Decorator for hire decks the halls on Comperatore house
BUFFALO TWP — In the 23 years she has lived on Sarver Road, Helen Comperatore had never had her house decorated for Christmas, until this year.
A Saxonburg decorator decked out the Comperatore home Thursday, Nov. 14, preparing the house for Christmas. Comperatore, the widow of Corey Comperatore, said it was surprising to get the offer from SuperXterior, especially because she didn’t know the company’s owner.
“It’s amazing,” Comperatore said. “I can’t even believe they’re doing that for us.”
Tom Essary, owner of SuperXterior, said he related to the story of Corey Comperatore, who died shielding his wife and daughter from gunfire at the July 13 campaign rally for former President Donald Trump at the Butler Farm Show grounds. Essary said he has a young daughter, and empathized with Helen Comperatore and her two daughters.
“It’s just something nice,” Essary said. “It takes a village, and we have already seen what the community has done for (Comperatore).”
Essary said he was putting several thousand feet of lights on Comperatore’s house, and estimated that it would have cost $8,000 to $10,000, if he was doing that amount for a customer.
The metal roof made the job a little more difficult, but Essary was still able to line the house with string lights that lit up the structure.
“We’re doing the roofline on the house, and she has bushes around her house that we’re putting a boatload of lights on,” Essary said. “We had a whole bunch of stuff donated from our supplier in Colorado.”
The rain may have slowed down the process — and made the job a little pleasant — but Essary said he was happy to do it. He received some donations of supplies and money from other people and organizations, which helped cut down on the cost of hanging the lights.
Comperatore said her husband wasn’t a fan of being outdoors in the cold, which is one reason the house was never decorated with lights for Christmas before. She added that her daughter would be happy to see the place lit up, however.
“She is going to like it,” Comperatore said. “It’s a nice thing for them to do.”
