Obituary of Edward Dennis Ciperski

We celebrate an amazing man, husband, father, friend, colleague and most importantly a papa and pop pop. Edward Dennis Ciperski passed on January 28th, 2023 and joined his loving son Zachary, his sister Barbara Van De Loo and his loving parents Edward and Barbara Ciperski.

Born in Albany, New York on May 19th, 1948 he was a young man who spent many hours at his church as an altar boy with visions of someday becoming a priest. As time passed, that vision faded as he made his way to Suny at Cobleskill and met his wife Kathi. His degree in data processing proved easier than getting a first date with Kathi but his persistence paid off.  Two years later at the Saratoga Race Track, he asked her to marry him and 53 years later they remained happily married.

In his early twenties, he welcomed his two older children Jill and Adam as well as joining the United States Air Force. The service took him and his young family to North Carolina and then to Colorado Springs to the Air Force Academy. As a young Dad, he did all it took to care for his family, working by day for the Air Force, bartending at night and going back to college, ultimately getting his bachelor's degree at the University of Colorado in marketing.

In the late seventies, he retired from the service but remained in Colorado where they built their dream home. At that point a family of four had become a family of seven in what seemed like overnight with the additions of Tiffany and twin boys Zachary and Blake.

Ed and Kathi ultimately made the decision to move back east to New Jersey to be closer to family. Moving to Wayne, NJ where he tirelessly made the trek into New York City on the bus to work for over 20 years. He worked at Citibank for over 29 years as VP, Program Manager-Global Risk Reporting Mitigation. Not really sure I can tell you what that is but what I do know is that his hard work helped him to send five children to college which is a feat in itself.

He was a very unselfish man that would give to anyone in need from picking up hitchhikers (not one of my favorite trips in the car with him), to giving money to the women in port authority. Ed, was a devoted father giving his children all he could from singing lessons (one he may have regretted giving into), to coaching softball, piano lessons, skating lessons, new cars and countless other amazing things. While he was quiet with his emotions, his actions showed all the love he had for his children and grandkids. He did not miss one of Adam’s football games regardless of where they were. He went so far as to purchase a conversion van so he, Zach and Blake could go to every hockey game they had regardless of the distance.  As they would head out to each game one thing was for sure; Dad did not go on a road trip without snacks even though the snacks were already opened and being enjoyed as they pulled out of the driveway.

One thing that we all were so fortunate enough to experience was working with Dad at Citibank. At one time or another, he got us all employment there. He taught us the importance of working hard, standing up for our morals and saying it like it is even if it wasn't popular. I believe he truly laid the foundation for each of us to find our own successes. We all worked as hard as we could to make Dad proud.

We would be remiss if we did not mention his concert list. He took us all to our first concerts from the Beach Boys, Journey, to Phish. He even went to a weekend music festival to see Phish, with Zach and Blake. Camping out with all the concerts goers, I can only imagine the snacks that packed that tent. Tiffany, Zachary, Blake and Dad did take their own camping trips and hikes. As they began the hike, there were many snack breaks so you can imagine they didn't get too far on those hikes.  So by now you can sense the theme, Dad loved his snacks.

After retiring from Citi, Dad continued Zachary’s legacy by volunteering for the Fabretto Foundation  where yearly he would visit Nicaragua helping in the building and upkeep of the library that was named in honor of Zachary. He would also hand deliver hundreds of shoes to the children of the area on his trips.

Outside of family time, he found joy in Sunday funday enjoying snacks watching the Broncos, a swim after work with a nice cold Budweiser, golfing with his friends or son-in-law, trips to the beach with his wife, Poker with the guys, Yankee games at spring training and great dinners out.   He often reminisced about his very favorite trip being the cruise from Greece to Italy. His love for Colorado was consistent and although he never had the log cabin he had hoped he did revisit a few years back on a fun trip with Blake.  He also looked forward to his annual father-daughter outings with his girls to Yankee games or the racetrack.

Nothing made him happier than the time he spent with his grandkids and watching the joy they brought him was wonderful to watch. Bowling, mini-golf, eating at the diner, science with Papa, playing chess with his grandsons, snuggling with his granddaughters, days at Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom are memories his grandchildren will treasure! He was an amazing Papa!

We will miss his charm and witty sense of humor. He leaves a big hole in the hearts of his wife, Kathi, son Blake, Daughter Jill and son-in-law Victor, his son Adam and his wife Carla and their kids, Theo and Sofia, daughter Tiffany and husband Robert and their children Jake, Brooke, Luke and Quinn.

We celebrate his life but most importantly we thank him for his love and for all our successes because without him as a father none of those things could have been possible. We will miss him every day but have comfort in knowing he and Zachary are together. He lost part of his heart the day Zachary left and now his heart is once again full.  We Love you Dad and will miss you always.

In lieu of flowers, we ask for donations to Fabretto in his name to help support a charity very close to his heart.  Click here for Fabretto donation page.