Leon Vanderloop

Leon Vanderloop, age 85, passed away peacefully at St. Paul Home in Kaukauna on Saturday morning, November 9, 2013. The Lord God granted Lee a beautiful gift: his entire immediate family witnessed his passing into God's hands.

Leon was born in Hollandtown on May 25, 1928, son of the late Richard and Leona (Brochtrup) Vanderloop. He attended St. Francis School in Hollandtown, was a 1946 graduate of Kaukauna High School, and attended St. Norbert College for one year, but marriage and work on the farm called him home. On May 28, 1949 he married the former Pat Greenwood. The couple farmed in Hollandtown for ten years, and during this time, Leon obtained his pilot license. His pride and joy was his 1948 Piper Cub, which he stored behind the barn. He and Pat moved to Kaukauna in 1961, and resided there for the next forty-one years. During that time, he was employed by Badger Northland, Keller Structures, and Paper Converting. He attended auction school in Mason City, Iowa, and during the 1970's and 1980's enjoyed attended auctions. Until recently, he also loved to conduct the auctions at various church picnics all around the valley. Leon was a longtime and faithful member of St. Katharine Drexel Parish in Kaukauna (St. Mary's), where over the years he served on the parish council, building committee, choir member, lector, communion minister, and as a Boy Scout Leader. Since the age of eighteen he had been a member of Council #1033 of the Knights of Columbus, where he served as Grand Knight for three terms. He was also a member of the Kaukauna Elks and the Kaukauna Lions Clubs, donated his time as a volunteer at St. Vincent de Paul, and served on the Board of Commissioners for the Kaukauna Housing Authority for over twenty-five years.

Leon is survived by his loving wife: Pat Vanderloop of Hollandtown; eight children: Thomas (Linda) Vanderloop of Menomonie, Wisconsin; Timothy (Jill) Vanderloop of Appleton; Patricia (Keith) Coleman of Gilbert, Arizona; Richard (Sue) Vanderloop of Kaukauna; David (Gail) Vanderloop of Kaukauna; Helen (Jim) Panetti of DePere; Peter (Syd) Vanderloop of Freedom; and Martin (Sandy) Vanderloop of Little Chute. He will also be missed by twenty-seven grandchildren: Aaron, Jordan, Elizabeth, Molly, Heidi, Hannah, Ellie, Greta, Lori, Tami, Kari, Ryan, Rachael, Robert, Lisa, David, Nathan, Sarah, Adam, Justin, Michael, Lauren, Josh, Matt, Zack, Bryton, and Lucas; twenty-seven great-grandchildren: Darby, Jaiden, Ashley, Emma, Isabel, Owen, Sammy, Lily, Maren, Kendra, Blake, Jacoby, Maryn, Madysen, Maverick, Josephine, Asher, Christian, Dominic, Noah, Rayna, Jayden, Lorraine, Logan, Jada, Mallory, and Brooklyn; and a great-great-grandson: Ira. There are also three brothers: Linus (Gloria) Vanderloop of Askeaton; Dan (Toni) Vanderloop of Kaukauna; and Paul (Willie) Vanderloop of Kimberly; two sisters: Carol (John) Van Zeeland of Kaukauna and Mary Ann (Cletus) Feldkamp of Kaukauna; two sisters-in-law: Shirley Vanderloop and Jean Maeder; as well as Pat's brothers and sister: George Greenwood, Tom (Jean) Greenwood, Peg Vanevenhoven, and Lawrence Greenwood.

Leon was preceded in death by his parents, a brother Allan Vanderloop; two sisters: Grace (Hugo) Vande Yacht and Linda Vanderloop; Pat's parents George and Helen Greenwood, brothers-in-law Tom Vanevenhoven and Robert Greenwood; a sister-in-law: Kathleen Greenwood.

The funeral liturgy for Leon will be held at 12:00 Noon on Wednesday, November 13, 2013 at ST. KATHARINE DREXEL PARISH, (St. Francis Church) in Hollandtown. Fr. Jerry Pastors will officiate. Interment will be at 3:30 PM in St. Mary Cemetery, Kaukauna. Family and friends are invited to gather at the church on Wednesday morning from 9:00 AM until the time of the service.

Pat and the family would like to offer their sincere thanks to everyone at St. Paul Elder Services for the extra-special care that Leon received while there. The doctors, nurses, hospice staff, and all of the other caregivers were so kind, loving, and compassionate. Our grateful family will never forget all that you have done for us.

All will remember Leon as a handy man who could fix just about anything. He was kind to the elderly and also loved children. Playing Santa Claus to the neighbor children was a favorite annual activity. He also loved to play cards or sharing a meal with loved ones and talking about “old times”. Most of all, he dedicated himself to his family, his friends, and his God.