Bonnie Lee Halstead

It is with profound sadness that the family of Bonnie Lee Halstead (née Scopa) announce her passing on Thursday, October 14, 2021 at the age of 78.

Bonnie was born in July 1943 in Rochester, NY to Rocco and Salvatora (Sally) Scopa (née Dioguardi). She graduated from Nazareth Academy and subsequently trained as a hairdresser. One of her clients introduced Bonnie to her son, David Charles Halstead, whom she went on to marry on July 27, 1968. She was a devoted wife and “Auntie Mom” to her niece and nephew, Angela and Sean Halstead.

Bonnie was a sassy Italian woman who wore bright floral shirts, smoky eyeshadow, and was known to be constantly scolding her husband for misbehaving. Her hot pink laptop, adorned with a sticker that read “Bacia mi culo” on the back, was her means to maintain her relationships with her family and friends across Facebook and Pogo. She was known to rock out to Ozzy Ozzborne and to obsess over Tom Selleck in Blue Bloods, but her real passion was cooking. Her dinner parties brought family and friends together for countless joyous celebrations for decades.

She is predeceased by her parents Sally and Rocco Scopa, her step-mother Lois Scopa, her mother- and father-in-law Jesse and Raymond Halstead, her cousin Donald Piano, many cousins and in-laws, and her beloved dogs Squeaky and Harley. Bonnie always imagined that she would join her family and friends in Heaven at a large dinner party when she passed away. She is survived by her husband David Halstead of over 50 years, her niece Angela Halstead Gazzara (Matthew), and her nephew Sean Halstead, who were like her children. Bonnie is also survived by brother- and sister-in-law, Jon and Joan Halstead, as well as many close relatives and cousins including Tom Manno, Tom and Sydney Dioguardi, Josephine Fitzgerald, Josephine and Jerry Infantino, Joyce Austin, the D’Angelos, the Dioguardis, and the Pianos. She has touched the lives of countless other family and friends, and we will all miss her more than words can say.

There will be a Funeral Mass at Holy Cross Catholic Church on Saturday, October 30, 2021 at 11:00 AM followed by an interment at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery at 12:30 PM.

Contributions in memory of Bonnie can be made to the American Heart Association or the American Transplant Foundation.