06/03/2026
This week’s comes from the newest member of our team and our inaugural Director of Living Collections, Margaret. Welcome to the team, Margaret!
“Meticulously engraved on the pediment of the Tripi Mausoleum façade are intricate flowering tendrils that highlight the ornate Passionflower vine; it is also prominently engraved with the name T-R-I-P-I below.
As we approached the Tripi Mausoleum, I was equally struck by the architecture of the stone façade juxtaposed with the sweeping green lawn leading up to the entrance. My mind wandered to the thought of whether any passionflowers were planted here in the past. My eye was instantly drawn to the incredible artistry of not only the intricate Passionflower vine, moreover the stone urns freshly planted with bold red, flowering geraniums outside.
Before we physically entered the Mausoleum, I was reminded of the sacredness of the space and it’s meaning as not only a final resting place, moreover a part of an incredible cultural landscape at Mt. Calvary.
Joseph C. Tripi was a prominent leader of the Buffalo-based wholesale grocery distributor, Tripi Foods Inc. He passed away at the age of 86 on July 5, 1988, and is entombed at Mount Calvary Cemetery.
F.C. Tripi Company, Inc. (now known as Tripifoods, Inc.) is a long-running, fourth-generation family-owned food and convenience store distributor based in Buffalo, New York. Included in this 1967 newspaper article, featured in the Courier Express, is a “Golden Anniversary” celebration; at the time of the article Joseph C. Tripi was company president.
As I stepped inside Tripi Mausoleum (my first Mausoleum), I experienced a gentle calmness and peace that washed over me. A vibrant stained-glass window sits at the back of the Mausoleum and the way the glass glimmered in the sunlight quickly caught my attention. When sunlight shone through the glass, the light was transformed into radiant color. I was also mesmerized by the iron floret embellishments that adorned the interior mausoleum walls. Stained glass windows while beautiful are also an important part of history, as they were used to help teach and inspire.”
