On Sunday, December 29, 2019, Frank Joseph Poppa passed away surrounded by his loving family.

Frank was born November 10, 1936, to Micheal and Lena (Barber) Poppa. He graduated from Northeast High School in 1955. He attended KU for two years with his lifetime best friend Larry Buccero. The two of them loved causing chaos and pulling pranks wherever they would go. Frank was a wonderful supporter of his family and worked many jobs over the years. Some of these include his own vending company he named for his children MLP Vending. He was also an expert handyman and wallpaper hanger and then finally General Motors until the Leeds plant closed. By far his favorite was the more than thirty years he spent operating Frank's Produce at the City Market. Frank loved spending his days and weekends at "The Market" making friends with everyone he spoke to and spent years making the most beautiful fruit baskets in the city.

Nothing, however, compared to the love and dedication he had for his family. Frank married the love of his life Carol DiGiovanni on September 4th, 1957. They had three children who in turn gave them seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Frank loved being surrounded by all his grandchildren and in return "Big Papa" was their favorite. We celebrated his birthday in early November where he had all 22 of his kids and grandkids around the table and he could not have been any happier.

Frank was preceded in death by his parents, Mike and Lena (Barber) Poppa; and his brothers, Matthew Poppa, Roy Poppa and Anthony Poppa. He is survived by his wife Carol; children, Michael (Sandie) Poppa, Lisa (Angelo) Christiano, Pamela (David) Brown; grandchildren, Joseph Pete (Brooke) Christiano, Dr Michael Frank Poppa, Angelo Christiano Jr., Jessica (Cameron) Love, Francesca (Scott) Eastman, Jennifer (Dylan) Sandgren, and Alyssa Poppa; great-grandchildren, Joseph Pete Jr., Vincent Angelo, Abriana Josephine and Angelo Samuel.

Visitation will be 10 a.m. with the Mass of Christian Burial at 1 p.m. on Thursday, January 2, at St. Patrick Catholic Church, 1357 NE 42nd Terr., Kansas City, MO 64116. Burial will follow at White Chapel Memorial Gardens.

Pallbearers: Joseph Pete Christiano, Dr. Michael Frank Poppa, Angelo Christiano Jr., Cameron Love, Scott Eastman, Dylan Sandgren, Tom Saluto, Carl Ragusa, and Sam Buccero. Honorary Pallbearer: Paul Joseph Poppa.

Condolences may be offered at www.passantinobros.com