Bobbie L. Comparoni

The world lost one of its true gems on Dec. 27 when Bobbie Loretta Comparoni, the loving mother of four and the wife of the late James Comparoni Sr., passed away at age 84. She was surrounded by family and in prayerful comfort at the time of her passing. A sweet, loving, gentle southern lady but also a protective, tough-as-nails mother, Mrs. Comparonis grace and inner-beauty were admired by many. She spread an example of love, compassion, Southern hospitality, loyalty, faith and family from the foothills of the Smoky Mountains to the north woods of Michigan, and back. She was a survivor, having endured the loss of her mother at age nine, and a tragic train accident that took the lives of two of her best friends as a teen-ager. She was a 12-year survivor of breast cancer. She graduated from Lincoln Memorial University, in Harrogate, Tenn., in 1952. The Oak Ridge (Tenn.) National Laboratory offered her a job soon after her graduation, but she declined the offer, having accepted a job one day earlier to teach at tiny Pruden High School, which was located on the Kentucky/Tennessee border. She felt a calling to teach the teens of the small mountain community, many of whom maintained correspondence with her for more than 60 years. She met her eventual husband of 51 years, James Comparoni Sr., while working in Pruden. She arrived in Michigan with Mr. Comparoni in 1956. She taught in the Pontiac school district, and later worked for 19 years for Oakland County, including a happy stint with the Oakland County Health Department. At home, her biscuits and gravy were the staple of her southern breakfasts. She made sure all visitors were well-fed. Feeling candy wasnt enough, she served hot chocolate from her front porch on cold Halloween nights. She knew more about sports than you do. She loved Peyton Manning, the Detroit Tigers, Kirk Cousins, Tom Izzo, Mark Dantonio, Marty Robbins and Elvis, not necessarily in that order. She even liked Kid Rock. She could mend your britches with a needle and thread, or coach third base in little league, if needed. She remembered with a smile that she owned 24 pairs of shoes when she married. But the former Bobbie Jones gladly put herself second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth as her family grew. She was open-minded to her childrens tastes in music as they grew up in the 70s and 80s, and open-hearted to any whom needed a hand. Her children graduated from Holly (Mich.) High School and earned degrees from Michigan Tech, Mid-Michigan Community College School of Nursing, Kettering University, Michigan State and Harvard. A voracious reader and lover of gardening, her home and yard were always well-decorated with beautiful flowers. She cherished time sitting on the beach, whether it be on the shore of Lake Huron or the Atlantic Ocean near Charleston, S.C. She is survived by four children, Barbara (Comparoni) Grantner, Jane (Comparoni) Gepford, Jennifer Comparoni and James Comparoni Jr.; sons-in-law Steve Grantner, Matthew Bernstein and Greg Gepford; and daughter-in-law Lori Comparoni. She is also survived by 14 grandchildren, Laura Grantner, Rachel Grantner, Michael Grantner, Joel Grantner, Maria Grantner, John Grantner, Anthony Starr, Amanda Starr, Aaron Young, Madeline Bernstein, Jack Bernstein, Will Bernstein, Alexander Comparoni and Lucy Comparoni, and dozens of adoring nieces and nephews, to whom she was known as Aunt Bobbie or Aunt Jo. She is also survived by sister Martha Mayes and brother-in-law Roy Mayes of North Augusta, S.C., brother Bill Jones and sister-in-law Agnes Jones of Harrogate, Tenn.; brothers-in-law C.J. Simmons of Harrogate, Tenn., and Alexander Comparoni of Pontiac, Mich.; and sisters-in-law Frances Rososky of Waterford, Mich., Marilyn Comparoni of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and Betty Morin of Lewiston, Maine. She was preceded in death by her husband, James Comparoni Sr.; parents, Bernetta Good Jones and William Howard Jones; sisters, Ruth Dunn, Anna Mae Welch and Opal Simmons; and brothers-in-law Whitt Welch, Walter Dunn, Allen Rososky, Lorenzo Comparoni and Gerard Morin. She attended Harvest Baptist Church in Waterford, Mich., and was the oldest living original member of the First Baptist Church of Harrogate, established in the late 1940s. Pastor Bill Duncan will preside over a memorial service for Mrs. Comparoni at 7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 22 at Harrogate Baptist Church in Harrogate, Tenn. Family will be receiving friends and guests at 6 p.m. Donations in the memory of Bobbie Comparoni can be made to Harvest Baptist Church (1092 Scott Lake Rd. Waterford, MI 48328), the First Baptist Church of Harrogate (PO Box 520, Harrogate, TN 37752) or St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital. (Donate to St. Jude by phone at 1-800-805-5856. A Tribute Account at St. Jude has been set up in Mrs. Comparonis name).