In Memory

Edwin C. Kapper - Class Of 1950

Edwin C. Kapper

Edwin C. Kapper, 81, Chatsworth, died at 10:55 p.m. Wednesday, September 18, 2013, at OSF St. Joseph Medical Center in Bloomington.

Funeral mass at St. Peter & Paul Catholic Church in Chatsworth with the Rev. B. Rogers officiating. Burial at St. Patrick's Catholic Cemetery in Chatsworth with full military rites.  Memorials to the American Cancer Society.

Edwin was born Sept. 9, 1932, in Olney, a son of Cornelius "Neil" and Johanna Dumstorff Kapper. He married Mina Halsey on Nov. 24, 1955, in Olney. She preceded him in death on April 23, 1994.

He is survived by two sons, Edwin (Kim) Kapper, of DeKalb, and Tom (Shawn) Kapper, of Madison, Wis.; two daughters, Cindy Hanauer and Janet Kapper, both of Normal; six grandchildren, Brent (Mary) Kapper, Aaron Kapper, Daniel Kapper, Kimberly Kapper, Michael Olson and Emily Olson; four brothers, Lester Kapper, of North Carolina; Bill Kapper, of Indiana; Jim Kapper, of Illinois; and Jerry Kapper, of Illinois; and five sisters, Jean Stacy, of Oklahoma; Eileen Beuthien, of Michigan; Mary Dowty, of Illinois; Janice Morgan, of Illinois; and Marjorie Blunt, of Illinois.

He was preceded in death by his parents and one sister, Judy Crosby.

Edwin graduated from Olney High School. He served our country in the U.S. Army from December 1952 until October 1954, serving in Korea. He attended college on the GI Bill, graduating from Eastern Illinois University in 1960. He taught history and government at Chatsworth High School and Prairie Central High School for more than 35 years. On school breaks he spent his time working as a carpenter, enjoying the outdoors and being able to see the completed projects of his labor. He was a member of SS. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Chatsworth and the Chatsworth American Legion.

Ed was reserved and kind. He had a dry sense of humor and appreciated a joke. He took comfort in his church and served in the choir until the time of his passing. He never lost his taste for Westerns from the movie theaters of his youth and loved the "western channel" later in life. His wife preceded him in death, but he soldiered on for 20 more summers, time enough to see his grandchildren grow up and become the wonderful legacy of his strong sense of good and fairness in dealing with all aspects of life.

Published in Pantagraph, The (Bloomington, IL) - Saturday, September 21, 2013