Obituary: Faith Ippolito, 70, Of Norwalk

Information via Collins Funeral Home

Faith J. Ippolito, 70, beloved wife of Christopher J. Ippolito; proud and loving mother of Chance Strom and Christopher T. Ippolito; cherished Nonni to Millena Tansy Strom [Millie], Solomon Oak Strom, and Wesley Hawk Strom; loving mother-in-law to Sojee Raymond; and unforgettable friend to so many, died peacefully at St. Vincent’s Hospital on the morning of January 31, 2022, after a brief illness.

She also leaves behind three adored and adoring brothers: Mel Meacham(Faye), Ken Meacham (Diane), and David (Siobhain) Meacham; in-law family Dr. & Ms. Susan Murphy, Tom & Barbara Ippolito, Peter & Sharon Ippolito; and 10 nieces and nephews. And certain to miss sitting anywhere near her on the couch are her very attached pup Mina, more independent cat Pumpkin and kitten Little.

Born in East Windsor, CT on February 23, 1951, to Mel and Jennie Meacham, who predeceased her and whom Faith missed all her days thereafter, she graduated from East Windsor High School’s Class of 1969, and went right to work in the area’s largest industry as a Connecticut Tobacco field worker.

On a fateful beach weekend to Misquamicut, RI, in 1977, Faith instantly realized she had met the love of her life, Chris, who was in RI playing in a softball tournament, when their paths crossed at the beach. Not long after, Faith and two-year-old Chance moved first to Bridgeport to live with Chris, and then to her soon-to-be husband’s hometown of Norwalk where they lived for many years in East Norwalk and where they welcomed second son Christopher and raised both boys. In 2001 the family moved to the Black Rock section of Bridgeport, where Faith belonged to and was active in the Norden Club, made countless, wonderful and caring friends, spent time at her favorite Harborview Market and reading at Little Beach, relished the annual Black Rock Day Parade (helping to build an annual float) along with the annual music Porchfest event, and where she thoroughly enjoyed living these last 20 years.

After moving to Bridgeport and then Norwalk early on, Faith worked several years as a project secretary with Crawford & Russell in Stamford, waitressed at Donovan’s and 50 Water Street, and managed all office administration for Emerson Industries, before finally landing at what would be her career path and favorite role: working with children as a Librarian at, first, Naramake Elementary School and then Roton Middle School, from where she retired in 2021. Faith loved this job, loved the children she worked with, and she was in turn loved by students, teachers, and parents alike.

In reading through the many posts on Faith’s social media after her passing, several consistencies run through and anyone who knew her recognize them as genuine Faith. She met a stranger only once — many of those she met when out for coffee or at the market became lifelong friends because she sensed even in strangers those who needed a pat, a listen, a hug and Faith was a listener extraordinaire who heard your words and what was felt behind them. Faith loved life. She was remarkably positive, even during challenging times, with her mantra of “It’s not something until it turns into something,” and always cheering friends, family, and students on with “You got this,” and thoroughly believing that . . . you got this.

Faith threw herself into her much loved books spending countless hours reading — she loved Stephen King and To Kill a Mockingbird. A snapshot of who Faith was would have to include that she loved the color purple, Words with Friends, Blue Man Group, Meatloaf, Parliament’s Funkadelic, the Marx Bros., Tina Turner, Janis Joplin, Annie Lennox, Elvis, and Rachel Maddow. She both enjoyed and was so proud of Chris’s delicious and beautifully presented meals, enthusiastically partnering with him on a prepared meals menu service, but she especially loved his preparation of Burrata Cheese & Heirloom Tomatoes. Of her own preparations, she was really proud of her ‘World Famous Lasagna,’ requested at events and loved by all who tasted it.

Faith’s sweet granddaughter Millie was very attached to her and would either call from her iPad and they would talk for hours, reading books together, sharing her little girl secrets; or when she visited they spent hours doing crafts and manicures or checking in on their favorite place in Black Rock — the Black Rock Lighthouse, which Millie knows only as ‘Nonni’s Lighthouse.’

Faith played on the Triple Play softball team (catcher), the Crawford & Russell Industrial League volleyball team, and was the first female Little League coach in East Windsor. Her favorite memories were made at Mohegan Sun where she and Chris would spend a few comped nights every several months playing Let it Ride and 3-Card Poker and enjoying each other’s company over Italian food at Ballo’s, trips to the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, and in the early days, meals at the Blue Moon restaurant in South Norwalk. She loved her Christmas village (“Hey, have you seen my Christmas village?”) and the Norden Club annual chili contest, which she won three times (with “hubs’” Chris’s ‘help’).

If you knew Faith, you knew the number 23 appeared often and prominently in her life, whether her date of birth, date of matrimony, Chris’s softball jersey, or the number that often came up in her lotto tickets or at the casinos.

If you counted yourself Faith’s friend, you can be assured she loved you with great passion. Faith loved from a very special place both Sully and Violette Gardella, cherished friends who had passed, and she shared a 45-year deep connection with Judie Szuets. She was enormously proud of Chance’s successful business in MA and Christopher’s sobriety and successful painting business and shared always how they were each doing. But always, for 45 years, Faith knew — and would happily share with you — that she had hit her life’s jackpot the day she met her husband Chris on the beach in Misquamicut and was ever grateful in life for him and for their love story.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, June 25, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at The Norden Club, 4 Seabright Avenue, Black Rock, Bridgeport, CT. We Look forward to seeing you all so we can give Faith the kind of sendoff she wanted. Food, drinks, and music along with tributes and you, her much loved friends, will make for a special day. Try to wear something purple, Faith's favorite color!