Obituary of Ruth A. Kopec

Ruth (Bongiovanni) Kopec, 80, of Landing, NJ, passed away peacefully on Feb. 20 at her oldest daughter's home in Connecticut.

Born in Jersey City, NJ, on July 27, 1945, as the first child to the late Fred and Jeanette Bongiovanni, Ruth attended Snyder High School where she acquired the nickname "Angel" and was involved in the "Typing for Pleasure" club. After graduating in 1963, she worked for Hartford Insurance Company in downtown NYC and then Commercial Trust in Jersey City. She married the late John Kopec in 1969, and they resided in North Arlington prior to moving to Landing, where she raised their children and lived for 50 years.

Ruth's greatest passion and whole heart was her family, as she was the devoted homemaker and mother of Janice (Kopec) Kovach & Patrice (Kopec) La Vigne, beloved Nana to her grandchildren, Ryan & Sarah Kovach, and Aunt Ruthie to her several nieces & nephews, as well as great nieces & nephews. She is survived by her three siblings, Fred, Janet & Joe.

Ruth was a woman of faith and a devoted member of Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church, and always a star volunteer over the years with the school,  Bingo, the Christmas pageant, rosary, Columbiettes, communion service & eucharistic ministry. Ruth kept the post office in business, and was known for sending cards to friends and family on every birthday and holiday, prayer cards for every death, always signing with her infamous "Luv, Meeee." Ruth loved music, especially her first love, Elvis. She also kept a very strict TV watching schedule—at least 4 hours of local news each day, judge shows, Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune & many other regular shows.

There likely isn't a person that has met Ruth & didn't immediately love her. She had cold hands, but a warm heart & will be deeply missed and remembered.

Ruth's Life Celebration will include visiting on Fri, Feb 27 from 4-8pm at Leber-Lakeside Funeral Home, 150 Landing Road, Landing, NJ. A Funeral Mass will be held on Sat, Feb 28 at 10am at Our Lady of the Lake Church, 8 Windemere Ave, Mt. Arlington, NJ.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to the Humane Society or Boys Town.