Frank P. LoPinto

Frank P. LoPinto of Emerald Isle, North Carolina, and a longtime resident of Amityville, died on September 5 in North Carolina of complications following surgery. A leading production manager for several well-known Seventh Avenue garment manufacturers and a former partner in Kohler Couture, he was 82.

Mr. LoPinto was responsible for the manufacture of the now-famous paper dresses of the 1960s. While he was with Kohler Couture, his gowns were worn by members of the Kennedy family at John F. Kennedy’s Inauguration Ball. With Mary Ann Restivo, he produced many of the outfits worn by Matilda Cuomo when she was first lady of New York State.

Among the notable fashion manufacturers Mr. LoPinto worked with were Ellen Tracy in the 1950s to the1960s; Betsey Johnson with Paraphernalia in the 1960s; Kohler Couture and The Kohler Collection from the 1960s to the 1980s; and Mary Ann Restivo, Randy Kemper, Geoffrey Beene, Sanyo/Burberry, and the Philippe Adec Division of Morelle Products.

A World War II veteran, he served in U.S. Navy overseas. He met his future wife Rose while attending high school in Brooklyn, where the two began their romance as teenagers. The couple married in 1950 and retired to Emerald Isle in 1999.

In addition to his colleagues in the fashion industry in New York and abroad, and his family, survivors said this week that he will be dearly missed by Bill and Kathy Johnston of Emerald Isle—friends with whom he shared a love of winemaking and bird carving.

Predeceased in 2005 by his wife of 58 years, Rose LoPinto, he is survived by a son, Dr. Joseph F. LoPinto and his wife Gail of New York City and Sag Harbor; a daughter, Joann and her husband Thomas Folk of Virginia; two granddaughters, Karina and Elizabeth; and two grandsons, Frank and Joseph.

A viewing was held on September 12 at the Jones Funeral Home in Swansboro, North Carolina. A graveside memorial followed on September 13 at the Seaside Cemetery, also in Swansboro.

A memorial service will be held in New York City on Friday, September 26, at 11 a.m. at the Church of The Holy Innocents, 128 West 37th Street—where Mr. LoPinto attended mass often throughout his career.