Obituary of Rudolph F. Zupancic

Zupancic Rudolph F. “Rudy” Age 88, of Nevillewood and Sarasota, FL on May 30, 2021. Beloved husband of Patricia (Kopec) Zupancic, loving father of Marilyn Zupancic, Wayne (Rebecca) Zupancic, Karen Zottola, and the late Michael Zupancic and his wife Becky, who survives, and the late Laurene (Regis) Verikas, devoted grandfather of Bradley and Ryan Zupancic, Joseph and Joshua Campanella, Kristin and Kevin Verikas, Justine Hofmann, Joseph Zottola, and the late Kyle Verikas, also survived by 7 great-grandchildren. Mr. Zupancic was born October 17, 1932, in Lawrenceville, the son of the late Rudolph and Mary (Frank) Zupancic. Graduating from Central Catholic High School, class of 1950, he considered it to be the most important opportunity of his life. He was fortunate to enroll at Central Catholic only by virtue of the financial assistance he and his mother received from the Parish Church at Saint Mary’s Assumption. From very humble beginnings, after losing his father at age five, he worked odd jobs to support his widowed mother during the depression. As a teen, he focused on his job at his local Thorofare supermarket in Lawrenceville, where at age nineteen, he became one of the youngest store managers in the chain’s history. At Thorofare, he ascended the corporate ladder from Store Manager, to District Manager, and finally to Vice President of Retail Operations, all before the age of forty. When the chain sold its assets in 1982, he secured his former store location in Lawrenceville and opened his own Shop’n Save supermarket on Plummer Street. After obtaining a second Shop’n Save location in East Rochester, he left the Shop’n Save banner to acquire the Giant Eagle supermarket in Bridgeville. He secured a second Giant Eagle location in Gibsonia in 1992, and in 1994, he received top honors from the Pittsburgh Association of Manufacturers Representatives (PAMR) “Lifetime Achievement Award,” and the Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association (PFMA) as “Retailer of the Year.” In 2001, Rudy and his family had added two more Giant Eagle stores in Butler, PA, and in 2004, the entire Zupancic family were named “Retailers of the Year” by the same industry groups. Rudy enjoyed a very successful career in food retailing that spanned over seventy years which have provided meaningful employment, benefits, and advancement opportunities to literally thousands of Western Pennsylvanians. He was well known for his favorite saying: “The harder I worked, the luckier I got.” In recognition of his deep gratitude and appreciation of Central Catholic, he contributed to and became a member of their esteemed Lasallian Society. In 2009 he established “The Rudolph F. and Patricia K. Zupancic Family Fund Endowment,” providing scholarships “in perpetuity” to financially challenged students. This was his way of giving thanks for his good fortune by providing scholarships for needy students that local parishes no longer can. On October 6, 2015, Rudy was inducted into the very prestigious Central Catholic High School Hall of Fame and Distinguished Alumni. Through his generous donations, Central Catholic was able to institute and build a new STEM facility, which opened for academic study in September of 2016. The facility was appropriately named The Zupancic Family STEM Center at Central Catholic High School. He also was instrumental in founding and funding the Michael R. Zupancic Seizure Response Dog Endowment Fund, in honor of his late son who had epilepsy and loved his dog, which provides guidance and financial support to individuals with epilepsy/seizures in order to obtain specially trained dogs that provide assistance. Lastly, he worked closely with the PA Commonwealth through their Educational Improvement Tax Program, to provide scholarships to many students over many years. An avid and life-long golfer, his compilation of memorabilia from his golfing experiences rivals any private collection. The family wishes to acknowledge and show appreciation to the staffs of Asbury Heights and Family Hospice for their compassionate care and support. Family and friends may be received on Friday from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. at the Warchol Funeral Home Inc., 3060 Washington Pike, Bridgeville (412.221.3333). A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Saturday at 10 a.m. at St. Barbara Church of Corpus Christi Parish (EVERYONE PLEASE MEET AT CHURCH). Memorials may be made to the Epilepsy Association of Western and Central PA or to Central Catholic High School. View and share condolences at www.warcholfuneralhome.com