Mabel May (Richards) Coppola, 92, of East Haven passed away on May 21 at Catawba Regional Hospice. Born in Mystic May 6, 1926, she was the daughter of the late John P. Richards, Sr., and Florence Rose Richards.
She lived in New Haven, where she met her husband Ralph, whom she later married on July 4, 1944. She was the first of her 13 siblings to graduate high school. She worked in the original Silly Putty factory, National Gypsom, and finally Echlins. Due to an injury, she was forced to retire. Mabel enjoyed the beauty of all phases of the moon. She was an avid watcher of the weather channels. Her other loves included bird watching, card playing, Scrabble, word puzzles, and talking on the phone to her children and relatives. Mabel was a great story teller and had an infectious laugh. She was a friend to all, stranger to none. Mabel was joking right up to the end of her life.
Mabel and Ralph had six children. Mary, age 5, died from an illness. Survivors include son Louis Coppola and wife Camille and their children Marty and wife Lala, and Danille and husband Tim Smith; daughter Anne Karlac and her children Robert Norboe and George Norboe, Jr.; son Ralph Coppola, Jr., and wife Maria and his children Michael Coppola and Ralph Coppola III; daughter Michelle Quattlander and children Thomas Vaccaro, Micheal Archer, Sarah Vaccaro, and Robin Vaccaro; and son Albert Coppola and wife Christina. She is also survived by three remaining sisters, Marilyn Richards, Gertrude Norman, and Victorene Hennessey; ten grandchildren; and five great-granddaughters, Riley, Noelle, Violet, Lena, and Noora.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband Ralph Coppola; daughter Mary Coppola; brothers Herbert Deveau, Leonard Richards, Willard Richards, and Donald Deveau; and sisters Mildred Talmadge, Gertrude Bronson, Agnes Boucher, and Florence “Flossie” Toither.
The family received friends on May 25 at the Clancy-Palumbo Funeral Home (Clancy Funeral Home), 43 Kirkham Ave., East Haven. The funeral procession left the Clancy-Palumbo Funeral Home on May 26 for a Mass of Christian burial in Our Lady of Pompeii Catholic Church, 355 Foxon Rd., East Haven, followed by Committal at All Saints Cemetery.
