Stanley Alphonse Toporek

Stanley Alphonse Toporek, age 80, of Hayward, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, February 18, 2026, at St. Mary's Medical Center in Duluth, MN. He was born on March 21, 1945, in Chicago, IL, the son of Stanley and Mary (Noga) Toporek. He was united in marriage to Kaaren Ann Toporek on June 16, 1968, at St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church in Chicago, IL.

Stanley had a successful career as an educator. He started teaching middle school math in Wheeling, IL and finishing teaching high school chemistry, meteorology and English in the Melbourne and Palm Bay areas in Florida. He was a wonderful teacher and mentor although he did find dealing with all the bureaucracy difficult. Stanley and Kaaren moved to Hayward and opened the Bigfoot Inn, where they specialized in good homemade pizza. He was known for dressing up in his bigfoot costume and entertaining crowds gathered for local parades. Stanley can best be described as a renaissance man and raconteur as telling interesting stories came so naturally to him. He was fascinated with trains and World War II and had an eclectic collection of military vehicles. He and Kaaren loved to travel and together racked up many miles across the United States and Europe. Stanley was a dog lover and had twenty-four over his lifetime.

He is survived by his beloved wife of 57 years, Kaaren Toporek of Hayward, WI; and his children, Stanley S. Toporek of Chicago, IL, William A. (Lana) Toporek of Austin, TX, David Lewis of Hayward, WI, Heather Kuhns of Stone Lake, WI, and Matthew P. Lewis of Hayward, WI.

He is preceded in death by his parents.

Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:00 A.M. on Thursday, February 26, 2026, at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Hayward, where visitation will be held from 10:00 A.M. until the hour of Mass. Entombment will be held privately in Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Hillside, IL.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to The National WWII Museum, 945 Magazine Street, New Orleans, LA 70130, support.nationalww2museum.org.