Life Events

WHITEWATER — Shirley Ann Stone Hapka entered into eternal life on Wednesday, September 6, at her home, where she had resided since 1962.

Shirley was born in Whitewater on February 27, 1940 to Ralph and Eleanor (Jacobs) Stone. She graduated from what is now the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater with a degree in Elementary Education. She went on to earn her master’s degree in Education in 1988.

Shirley married John D. Hapka on July 28, 1962, and moved to their home on Jefferson Street where she lived until her death.

Shirley proudly worked at the Irvin L. Young Memorial Library for 30 years, retiring at the age of 80. Shirley served as a local history expert, proudly provided books for the homebound, and worked with volunteers and played a critical role in the library’s used book sales. Prior to her library job, Shirley also worked for the City of Whitewater as an assistant to Wava Jean Nelson, City Clerk. Before joining the city, Shirley worked as a bookkeeper at Winchester True Value Hardware on Main Street.

Faith and community service were extremely important to Shirley. She was a lifelong member of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, as well as a member of the Washington School Parents and Teachers organization when her children attended school there. Shirley was also a member of the Irvin L. Young Memorial Library’s book club.

Shirley’s passion was her family. She was a very proud grandma of Melody Brady Martin and Ian Jon Brady, and enthusiastically attended all their musical and sporting events with their grandpa, John. Her happiest moments were when she was interacting with her two great-grandchildren, Maxwell and Amelia Martin.

She is survived by her two children, Kathy Brady and Thomas Hapka, both of Whitewater; son-in-law, Paul Brady of Fort Atkinson; granddaughter, Melody Brady Martin, and her husband, Aaron, and their children, Maxwell and Amelia, of Fort Atkinson; grandson, Ian Brady of Oshkosh; and her sisters, Sharon Hapka of Milwaukee and Sharlene Chapman of Brookfield. She also is survived by many beloved nieces and nephews.

Shirley also is survived by her cherished cats, Bootsie and Packer, as well as her grand-dog, Winston.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her in-laws Angeline and Jon Hapka, husband John; and her beloved brothers-in-law Julius, Robert, Daniel, and Anthony Hapka and George Chapman. Shirley was also preceded in death by generations of beloved cats, including Kitter, Fluffy, Jac, Henrietta, Garf, Fuzzy, Trouble, Roserock, Felix, Vinnie, Smokie, Buddy, Spatz, Rose Rock, and Mama.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to LifeBeyondBrainInjury.org, a fund established for Shirley’s son, Thomas, a brain injury survivor.

A visitation will be held at St. Patrick’s Church on Friday, September 23 from 9:30 – 11 a.m., with a funeral mass to immediately follow.

John 14:1-3

“Do not be worried and upset,” Jesus told them. “Believe in God and believe also in me. There are many rooms in my Father’s house, and I am going to prepare a place for you. I would not tell you this if it were not so. And after I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you myself, so that you will be where I am.”

Update: Condolences may be left here.

I-Ning Huang

December 11, 1939 ~ August 30, 2022

I-Ning Huang, beloved husband and father, doting grandfather, respected teacher, wise mentor, and family historian passed away peacefully at the Sawtelle Family Hospice House in Reading, MA on August 30, 2022.  

He was born on December 11, 1939 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province to Chi-Tsy and Pei-Xiang Huang, the third of four sons.  In 1949, his family fled to Taiwan, eventually settling in Taipei, as his father took a position of confidential secretary to Chiang Ching-Kuo (son of Chiang Kai-Shek), who eventually served as President of Taiwan in 1978.

I-Ning attended the esteemed National Taiwan University, where he studied psychology.  This was followed by compulsory military training.  It was during this time that he fell in love with Hwai-Huey Hsu, a fellow psychology student from NTU.  In 1962, I-Ning and Hwai-Huey got engaged days before he left for graduate study in the US at New Mexico State.  After completing his master’s degree in 1964, the two were reunited when I-Ning joined Hwai-Huey as a fellow graduate student at the University of Texas-Austin.  They married before a judge in Travis county court in Austin that July.  In 1965, they welcomed their first son, Kuang-Yu. 

I-Ning received his PhD in Psychology in 1968.  Although the young family had initially planned to return to Taiwan after getting their degrees in the US, the parents from both the Hsu and Huang families strongly suggested they stay and raise their family in the United States for a better life. This led I-Ning to join the faculty of the psychology department at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he would continue to teach until his retirement in 2000.

