Bobby “Vip” Vipraio, age 84, passed away on Tuesday, February 11, 2020. He was born August 11, 1935. He lived in The Villages, FL since 2002 with his second wife, Cynthia (Bourbeau) Vipraio, his high school sweetheart. Years after both were widowed, they reconnected at a high school reunion and married in 1997. Bobby was a singer for many theatrical groups. For the past several years in The Villages, he and Audrie Nevin performed as a duet team known as “The Perfect Blend.” He spent most of his life in Massachusetts where he sang in many nightclubs in the greater Boston area. He received many awards for most outstanding basketball player from Franklin High School and the Midland League. Other interests were softball, pocket billiards, golf, horseracing, and watching his favorite Boston Celtics and Chicago White Sox teams.
He began his work career at the Foxboro Company in 1956, and was drafted in the US Army in 1958, serving in Korea. He was on the softball team that defeated the Far East Champions of 1959 in Tokyo. He returned to Texas where he was on the Fort Hood Basketball Team. In 1963, he married Barbara Accorsi and was married for 33 years before her passing. In 1985, Vip retired from the Foxboro Co. as a Material Planning Supervisor.
His only biological daughter, Tina Vipraio, died in 2016 at the age of 52. He is survived by his twin grandchildren Amy DiPietro and Jonah Vipraio; stepchildren from his first marriage Lisa Brown and Lori Herbert; and, stepchildren from his second marriage Karen Caliendo and Stephen Kofsuske.
His funeral mass will be celebrated on Friday, February 28 in St. Mary’s Church, Franklin at 10:00 a.m. Burial will follow in the parish cemetery.
Arrangements are under the care of the Ginley Funeral Home of Franklin (www.ginleyfuneralhomes.com) 131 Main Street, Franklin.