Obituary: Feb. 21, 1932 – July 24, 2023
George W. Wopperer, 91, Founded Leading Buffalo, N.Y., Roofing and Insulation Firm
Wopperer helped establish Thermal Foams Inc. and founded Frontier Insulation Contractors Inc., which became Remedial Insulation Barriers Co. (RIBCO) in 1977. The business uses spray foam as a roofing material and insulation on buildings.
— Image courtesy of The Buffalo News; design by Bryan Gottlieb
George W. Wopperer, founder of a leading roofing and insulation company in the Buffalo, N.Y. area, Remedial Insulation Barriers Co., or RIBCO, in 1977, died July 24 in his Buffalo home. His family said the cause was mesothelioma. He was 91.
The Buffalo News first reported his death on August 14. Wopperer was born in Buffalo, was the eighth of 10 children and attended St. Joseph's School. He was a 1949 graduate of St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute.
In 1953, Wopperer earned a bachelor’s degree from Canisius College; he was a star on the school’s hockey team and was reportedly nicknamed "The Flying Freshman" after scoring six goals in a game against Niagara University in 1950.
He was a member of the U.S. military, serving in the Army stateside, after which he joined his father’s insulation business and was sent for training in using extruded polystyrene, a foam material.
Wopperer helped establish Thermal Foams Inc. and founded Frontier Insulation Contractors Inc., which became Remedial Insulation Barriers Co., or RIBCO, in 1977. The business, which uses spray foam as a roofing material and insulation on buildings, is now operated by his sons George C. and Anton.
He and his wife, the former Jacqueline Shea, a real estate agent, were married for 63 years and raised nine children. The Buffalo News reported that the couple traveled extensively, visiting the Great Wall of China, the Amazon rainforest and Antarctica.
He was also an active sportsman, the News reported, participating in skiing, ice hockey, tennis and golf. At age 82, he completed a tandem parachute jump. He also bowled a perfect 300 game, golfed in two Pro-Am golf tournaments in California and shot a hole-in-one just two years ago.
He was inducted into the DiGamma Honor Society at Canisius College in 2009 and St. Joseph Collegiate Institute's Signum Fidei Society in 2021.
Survivors include three sons, Donald, George C. and Anton; four daughters, Patricia Olin, Jacqueline Stoj, Julianne Thompson and Suzanne Wopperer; two brothers, Raymond and Rev. Thomas; a sister, Mary Ann Jeffrey; 17 grandchildren; and 16 great-grandchildren. His wife died in 2016.
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