Carmen A. Coppola

Carmen A Coppola, “COACH” or “Pop Pop,” 82 years old of Iselin, NJ, passed away June 11, 2025, at JFK Hospital with his family by his side.

Carmen married his beloved wife Sally Coppola on October 1, 1966, in Elizabeth, NJ. They had four children: Michael, Anthony, Amy & Carmine.

Carmen grew up in Hillside, attending Hillside High School, where he was a standout athlete in baseball and soccer. In high school, he made the All Watchung Conference First Team and Third Team All-State with three varsity letters in baseball and the All-Union County First Team with three varsity letters in soccer.

After graduating from Hillside High School in 1960, he decided to join the Navy, where he served from 1960–1964 on the USS Charles F. Adams during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

While serving in the Navy, Carmen was selected to play on the naval base softball all-star team and pitched a one-hitter. He was assigned to play for 6 months.

Carmen continued to play softball with his friends at Warinanco Park for several years. After the games, he enjoyed spending time with his teammates and their families, especially his family, at the circle, celebrating the wins or losses over cold drinks and lots of laughs.

He joined the Elizabeth Police Department in 1967 and served 26 years before retiring in 1993 as a Gold Badge Detective. After retiring from the police department, Carmen worked as an Insurance Fraud Investigator for the next 25 years. Carmen eventually retired, enjoying time with his beautiful wife and spoiling both his kids and grandkids.

Carmen was a die-hard Yankee fan. His wife made his dream come true by sending him off to play at the Yankee camp in Florida. He talked about his week at Yankee camp all the time; he could not believe he was able to play and hang out with some of his favorite Yankee players.

He enjoyed coaching all his kids and their friends in several different sports. All the kids referred to him as “Coach;” he was a mentor to many of them. Even as he grew older and went to watch his grandkids play sports, someone would recognize Carmen and yell out to him or come up and give him a big hug, saying hello, “Coach.” 

Carmen’s grandkids were his pride and joy. He loved joking around with each of them, giving them nicknames, texting them to check in and see how they were doing, sharing stats before their big games and events, or simply letting them know how much he loved them. He would tell anyone he encountered about his grandkids and their accomplishments; you could see the pride and love on his face as he talked about them.  His grandkids loved him so much; they loved talking to him, making him laugh, or just listening to his stories and advice. He also had several nieces and nephews, each of them held a special place in his heart.

He was loved by many and will leave a significant void in the hearts of every person who knew and loved him. Carmen lived a whole and joyful life with his beautiful wife, Sally, by his side. They shared many memories, including a cruise to Bermuda, a trip to Alaska, and several other amazing adventures together.

Carmen is survived by his beautiful wife, Sally, and their loving children and spouses: Michael and his wife, Sharon Coppola; Anthony and his wife, Sandi Coppola; Amy and her husband, Joe Kroner, and Carmine Coppola; his eight grandchildren Olivia, Taylor, JT, Colin, Ryan, Payton, Carmine, and Lorenzo; his loving siblings Maryann Doyle and her husband, Billy; Nicholas Coppola and his wife, Nancy, and their children, Daine and Katherine and his extended family Marirose, Tracey, J.P., and Lia Daniel. He will be remembered by all his dearest friends, who shared many great memories with him.

Family and friends are invited to come to pay their respects and share all their favorite memories on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, from 4–7 pm at Gosselin Funeral Home in Edison, NJ. The family invites everyone to join them on Thursday, June 19, 2025, for the Entombment at St. Gertrude Cemetery starting at 12 pm in the Garden.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Carmen A. Coppola, please visit our floral store.