wonderful prize! It's a tradition that is still being played by the generations today. The extended family also got together for yearly picnics and Christmas celebrations. Christmas was Jay's favorite holiday and his favorite song was "Silent Night."

Jay was pleased both of his daughters graduated from high school and attended USC. He believed in education. The love of his life was USC and his favorite colors were USC colors, cardinal and gold. When he attended a USC dance, he went all decked out in cardinal and gold. Jodi took off his blue and gold tie because they weren't USC colors. He even got all dressed up in USC colors to watch the games. Watching USC football was a great love for Jay, but he also watched a lot of Lakers basketball. He loved music, especially the USC fight song, and he loved Italian songs. He'd sing along to the hits. Some of his favorite songs were "Arrivederci Roma" by Dean Martin, "Mama" by Connie Frances and "Oh! My Pa-Pa" by Eddie Fisher. With musical talents of his own, Jay played the harmonica often for Jodi. "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" was another one of his favorite songs to sing to her and he played the song for Jodi on the harmonica very often. She loved hearing that song.

With a talent for Las Vegas fun, Jay enjoyed slot tournaments. There was often a group of friends and his sister, Carmie, joined on the trips to Vegas. They were great fun. Jay read the LA Times every day and he loved Jodi's home cooking. For every special occasion he wanted his favorite meal of spaghetti with meatballs and he liked drinking Coca-Cola or Rootbeer. He was a people person and he loved having people over to his home. If anyone came to the door, he was happy. He always looked forward to visits from his grandchildren and their families up north. He and his wife built a beautiful home in 1994 and he loved going out on his boat in Westlake Village. Happiest in his own home, Jay loved his house and his antique cars, especially the Buick, T-Bird and Mustangs. He retired in 1987, but he was still active, doing yard work and working around the house. He loved working with his hands and he worked hard all of his life. He was a very talented man with a lot of pride. He and his siblings all rose above their humble beginnings and they all valued education and hard work.

The family is so grateful to Jay's caregivers: Iris, Gian, Adrianna, Maria, and Glenn. The caregivers were like guardian angels watching over him. They loved him, giving him quality care. His special caregiver for the last two years was Glenn, who used to sing a special song for Jay. It was the song "My Way," by Frank Sinatra. Jay loved hearing that song and Glenn brought him happiness.

Five days before Jay passed away, he played his last song on the harmonica. The song he played was "You Are My Sunshine." The night before, he ate an ice cream Snicker's bar and he sat up and talked to his family. His little Yorkie Poo, Bella Mia, was by his side the entire day and never moved off of his bed. Hours before, Jay woke up and his eyes were bright as he smiled. He was nodding as though his family was coming to take him home. He passed away peacefully hours later. Jay will be laid to rest with loving notes from his family, USC memorabilia and a little harmonica. With his spiritual beliefs in God and Heaven, his family feels that one day they will be reunited again. His granddaughter, Gia, will miss playing a game he had taught her. It was an Italian card game, Briscola, which he had played with his father. She will miss hearing his giggles while playing the game. His grandson, Dino, will miss setting up Christmas decorations and spending time with him. His daughters, Arleen and Diana, will miss their father at all of the family functions because he loved being with his family so much.

Jay Cuppari will best be remembered as a respected, talented, hardworking man with a love of family. He loved his wife, his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Their grandchildren knew Jodi and Jay, as Nana and Papa, and they loved the grandkids tremendously. Jodi and Jay had a very close relationship and they were best friends and partners in life. The best parts of his life were his family and his work. The family is grateful that Jay was so lucky and blessed to have his health for so many years. Jay's advice to his family and friends would be: Work hard, get an education, do what you love and you will have the best life.

Jay was preceded in death by two of his siblings Joe and Frances. He is loved by his wife Jodi; daughter Arleen and her husband Alan; daughter Diana and her husband Don; grandchildren Jay, Tami, Marisa, Gia and Dino; eight great-grandchildren; siblings Mary, Rocky and Carmie; cousins, nieces, nephews, extended family and many friends.

Memorial donations are welcome in Jay Cuppari's name to the American Heart Association.