Jack Leopold

Jack Leopold was a strong, determined man with a positive attitude and an effusive spirit. When asked, “How are you?” Jack always replied, “Superior.” Whether taking on a job or venturing to a new place, he showed an eagerness for living that was inspirational to his family and friends.

Jack’s story began during the decade of the Roaring Twenties when liquor prohibition gave rise to speakeasies and bootlegging, and Flapper fashions invaded the social scene. Jazz was hot, Vaudeville was going strong, and the Grand Ole Opry began broadcasting on the radio.

Jack was born October 15, 1926 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the only child of Gilbert and Gladys (Taylor) Leopold. His mother was a bookkeeper for a manufacturing company, and his father worked in sales for Crane Company. Little did Jack know at the time that he would be following in his father’s footsteps.

Jack grew up on Underwood Street on the city’s southeast side, where he attended Alexander Elementary and Ottawa Hills High School. Though a city boy, he loved working summers on his uncle’s apple farm and would have stayed there forever if he could.

Just weeks before graduating from high school, Jack enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corp in April 1944. He was stationed in Texas as a supply sergeant but returned to Michigan upon his discharge. He studied at Grand Rapids Junior College for two years and went on to Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Yet a part of Jack lingered in Grand Rapids because of a young woman he had met at JC.

Jack showed an interest in Norma Shrierer when they were students together. On their first date, they went to the movies, and many more dates followed in the year that they dated. The loving couple married on November 8, 1950 at Fifth Reformed Church in Grand Rapids. They honeymooned in Chicago but cut it short so Jack could get back for firearm deer hunting season. That decision was a clear indicator of his passion for hunting that remained strong throughout his life.

Jack was very much the outdoorsman. Several times he went to Canada to fish and to hunt ducks and moose, in Michigan he hunted bear, rabbit and deer, and in South Dakota he hunted pheasants. He had an extensive collection of over 70 guns—shotguns, rifles and hand guns—some of which he eventually passed along to family. He became a long time member of Kent Conservation Club and later of the Walker Conservation Club. Quite often, Jack could be found shooting skeet or trap on a Saturday, but it wasn’t the case that he was always hunting or shooting when he was outdoors. He also really enjoyed gardening tomatoes (though he never actually ate them), working in his yard or walking his black Labrador dogs (Missy and Chipper). A self-described homebody, Jack just liked to be outdoors when he was at home.

When Jack and Norma were first married, they had lived in an apartment for a short time. Then in 1953, they built a house and never moved again. It was located on Acacia Drive NW, bordering the Elks Country Club, where Jack and Norma became a members and played regularly. More importantly, it was home to their two children—son Kurt and daughter Kyle—who were well provided for by hard working parents.

Jack surprised himself and others when he started working in sales, first with a cigar company for a brief time and then in a job his father helped secure. Because he was quiet in demeanor, most people thought he wouldn’t last in sales. Yet in the 35-plus years that he worked at Barclay, Ayers & Bertsch, his territory was expanded to include Traverse City, Petosky, etc. Which left him driving home in bad snow storms, because it was important to him to return home to his family. For many years, he was the top salesman for the company.

In his leisure, Jack liked to watch westerns and action movies, no doubt with a bowl of ice cream in hand. He had a sweet tooth for such treats as cake and cookies, but the good food laid out for Thanksgiving was truly his favorite.

Over the years, Jack and Norma had always taken nice vacations together, but when he retired in 1991, they traveled extensively. They went as far west as the state of Alaska and east to region of Yugoslavia. In the Caribbean, they visited the islands of the Dominican Republic and St. Kitts, where they stayed for a couple of weeks in winter. Back home, Jack liked to fish for perch on Lake Michigan with his brother-in-law Bob, or maybe just take a quick nap. After a long career, he had earned his rest.

In recent years, Jack required nursing care after experiencing a fall in December of 2008. He passed away on Wednesday, May 26, 2010 at the age of 83.

Jack will be remembered as a good ole boy who enjoyed an Americana way of life: from hunting and fishing to gardening and Westerns, from “pressing the flesh” for the next sale to easing back with his loved ones. They will miss him very much.

Mr. Jack T. Leopold, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, is survived by his wife Norma, of nearly 60 years; son, Kurt Leopold; daughter Kyle (Tim) Elting; and grandchildren, Emily Lee, James Elting, and Jessie Elting. Friends may visit with his family from 2-4 and 7-9 PM on Tuesday at Heritage Life Story Funeral Homes, 2120 Lake Michigan Dr. NW. The Celebration of Life service will be held at 11 AM on Wednesday at the funeral home. Entombment in Rosedale Memorial Park. Contributions in his memory may be made to Hospice of Holland Home. Please visit www.lifestorynet.com to read his life story, archive a memory, photo, or sign the guestbook if you are unable to attend.