Raymond A. CONIGLIO

CONIGLIO - Raymond A. November 9, 2011 in Florida, at age 93. Beloved husband of the late Marion (nee Cappellano); loving father of Raymond G. of Sebastian, Florida, and Ronald (Debra) of Amherst. Dear grandfather of Raymond G. Coniglio Jr. (Kelly), Robert Coniglio (Mindy), Rebecca (Marc) Scherrer (nee Coniglio), Amanda Skinner, and Zachary Skinner. Great-grandfather of Haley and Ryan Coniglio; Sarah Jane and Andrew Raymond Coniglio; and Catherine and Margaret Scherrer. Brother of Concetta Miller of Illinois and Angelo Coniglio (Angela) of Amherst; pre-deceased by brothers Gaetano (late Mary), Leonard, Felice (late Betty) and Anthony Sr. (late Frances); and sisters Carmela (late Alfred) Volo and Mary (late Frank Sr.) Sowa; mourned by dozens of nephews and nieces. Mr. Coniglio was a decorated combat veteran of World War II and a long-time Buffalo Sewer Authority employee. The third of nine children, he was born in 1918 in Robertsdale, PA to Sicilian immigrants Gaetano and Rosa Alessi Coniglio. As a child, he moved with his family to Peacock Street in Buffalo's Canal District. Before World War II, he and his brother Gaetano served in the Naval Reserve, and when the war broke out in 1941, Raymond entered the US Army. He was in the nation's first organized combat of the war, serving as a foot-soldier with the 47th Infantry Regiment of the 9th Infantry Division, in and around Tunisia, North Africa, where he received a battlefield commission to sergeant. He then participated in the capture of Sicily in 1943, and later landed on France's Normandy beach just days after D-Day in 1944. Raymond also saw combat in Belgium and Germany. He received battle ribbons for Algeria-French Morocco, Tunisia-Sicily, Normandy, Northern France-Ardennes-Alsace, and Rhineland-Central Europe. He was awarded citations for the Battle of Cherbourg, France, and the Battles of Wilhelmshohe-Oberkirchen, Germany; bloody campaigns that helped secure the Allied victory. While in Germany, he encountered Marty Pepe, a childhood friend from Buffalo, serving with a different unit in the same combat zone. The old friends had a photo taken on the rear deck of an Army tank, a photo that Coniglio cherished for the remainder of his life. During his tour in Europe, Coniglio received six Bronze Stars, a Silver Star and a Purple Heart. After discharge, he resided in Buffalo and Amherst, and served with the Buffalo Sewer Authority until retirement in 1980. While at the Authority he rescued a woman in distress from the Niagara River, after she had fallen in while fishing. He received the Authority's Award for Service "beyond the call of duty". In 1996, the French Government awarded him the 'Liberté Normandie' D-Day medal, which commemorated the fiftieth anniversary of his participation in the Allied invasion of France. The family will be present at the HARRY A. WEDEKINDT FUNERAL HOME, 280 Grover Cleveland Highway, Monday from 4 to 8 PM. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Leo the Great RC Church, 880 Sweet Home Road, Tuesday at 9:15 AM. Please assemble at the church. Flowers gratefully declined. Memorial contributions may be made to VNA Hospice, 1110 35th Lane, Vero Beach, FL 32960