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Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Monday, June 13, 2016 from 4-8 PM. A celebration of life service will be held at 7 PM during the visiting hours at the funeral home.
Clifford S. Zoppo, age 63 of Lincoln Park, died suddenly and unexpectedly on Thursday, June 9, 2016. He had been a teacher in the Paterson schools since 2004.
Cliff was raised in Waldwick, NJ and graduated from Waldwick High School with the class of 1970. He earned the nickname “Woodstock” in high school after his “by chance” appearance in the original “Woodstock” movie. His brother gave him tickets to the famous concert for his 17th birthday. By the time they arrived to Bethel, NY for the show, the fences were down and they didn’t need the tickets to get in. Cliff saved them as a memento and they are in their original condition today. Cliff went on to graduate from William Paterson College and enjoy a lengthy career as a salesman in the bearing and linear rail industry. But something was calling him to become a teacher and in 2004 he answered that call. He began teaching technology in the Paterson public schools and was currently teaching computers at school 26. He was a natural teacher who loved kids and it became obvious that he should have been teaching his whole life. Surely his students and fellow faculty will miss him dearly.
Cliff was simply a great guy. He was jovial, compassionate, and quite gregarious. If you met him, you loved him, and he took a genuine interest in getting to know you. He made friends everywhere he went and he was never short on conversation – he loved to talk! He was one of those people who knew about everything, and not just a little - he knew a lot about everything. He was very positive-minded and often behaved like a big kid which made him even more fun to be around.
Cliff was a great dad. He loved his son and daughter dearly and he was always there for them. He coached baseball, soccer, basketball, and showed them what it meant to be selfless. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for them. He was very proud of his kids and reveled in their successes. He also taught them what it meant to be a wonderful spouse by the example he set in his own marriage.
Cliff met his wife Joanne (nee McCarrick) when they were both students at William Paterson College. Joanne was sitting with some friends at the student center when Cliff came along and took her seat. When she returned and protested for her seat back, Cliff offered her his lap – and the rest is history. They fell in love after their first date to Hardee’s and were married on October 9, 1977 at the Shepard Lake Park chapel in Ringwood. After a honeymoon to the Mohonk Mountain House, they settled in West Milford where they lived for nearly forty years before moving to Lincoln Park just two years ago. Cliff and Joanne were true soulmates, best friends, and inseparable. They did everything together and especially enjoyed taking day trips to wineries, sculpture gardens, and other local attractions. Cliff never stopped being the romantic and just yesterday he brought flowers home for Joanne. He never stopped declaring his love for her, and he showed it often and in so many ways. She feels lost without him, and his family and friends are grieving the loss of a very special husband, dad and friend. He will be greatly missed.
Cliff is survived by his loving wife of thirty nine years; Joanne of Lincoln Park, by his son; David Zoppo and his girlfriend Laura Jeppesen of Montclair, by his daughter; Dianna Zoppo of Lincoln Park, by his mother; Eloise Marks of Lake Stockholm, by his sister; Jennifer Downing and her husband Brian of Lake Stockholm, and by his brother Darien Zoppo, his wife Marcie and son John of S. Salem, NY. He was predeceased by his father Jerome Zoppo in 1986.
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Monday, June 13, 2016 from 4-8 PM. A celebration of life service will be held at 7 PM during the visiting hours at the funeral home.
Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Monday, June 13, 2016 from 4-8 PM. A celebration of life service will be held at 7 PM during the visiting hours at the funeral home.
Clifford S. Zoppo, age 63 of Lincoln Park, died suddenly and unexpectedly on Thursday, June 9, 2016. He had been a teacher in the Paterson schools since 2004.
Cliff was raised in Waldwick, NJ and graduated from Waldwick High School with the class of 1970. He earned the nickname “Woodstock” in high school after his “by chance” appearance in the original “Woodstock” movie. His brother gave him tickets to the famous concert for his 17th birthday. By the time they arrived to Bethel, NY for the show, the fences were down and they didn’t need the tickets to get in. Cliff saved them as a memento and they are in their original condition today. Cliff went on to graduate from William Paterson College and enjoy a lengthy career as a salesman in the bearing and linear rail industry. But something was calling him to become a teacher and in 2004 he answered that call. He began teaching technology in the Paterson public schools and was currently teaching computers at school 26. He was a natural teacher who loved kids and it became obvious that he should have been teaching his whole life. Surely his students and fellow faculty will miss him dearly.
Cliff was simply a great guy. He was jovial, compassionate, and quite gregarious. If you met him, you loved him, and he took a genuine interest in getting to know you. He made friends everywhere he went and he was never short on conversation – he loved to talk! He was one of those people who knew about everything, and not just a little - he knew a lot about everything. He was very positive-minded and often behaved like a big kid which made him even more fun to be around.
Cliff was a great dad. He loved his son and daughter dearly and he was always there for them. He coached baseball, soccer, basketball, and showed them what it meant to be selfless. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for them. He was very proud of his kids and reveled in their successes. He also taught them what it meant to be a wonderful spouse by the example he set in his own marriage.
Cliff met his wife Joanne (nee McCarrick) when they were both students at William Paterson College. Joanne was sitting with some friends at the student center when Cliff came along and took her seat. When she returned and protested for her seat back, Cliff offered her his lap – and the rest is history. They fell in love after their first date to Hardee’s and were married on October 9, 1977 at the Shepard Lake Park chapel in Ringwood. After a honeymoon to the Mohonk Mountain House, they settled in West Milford where they lived for nearly forty years before moving to Lincoln Park just two years ago. Cliff and Joanne were true soulmates, best friends, and inseparable. They did everything together and especially enjoyed taking day trips to wineries, sculpture gardens, and other local attractions. Cliff never stopped being the romantic and just yesterday he brought flowers home for Joanne. He never stopped declaring his love for her, and he showed it often and in so many ways. She feels lost without him, and his family and friends are grieving the loss of a very special husband, dad and friend. He will be greatly missed.
Cliff is survived by his loving wife of thirty nine years; Joanne of Lincoln Park, by his son; David Zoppo and his girlfriend Laura Jeppesen of Montclair, by his daughter; Dianna Zoppo of Lincoln Park, by his mother; Eloise Marks of Lake Stockholm, by his sister; Jennifer Downing and her husband Brian of Lake Stockholm, and by his brother Darien Zoppo, his wife Marcie and son John of S. Salem, NY. He was predeceased by his father Jerome Zoppo in 1986.
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