Vi passed away peacefully at Ruth Hospice in West Allis. She was the daughter of Carmela & Paul Mangone. She was a 1952 graduate of Stambaugh High School. A lifelong resident of Bay View, she celebrated 49 wonderful years of marriage to Thomas Groppi. Violet devoted her life to her family and friends. For 32 years, she worked alongside her husband, Tom, and family at G. Groppi Grocery in Bay View. Vi delighted neighborhood mothers by weighing their babies on the produce scale. She was very proud of her Italian heritage and never missed attending Festa Italiana. She was well-known for her fun-loving spirit and kind heart.
Vi enjoyed cooking, playing bingo and bocce, traveling to the casino and dancing the tarantella. She was a member of Immaculate Conception Parish and was active in Lady of Lourdes. She was the beloved mother of Kathleen (Michael) Wilson and proud grandmother to Nathaniel, Teresa, Jane and Mary Wilson of Fort Atkinson. She also is survived by a brother, David (Phylliss) Mangone; sisters, Connie (the late Sam) Stella, Rose (the late William) Johnson and Gen (the late Frank) Czaplewski; brothers-in-law, Louis (Vilma) Groppi, Raymond (the late Eleanor) Schriehart; sisters-in-law, Mary (the late John) Bontempo, Frances (the late Ted) Bolan, Gloria (Leonard) Danowski and Margaret (the late Rev. James Groppi) Rozga; and many nieces and nephews, other family and friends. Violet was preceded in death by her parents; brothers, Danny (the late Lorraine) Mangone and Michael Mangone; sister, Antonette (the late Norman) Jacobson; in-laws, Giorgina and Giocondo Groppi, Clemente, John, Frank and Mario Groppi, Theresa (the late Clarence) Prausa, and Tom Yingling. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at Immaculate Conception Church, followed by interment. Special thanks for the loving care of our own Visiting Angel, Francis Lee; Dr. Gary Leo and staff at Sinai Hospital, St. Luke's Hospital, and Ruth Hospice.