GRAND ISLAND, N.Y. — The victims of the still hard to comprehend crash at the Rainbow Bridge were identified by Niagara Falls Police as Kurt P. Villani and his wife, Monica Villani. They were both 53 years old and well known residents of Grand Island.
2 On Your Side spoke with neighbors and friends of the couple who are still trying to cope with this tragedy involving their community.
Scott Henderson directly puts it this way: "People are still stunned."
He is describing the communal impact on Grand Island with the realization that two people they knew and really cared about died in the Wednesday morning crash.
Kurt P. Villani and his late father owned and operated the Gui Lumber and affiliated Ace Hardware retail chain for decades, but he and his wife Monica had many personal connections with their attributes as neighbors.
One of those neighbors Mary Meyer shared with us: "They were just very kind, wonderful people, and fun and funny, and really brilliant, and honestly, great business acumen and great, you know, technological expertise. Really, such a gift to all of us."
Their generosity extended to contributions and efforts to help rebuild the Niagara Sailing Clubhouse after a March 2021 fire. Even though they themselves were not members, they understood what it meant for the community.
Mary Meyer says Kurt P. and Monica Villani were also known for their strong interest in cars and boats.
"They all loved cars," Meyer said. "You know, they loved the history of cars, and they all had fine automobiles, and they would know the history of of them and talk about the different aspects of those."
Chuck Meyer added: "Matter of fact, they even allowed me to park a boat at their dock as a gift kind of thing, and so it will be sorely missed on the river that their boats won't be going up and down it."
The Villani family did put out a statement through their friend, Erie County Sheriff John Garcia.
"We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to all that extended prayers, condolences, and well wishes. We are deeply touched. At this point, we are requesting privacy so we may begin the process of healing. Thank you," Garcia said.
At this point we are not aware of any memorial service for Kurt and Monica Villani. Pending the wishes of the family, Grand Island neighbors expect that if they are open to the public, they would be very well attended as a tribute to this couple.