James M. Kropidlowski

James M. “Jim” Kropidlowski, 80, a former barber and
longtime Boy Scout leader, died Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017, at the Atrium Care
Center in Stevens Point.
A Funeral Mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Jan. 13,
at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, with the Rev. Placid Stroik officiating. Burial
will be in Guardian Angel Cemetery.
Visitation will be at the Pisarski Funeral Home in Stevens
Point from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 12, and at the church from 9:30 a.m.
Friday until the Mass. A parish rosary was scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday at the
funeral home.
Memorials in his name may be made to Holy Spirit Boy Scout
Troop 298.
Condolences may be offered online at www.pisarskifuneralhome.com.
Mr. Kropidlowski was born Sept. 6, 1936, in Amherst, a son
of the late Henry and Irene Kropidlowski. He attended local schools, graduating
from P.J. Jacobs High School in l954.
He entered the U.S. Army Nov. 23, 1954, in Milwaukee and
served with Company C 185th Engineer Battalion. He was honorably discharged Nov.
21, 1956, at Camp Wolters, Texas. He participated in the Veterans Honor Flight
to Washington, D.C., accompanied by son Steve in April, 2015.
He was married to Norma “Maggie” Becotte Jan. 9, 1956, in
Kansas. She died March 2, 2015.
He was a barber at Jim’s Barbershop on the Market Square in
Stevens Point for 52 years until his retirement in 2011.
He was known affectionately as “Mr. Krump” by a countless
number of Boy Scouts that he worked with over the years. He was a member of Boy
Scout Troop 298 for more than 55 years, serving in many different capacities as
committee chairman, assistant scoutmaster, chairman of numerous fund raising
activities to benefit the scouts and many other similar projects.
Mr. Kropidlowski mentored scouts and counseled them on merit
badges. He received numerous scouting awards such as Outstanding Scouter,
District Award of Merit, District Chairman’s Award from Mushkodany District and
Samoset Council, and the Silver Beaver Award, the highest recognition of
service to youth. He was also a member of the Order of the Arrow.
He was president of the Holy Spirit Parish Holy Name
Society, sponsoring organization of the Boy Scouts. In this capacity, he served
for years as the chairman of the Holy Name Steak Feed, a fund raising event
held every year. He was a charter member of the Izaak Walton League for more
than 50 years.
Survivors include two sons, Jeff (Becky) Kropidlowski, Green
Bay, and Steven (Kris Harding) Kropidlowski, Stevens Point; one brother,
Kenneth Kropidlowski, Rhinelander; three granddaughters; and three great-grandchildren.
He was also preceded in death by one sister, Patsy O’Keefe.