In the following years, two more sons were born:  Kuang-Hao in 1970, and Kuang-Hung in 1973.  I-Ning excelled as a teacher and was quickly promoted to full professor.  He was awarded the W.P. Roseman Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1983.  He was also an active researcher, maintaining a lab (which led to many trips with his young sons to feed the rats) and publishing numerous articles in the area of experimental psychology.  Knowing firsthand the difficulties of being a foreign student, I-Ning helped generations of international students at the university acclimate to life in a small town in Wisconsin, regularly inviting them over for big meals and games over the holidays.  

In 1981, Hwai-Huey passed away after a long bout with cancer.  After this great loss, I-Ning poured himself into raising his three sons, while continually teaching, researching, cooking and upkeeping a household.  Despite his busy schedule, he soon rediscovered love. 

I-Ning was introduced to Joyce Leung through a mutual friend.  Because Joyce worked as a librarian at Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts, the two actively corresponded through letters for two years.  In 1985, the two married, and Joyce joined I-Ning in Whitewater.  

When the sons left home, I-Ning’s life became filled with tennis and card games with friends, as well as with a long term project of compiling a family tree and translating a family history written by his father.  He and Joyce continued to host international students from the university, and with an influx of young faculty from China and Taiwan, they welcomed these new faculty and their families into their lives as well.

These years were also filled with numerous travel adventures for I-Ning and Joyce.  From the Pyramids of Egypt to sections of the Silk Road in Xinjiang Province in China where they rode camels and ate exquisite grapes, they made annual trips for the next two decades.  They were often invited to visit their extended “family” of international students, who now span the world.  Although partial to taking cruises (which limited the amount of walking required!), I-Ning enjoyed visiting places of historical significance and identifying elements of Chinese culture in non-Chinese parts of the world.

After the births of his grandchildren, I-Ning relished every opportunity to spend time with them.  Although the grandkids all lived in the Chicago area, he would eagerly drop everything and make the two-hour drive to serve as emergency babysitter.  As they got older, weekend visits to Whitewater were filled with card games, fishing, tennis, and lots of the kids’ favorite foods.  He would spoil them in ways unrecognizable to his own sons.

In 2010, I-Ning and Joyce retired to Medford, Massachusetts, where they would enjoy regular Tai Chi classes in Fellsmere Park, great Chinese food and seafood, and the offerings of Boston’s many cultural and educational institutions. And because they lived in a condo, I-Ning would never again have to shovel snow.

I-Ning is survived by his wife, Joyce; his three sons,  Kuang-Yu (Susan), Kuang-Hao (Janice) and Kuang-Hung; and three grandchildren Nicholas Yong-Nien, Maia Yong-Yi and Gabriel Yong-Hao.  

I-Ning will be remembered for his generosity, humility, humor, honesty, and integrity– as someone whose actions spoke louder than his words. 

A private burial and memorial will take place at Ewing Cemetery in Ewing, New Jersey, on September 10th.  In lieu of other expressions of sympathy, the family requests donations be made to UW-Whitewater Foundation and marked for the Huang-Christner Psychology Scholarship. This scholarship will assist a UW-Whitewater Psychology student. Donations can be made by check or online  www.uww.edu/give  by selecting the Huang-Christner Psychology Scholarship. Or mailed to:

UW-Whitewater Foundation, Inc.
800 W Main St
Whitewater, WI 53190

Dr. Richard Francis James, 78, passed August 18 at Glenwood.  He was born August 2, 1944, to Dr. Carl and Frances James in Eureka, Kansas.  He had an idyllic childhood building race cars and hunting on the James farm and in Western Kansas.  He was president of his 1962 high school senior class, and he presided over class reunions through 2017.  He enrolled at Emporia State University and was president of the Sig Taus.  In June of 1966, he enlisted in the Air Force.  He was promoted to sergeant and named munitions and maintenance man of the month.  His tour included Vietnam, Korea, and Japan where he built and loaded bombs.  After his discharge, he completed his bachelor’s degree.  He was then hired by the newly opened Shawnee Mission NW High School in Kansas City, Kansas.  In 1974, Kansas named him Outstanding Young Educator.  After earning his master’s degree, he resigned his position at Shawnee Mission but continued to attend reunions of the original faculty.  He then began his doctoral program at Northern Illinois University where he met Marcia when she joined the program in 1976.  He received the Lyle Maxwell Award while at Northern.  After marrying Marcia, he accepted a tenure-track position at UW-Whitewater.  He received the college and university service awards for his prairie reconstruction efforts.  He and Marcia received the Vocational Instructional Materials Award at a national convention after they authored Microcomputer Applications in Business.  He also received the Freedoms Foundation’s Leavey Award for his two-day Mini Business World experience where business people, teachers, and students would work together to create a business.  The Wisconsin Business Education Association recognized him as their Outstanding Postsecondary Educator in 2002.  Finally, Rich helped bring the Programs of Excellence Award to UW-Whitewater three times!  He sang in First English Lutheran Church choir and played baritone in Fort Atkinson’s Community Band for 25 years.  He played golf and made wine with many friends.  He and Marcia traveled extensively. He participated in two Badger Honor Flights.  He is the original owner of a 1964 Corvette, which was driven in the Whitewater Fourth of July parade from 1979-2019.  He continued to hunt, oversee his Kansas farmland while being dad to Griffin (Katie) and Logan and grandad to Canon and Reed.  He was preceded in death by his parents, brother, and six Brittany spaniels.  He is also survived by his sister and many nieces, nephews, and former students.  Marcia and sons would like to thank the staff at Glenwood, Agrace Hospice, Dee Simon, fellow golfers and Pastor Wendt, who faithfully visited. 

