DePizzo was born October 5, 1949, never started bowling until the age of 29 and has been arguably one of the very best area keglers to ever roll a ball down the lane.
A 1968 graduate of the former North Lima High School (now South Range H.S.), she began her career with a 117 average and with inspiration from Joe Tripoti, began to take the game more seriously.
Exactly seven years later, with help from Peggy DiBattista, Rose Smith, the sponsorship of Youngstowner’s Jay and Mary Marshall, and the support and education of Larry Miller, she realized her dream by becoming a pro bowler on the Ladies Professional Bowling Tour.
She was a member of the tour for the next seven years, placing 19th at an event in Tempe, Arizona and 23rd in Syracuse, New York.
A member of the YWBA (Youngstown Women’s Bowling Association) for 23 years, she finished in the top-10 in average multiple times, achieving a career high 196 average
In 1983, she posted her highest series (782) and high game (279), achieving that at the Youngstown Women’s Annual City Tournament.
Her resume includes numerous 250+ games and multiple 700+ series.
During the 1982-83 season, her team (Bowl-aholics), which also included Helen Moore, DeCinda Shattuck Taylor, Anne Splain and Peggy DiBattista, won the Youngstown Women’s Bowling Association City Tournament team actual with a score of 3061.
A year later, her Youngstown’s Finest Five team included teammates Laurie Tate Millerleile, Shattuck Taylor, Roselyn Bettura and Smith and they won the City Tournament team handicap with a score of 3152, winning the team actual with a 2891 effort.
In 1985-86, her Youngstown’s Finest Five team which was now comprised of teammates Shirley Gomori, Shattuck Taylor, Smith and Bettura won the City Tournament team actual with a score of 2985 and in 1989, along with Bettura, Shattuck Taylor, Maria Bachinger and Donna Lorenzi Mraz, won the team actual with a 2634 score.
In 1995-96, her Canfield Colonial Lanes #2 team, which was made up of Smith, Shattuck Taylor, Melissa Murphy and Ethel Smith, took City Tournament team actual top laurels with a score of 3168, also winning the team handicap with a score of 3247. In 1991-92, she partnered with Shattuck Taylor to win the City Tournament doubles actual with a 1202 roll while her Marhill-Wedgewood #1 team, which consisted of Smith, Shattuck-Taylor, Nancy Davidson and Sherrie Skelton, won the City Tournament team actual with a score of 2883.
For her efforts she was inducted into the Youngstown-Salem Women’s Bowling Association Hall of Fame, that coming on October 2, 2011. She gave back to the game and thought of the future while serving as a junior coach at Holiday Bowl in Struthers, an effort she put forth for three years.
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Her love for the game has never ceased as she continues to bowl with friends, noting her bowling experience and support of the many bowling proprietors is something that she will always cherish. She enjoys traveling and has expanded her career by being on the administration team, and as an educator at Avada Institute in Las Vegas, Nevada.
A 1971 graduate of the Boardman Beauty Academy, she notes that her support system in bowling, as well as in life, has come from her husband, Ralph and good friend, Shattuck Taylor. Along with her husband, she resides in Henderson, Nevada and is the mother of a son, Scott Swank, and daughter, Wendy Swank. She also has a stepdaughter, Amanda Austin.
Individual tickets are $60 each, tables of eight $480 and further information can be obtained by calling 330-506-6774, or by visiting the organization’s website at www.thecurbstonecoaches.org.
This article is republished with permission of the Boardman News.
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