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In 1912, at the age of twenty-three, Gaetano Coniglio married Rosa Alessi, then nineteen years old, in Serradifalco, Caltanisetta, Sicily. They lived in a region of Sicily where Gaetano had been a sulfur miner and a soldier in the Italian army. Dreaming of a new life and new opportunities in America, Gaetano followed his brother Giuseppe to the "new world" in 1913. Rosa (he called her "Rosina") had their first child, Gaetano (Guy) in Serradifalco in December 1913, and a year later she and the baby joined Gaetano in Pennsylvania.
In America, the family grew, and eventually settled in Buffalo. In addition to Guy, their children were:
Leonard,
Raymond, Felice (Phil), Carmela (Millie), Concetta, (Connie), Maria (Mary), Anthony (Tony), and
Angelo. Through Gaetano's and Rosa's hard
work, they became home-owners and saw their family flourish. Gaetano passed on
in 1944, but Rosa lived to welcome and revel in the birth of all twenty-seven of
her grandchildren. Angelo married Angie Bongiovanni, and they had two kids; Angelo, and Angela, the youngest grandchild of Gaetano and Rosa. Angela was a vibrant child who grew into a young woman with many passions: sports of all kinds; competition; coaching; science and biology; and teaching. For years Angela played goalie on boys' hockey teams; she played hockey and lettered in several other sports at Amherst Central High School; she played soccer for thirteen summers in the Empire State Games; and she starred in womens' soccer at Nazareth College, where she set school records for single game assists and career assists. She's a member of the Athletic Hall of Fame at Amherst High . . . . . . . . . . . . . . and at
Nazareth College.
After college, Angela taught junior and senior high school Science and Biology courses, refereed girls' soccer, and coached girls' track, softball, basketball and field hockey. She was an advocate for women and minorities throughout her career. She loved teaching, and her students enjoyed her classes immensely. One student told a story about how Angela once stood on her head and swallowed gummy-worms in front of a biology class, to demonstrate the process of peristalsis. This scholarship uses funds that Angela left on her passing, and is intended to help her cousins achieve a goal she cherished: education. It is both a memorial to and a gift from your cousin Angela. If you want to apply for this scholarship, please contact Uncle Ange, Aunt Angie, Denise Denisco Tiranno, or Maria Sowa Valint, and submit a letter or a-message that states your relationship to Angela and the name of the college or program to which you have been accepted. Eligible for this scholarship are any of Angela's cousins descended from Gaetano Coniglio and Rosa Coniglio; and the children and grandchildren, etc. of those cousins. The original funds from this award were from Angela's estate. That amount has been augmented by contributions from Angela's relatives, and twenty-seven scholarships have been awarded in the past twenty-one years. In that time, fund growth and contributions have enabled the award to be increased from $200 to the present $1,200. |
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RECIPIENTS |
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| 1997 Nicholas Steht, first cousin once removed | 1998 Phil Tiranno, first cousin once removed | |
| 1998 Aaron Miller, first cousin once removed | 2000 Jordan Knight, first cousin once removed | |
| 2000 Sammy Tiranno, first cousin, once removed | 2000 Adam Steht, first cousin once removed | |
| 2000 Natasha Miller, first cousin once removed | 2000 Jackie Miller, first cousin | |
| 2004 Julia Coniglio, first cousin once removed | 2005 Chris Tiranno, first cousin once removed | |
| 2006 Sarah Lang, first cousin once removed | 2006 Bob Coniglio, first cousin once removed | |
| 2007 Emma Feingold, first cousin once removed | 2008 Greg Lang, first cousin once removed | |
| 2008 DJ Valint, first cousin once removed | 2009 Lauren Silvestro, first cousin once removed | |
| 2009 Alessi Miller, first cousin once removed | 2009 Amanda Skinner, first cousin once removed | |
| 2010 Rachel Silvestro, first cousin once removed | 2011 Tim Valint, first cousin once removed | |
| 2012 Zach Skinner, first cousin once removed | 2013 Francesca Sowa, first cousin once removed | |
| 2015 Morgan Wright, first cousin, twice removed | 2016 Raven Robinson, first cousin, twice removed | |
| 2016 Bailey Valint, first cousin once removed | 2017 Kylie Miller, first cousin once removed | |
| 2017 Haley Jee Coniglio, first cousin twice removed | 2018 Thomas Anthony Coniglio, first cousin once removed | |
| 2021 Catherine Nancy Scherrer, first cousin twice removed | 2021 Ryan Coniglio, first cousin twice removed | |
| 2022 Margaret Kathleen Scherrer, first cousin twice removed | 2023 Hope Marie Sedita, first cousin twice removed | |
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