Obituary of Vincent Roppatte

Roppatte, Vincent - the man with the golden hands, Saks Fifth Avenue's hairdresser to the stars, died on December 13, 2016 at the age of 81. Listen carefully: you can hear a million women mourning. His death was confirmed by his son, Jude Roppatte. A New Jersey native, he was a powerful part of the New York social and beauty scene ministering to stars like his absolute favorite television personality, Diane Sawyer, superstar Oprah Winfrey, journalist Liz Smith, actress Elaine Stritch, political lights like Hillary Clinton and Jackie Onassis, brilliant business executive Rosemary Bravo, entrepreneur Lynn Forester de Rothschild --- all of whom wore the elegant Vincent flare. In his youth, he traveled down the road with Marlene Dietrich, Grace Kelly, Liza Minnelli and Judy Garland and more recently, for the three best-selling books he co-authored with journalist Sherry Suib Cohen (THE LOOKS MEN LOVE, BIG CITY LOOK, and COOL HAIR), a younger and newer clientele discovered the master stylist ---like actress Lindsay Lohan, TV newscaster, Pamela Brown and Olympic figure-skating champion, Sarah Hughes. Although he was a Jersey boy at heart and a star in the celebrity universe, few knew of his devotion to charitable enterprises like hospitals and research-supporting institutions - particularly St. Jude's Hospital which devotes itself to the terminal illnesses of children. Vincent was also known to stop into the grand St. Patrick's Cathedral before showing up at the Saks salon, for a morning blessing from the Cardinal. Most of all, his generous and loving heart was filled with his family - his adored wife Frances who predeceased him, his son Jude Roppatte, his daughter Dawn Amato and her husband Dr. Anthony Amato, and the love of his life, his grand-daughter, Sienna Amato, his brother Don Campanello, his sisters JoAnn and Paulette Roppatte, Vincent dearly loved a show and escorted many of his star clients to Broadway openings and charity events where he often stole the spotlight from them..who doesn't need an emergency hair touch-up before the curtain goes up? Relatives and friends are invited to attend the funeral from the Festa Memorial Funeral Home, 111 Union Blvd, Totowa, on Friday at 8:45 AM. Funeral Mass to follow at St. Mary's RC Church, Paterson at 10:00 AM. Entombment at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Totowa. Friends may visit Thursday 2:00 - 4:00 and 7:00 - 9:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, donations to St. Jude Children's Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place. Memphis, TN 38105 would be appreciated. For more information, go to www.festamemorial.com.