In June, 1996, Clyde-Savannah senior Michelle Storto received an award in memory of
Angela. Michelle competed in track, basketball, and tennis at Clyde-Savannah. She
maintained a scholastic average over ninety percent, and was second overall in academic
standing for her four years. That fall, Michelle began classes at the University of
Buffalo. The 1997 recipient of the Clyde-Savannah award was Danielle White, who remembered
how Angela, as her track coach, helped her to improve her shot-put technique. The fact
that Angela, so small, and who had never had any training in shot-put, could help someone
else's throw, is a tribute to her coaching skill. Danielle went on to the University of
Rochester. In June, 1998, Aaron Lemon received the Clyde-Savannah Award. He lettered in
football, and recovered from a broken neck to letter in baseball and go on to Johns
Hopkins University.
In 1996, trees were planted in Angela's memory: a variegated maple at Port Byron High
School and a flowering crab-apple (perfect for Angela!) at Auburn High School. Another
tree was planted at
Notre Dame High School. It stands next to the Grotto for Our Lady of
Lourdes, which was dedicated by Bishop Mansell on May 13, 1998. It's a beautiful flowering
"Malus Adams" tree, and it's so close by the grotto, it's easy to envision that
all the candles lit and all the prayers said at the shrine will somehow carry a little
prayer for Angela with them. Angela's Aunt Teresa Long and her cousins Shirley and Jack
Cowley, and Pauline and Tony DiSarno, had a flowering dogwood planted in her memory, at
Angelo's house. Some of Angela's ashes are at its roots.
Her ashes are also with her Grammy and Grandpa, and on the soccer field at Nazareth; and
at Port Byron, Auburn and Notre Dame high schools; and on the beach and in the water at Crystal Beach.
The
Angela Y.
Coniglio Memorial Scholarship at Amherst Central High School is presented annually to a
Senior girl who reflected Angela's ideals; a strong athletic competitor, and a
hard-working student committed to a future in education. The first recipient, in 1997, was
Carolyn Walsh, a star softball
player who went on to attend Cortland State University. The award is commemorated by a
plaque, engraved with a photo of Angela's smiling face, on permanent display in the
school's trophy case. The 1998 recipient was Katherine (Katie) Moore,
who lettered at Amherst in
varsity Softball and varsity Basketball, edited the Tatler student paper, and was
chosen 1998 Athlete of the Year. Katherine studied English and
Education at Syracuse University.
Angela had been instrumental in establishing a Womens' Soccer alumni game at Nazareth. At
the April, 1997 game, Coaches Gail Mann and Cindy Stubbe presented our family with a
plaque commemorating Angela's dedication and support of the Nazareth soccer program.
At the Alumni game, senior goalkeeper Erin Jacobs asked for one of Angela's shirts. We
sent her Angela's "number 9" shirt, which Erin wore for the 1997 season. The
team went undefeated in the regular season (16-0-2), and went to the NCAA championships
for the first time ever. On December 7, 1997, commemorating Angela's career record number
of assists at Nazareth, Coach Mann presented the Angela Coniglio Assists Award to
center - midfielder Missy Kehoskie. Missy, a freshman, had the most assists for the season
- nine.
Angela was a huge Minnesota Vikings fan. In the 1997 NFC playoffs, the Vikings were
playing the Giants, losing 19 to 3 at the end of the first half. At half-time, the mailman
came, leaving a card from Angela Clark, a former student of Angela's at Notre Dame High
School. Inside I found a photograph I had never seen of our Angela, in her
classroom, with a Minnesota
Vikings poster behind her. We watched the second half of the football game with
that photo in hand. The Vikings came back from one of the greatest deficits in league
history, to win the game!
