Joseph Edward Coppola of Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts died peacefully surrounded by his family in his home onFeb. 16, 2025, two weeks after he celebrated his 90th birthday. He will be remembered for his Catholic faith, joie de vivre, generosity, optimism, and his ability to love generously those who needed love the most. 

Joe grew up in Jamaica Plain, the son of Angelo and Margaret (Ronan) Coppola, and brother to the late Mary Devine, Eleanor Brown, and John Anthony Coppola. His childhood emphasized the importance of family and community.He graduated from Boston College High School and Boston College (BC), where he studied economics.  

After graduating,Joe joined the Army and shipped off to a postwar Europe, which sparked his lifelong love of France. He married Susan Birmingham in 1963 and they returned to France with their two small sons in tow in 1968, the first of many sojourns to Paris. Joe was a lifelong student of the French language. He could be found most mornings before work studying French literature and history, with a particular fondness forCharles deGaulle. He loved being surrounded by young people in the literature classes he took at BC, and hetreasured being a fulltime student at theInstitutCatholique de Paris during his annual stays in Paris. 

Joe’soptimism was a driving force that fueled his actions and dreams. He had a long career as a real estate owner operator, revitalizing properties throughout Boston’s Mission Hill and Back Bay. He helped transform these neighborhoods into flourishing residential communities through engagement with local politicians, police, architects, and residents. He enjoyed collaborating with the St Botolph Street Neighborhood Association,including on neighborhood landscaping, clean ups, and street fairs.  

Joe was always surrounded by people. He made friends everywhere he went,often inviting them home for a meal. He lived his Christian values by helping those in need and was always ready with a kind word, a job, housing, alms, a loan, or words of advice. 

He loved classical music andmusical theatre, and delighted in introducing others to the performing arts. He enjoyed entertaining by cooking meals inspired by his time in France or the cuisines of his multicultural friends.Joe had a flair for the dramatic and never missed an opportunity to don a costume. One memorable family reunion featured Joe re-enacting General MacArthur’s historic landing. 

Joe loved being by the water in Scituate as a child, and in Falmouth as a newlywed, until he and Susan discovered Southport, Maine. He was an avid boater and was famous for manyadventures on the high seas, often with navigational assistance from his first mate and wife, Susan. In later years he could be found sitting on the back of his beloved Nid de Mer enjoying a glass of wine.  

Joe was the devotedhusband of Susan Birmingham Coppola for61 years of marriage. He was the devoted father of John Edward Coppola and his partner Chorlette O’Neill of Boston, Susanne Elyse Coppola and her husband Christian Moen of Newton, Maria Birmingham Coppola of Washington, D.C., and the late Paul Joseph Coppola. Joe was the loving grandfather of Kevin, Claireand Brian Coppola; Gabriella, Sebastian, and Sabrina Moen; and Daniel, Andrea, Oliver, and Xavier Tineo. He was the brother of the late Mary Devine and her husband Walter; the late Eleanor Brown; and the late John Anthony Coppola and his surviving wife Martha Harley of Boston. Joe was the dear brother-in-law of Jeanne Hanson of Hingham and Peggy Moroney of Tempe, Arizona. He is also survived by many loving nieces, nephews, extended family members and friends. 

Relatives and friends are invited to a funeral massat 10 a.m.on Saturday, April 5at St. Thomas Aquinas in Jamaica Plain. Interment is private. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent in Joe's name to Mission Grammar School.