Stanley Kopacki, 89, of Rutherford died peacefully at home Monday, September 13, 2021 with Barbara, his wife of 61 years, at his side.
Born in Kearny, NJ to Sczepan and Elzbieta Kopacki, Stanley was a high school science teacher at Kearny High School from 1955 to 1990, retiring as Science Department Chairman. He worked at Sears in the hardware department for 10 years in his retirement.
He could always be seen in witty tshirts and rarely left the house without a hat on. One of his favorites was STP, also known as Stan the Pollock. He raised his four children with a strong love of whimsy and was proud to be known as a smart aleck. Teaching chemistry at his own alma mater gave him opportunities to educate as well as amuse students with such famous experiments as making a hair dance.
He considered his “big win” in life was marrying Barbara on July 2, 1960 and having “four great kids and their spouses plus five grandkids who are also the greatest.” He missed his friends from teaching and his family as they passed ahead of him. He wrote in 2016 “All these people are part of the fabric of my life. Family has been the gold and platinum, friends are the silver and the silk.”
To the next generation he wrote, “First enjoy life and plan for the future. The plans may not work out but be happy anyway.”
His family was everything to him. Besides his wife, he is survived by his 4 children, Matthew, Christine and Daniel Cahalane, Paul Kopacki and Sarah Sussen, Jane Kopacki and Patrick Manion; his 5 grandchildren Joseph Daniel, Jennifer, Samantha, Lukas and Benjamin; and his many nieces and nephews.
He was predeceased by his 5 siblings, Helen McKinnon, Edmund, Bronislaw, Wanda Preczewski and Mary Martin.
He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Montclair State College. He served in the U.S. Army Reserves from 1956 to 1964. He was a past president of the Kearny Education Association in 1960, and had served on the N.J. Education Association in multiple positions. He was a vice president of the Rutherford First-Aid Ambulance Corps where he was a volunteer on the ambulance squad for many years. He was a former B.S.A. scoutmaster of Troop 166.
A wake will be held Friday, September 17 from 4-8 pm at the Macagna-Diffily-Onorato Funeral Home, 41 Ames Ave, Rutherford, NJ. The funeral service will be held at 1030am Saturday, September 18 at Grace Episcopal Church, 128 W. Passaic Ave, Rutherford. Interment after cremation will be private at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to the Rutherford First-Aid Ambulance Corps at RutherfordEMS.org. Please share online memories or condolences at macagnadiffilyonoratofuneralhome.com.
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