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Jack Victor Karpinen, age 85, of Superior, WI passed away on September 20, 2019 following a brief illness.
Jack nicknamed “Jake” is survived by his 5 children, daughters Lisa Ryan of Phoenix, AZ, Laurie Karpinen (Steven Clark) of Skandia, MI, Bonnie Daniels (Patrick Daniels) of Tucson, AZ and Cathy Maatta, TX and his son Michael Maatta of Butte, MT, sister Sharon Moilanen and brother James Karpinen both of Calumet, MI, 11 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren, numerous cousins, nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents William Karpinen and Siiri (Soronen) Karpinen, brothers William, Bert, Tom, Rodney, Robert and Wilbert.
Jack was born on April 1, 1934, in Calumet, MI, a son of the late William and Siiri Karpinen. He attended Calumet schools and went on to sail the Great Lakes as a Maritime Sailor. He later moved to Detroit where his auntie Eva took him under her wing and taught him the machinist skills that spanned the rest of his career. Extremely skilled in his trade, he worked for various companies in the Calumet and Marquette area and finally settled into a position at 3M in St Paul, MN where he retired after over 15 years of service. Jack spent his remaining years in Superior, WI where he kept himself busy tinkering in his workshop on various metal or wood projects and enjoying Lake Superior. Jack was a social, active man who loved Lake Superior, fishing, boating as well as metal and woodworking. A man of many talents, he built a seaworthy boat single-handedly in his earlier years and was rightly quite proud of this accomplishment. He was also a skilled carpenter and could build just about anything by his own design. He later gained his private pilot’s license and owned his own plane which gave him the wings and ultimate freedom to see the world from a new and unique perspective. Jack had wonderful artistic ability and loved to draw and build models. Those that knew him will remember the great ore boat model that he built from scratch. Of note, he loved his coffee and pastries; he had a bit of a sweet tooth where Werther’s Originals and chocolates were household staples. Proud of his Finnish heritage, his ‘sisu’ gave him the unlimited strength and determination to accomplish anything he put his mind to achieve, despite his physical disabilities.
He was active in the Lutheran Church most of his life, had many friends and a large extended family. He will always be remembered as an honest, hardworking and determined man with a zest for life and strong opinions which were generously shared.
Funeral services are scheduled for 11:0 am Saturday, September 28th at Memorial Chapel in Hancock, MI with Rev. Jared Howard to officiate. A graveside service will follow at the Waasa Cemetery.
Friends may call on Saturday, September 28, 2019, from 9 to 11:00 am at the Memorial Chapel Funeral home of Hancock.
To view Jake’s obituary or to send condolences to the family, please visit www.memorialchapel.net.
The Memorial Chapel & Plowe Funeral Homes of Hancock are assisting the family with the arrangements.
