Latrobe woman never missed family’s baseball games

By: Megan Tomasic
Saturday, March 23, 2019 | 5:00 PM

Nancy Gangemi never missed a chance to see one of her sons or grandchildren play baseball.

Living down from the field, Mrs. Gangemi often played catch with her son, Jeffrey “Duffy” Powers, and was always in the stands cheering for her grandchildren.

“She was always an avid follower of my kids playing and she followed me when I played,” Powers said.

And every time she overheard something nice about her grandchildren, Mrs. Gangemi was sure to pass it along to Powers, who was in the dugout coaching the team.

Nancy Gangemi of Latrobe died Tuesday, March 19, 2019 at her home. She was 79.

Born in Latrobe on April 1, 1939, she was the daughter of late John Kabala and late Ida Belle Kabala.

Employed at Troutman’s shoe store, Mrs. Gangemi quickly became a staple in the Latrobe community. Eventually working at Glass Beads, Mrs. Gangemi met her late husband John “Moe” Gangemi.

“When she met Moe, talk about night and day,” Powers said, laughing.

Taking pride in having a clean house, Mrs. Gangemi loved to organize papers, especially the mail, Powers said. Living in the duplex next to his mother, Powers often spent time with her, and was responsible for bringing in the mail when she could no longer make it to the mailbox, something he often would forget to do.

“When she couldn’t, she’d go, ‘Duff, did you get the mail,’ ” he said, adding that when she asked he always got up and went to the mailbox.

When she wasn’t being a homemaker or attending her grandchildren’s baseball games, Mrs. Gangemi loved to bowl, read, cook and go to the casino.

Powers said she often maintained a bowling score between 170 and 180, a score that impressed him.

“She used to fire that ball,” Powers said.

In addition to Jeffrey “Duffy” Powers, Mrs. Gangemi is survived by another son, Mark Powers, of Ohio; a brother, John “Ed” Kabala; her four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

John J. Lopatich Funeral Home in Latrobe handled the arrangements.

Donations can be made to the Munchinski family’s Go Fund Me page. Scott Munchinski was recently diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia, according to their page.