The service will be held at First English Lutheran Church on Saturday, August 27, at 11 a.m. The family will be available at 10 a.m. Also, a luncheon will follow at Willow Brook Golf Course. Please send any contributions to the Dr. Richard F. James Marketing Education Scholarship, UW-Foundation, 810 W. Main Street, Whitewater. Nitardy Funeral Home is assisting the family.

Thomas “Tommy” F. Lange, 85, of Whitewater passed away peacefully at his home on July 16, 2022.

Tommy is survived by his dear friends Jason Ondricka (Christine), John Vodenlich (Jennifer), Kevin Bullis (Kathy), Matt Zwaschka (April), Adam Latella (Jessica), Ryan Callahan (Danyelle), Bob Berezowitz (Jan), Lance Liepold (Kelly), Carol Miller, and countless other Warhawk students, athletes, coaches, faculty, and alumni. Tommy is preceded in death by his parents Karl F. Lange and Bernice E. Lange (Follensbee), as well as longtime friend and UW-Whitewater Head Baseball Coach Jim Miller.

Tommy was born on November 4, 1936, and raised in Watertown, WI. During his childhood, Tommy was captivated with trains. This fascination with trains continued throughout his entire life. Tommy attended St. Henry’s Grade School and graduated in 1950, followed by Watertown High School in 1954. He received his Undergraduate Degree in History & Economics from Ripon College in 1958, and ultimately received his Master’s Degree in Business Administration from University of Wisconsin – Whitewater in 1973.

Tommy was an active service member of the United States Army from 1959-1970. He was stationed in Korea for over a year during this time. Tommy achieved the Commissioned Officer rank of Captain by 1964, and he served in the Adjutant General’s Corps. Upon being relieved from active duty in 1970, he transferred into the National Guard. Tommy was honorably discharged from the military in 1976. During his service, Tommy received the National Defense Service Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, and the Army Commendation (1^st OLC).

Tommy began his 30-year career with the United States Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service as a Tax Auditor in 1974. During his tenure he was appointed as the Representative of the District Director of the Janesville IRS office.

Beginning in 1977, Tommy dedicated 45 years of service to UW-Whitewater Warhawk athletics as a volunteer, supporter, contributor, and fan. For many years, he was the PA announcer for football games, baseball games, wrestling meets, and women’s basketball games. He also worked the table for men’s basketball games. Tommy additionally donated his time at football practices as the air horn man who had coaches switch segments of practice on schedule. Tommy was a member of almost every booster club, including the Quarterback Club, the Tip-Off Club, and the Dugout Club, serving as the treasurer of the QB Club for several years. He sponsored numerous trips and meals for the different athletic teams, and was always willing to assist any program with a donation. In 1997, Tommy became a Warhawk Athletics Hall of Fame inductee and recipient of the Distinguished Service Award, for his years of significant contribution to the success of UW-W athletics programs.

Over the years, Tommy made a point to know every player by name and position on each of the teams he supported. He touched countless lives working with Warhawk athletic staff and teams, pouring his time, energy, and resources into their programs while asking for nothing in return. His presence, laughter, Elvis impressions, and one-liners will be dearly missed.

Tommy “The Kid” was truly a legend. He lived and breathed Warhawk athletics, and will always be remembered as “Mr. Warhawk.”

Tommy was known by everyone for his countdown toward the upcoming season by telling you the exact hours, minutes, and seconds left before the first game. Tommy lived a service filled life, totaling 751,234 hours, 26 minutes, and 18 seconds. . . ”but who’s counting,” as he would have said. Tommy’s legacy lives in all of us that were truly blessed to call him our friend.

The Funeral Service for Tommy will be held on Monday, August 29^th, from 5 p.m.-7 p.m., at Nitardy Funeral Home in Whitewater, WI. A private burial will take place at St. Henry’s Cemetery in Watertown. A Celebration of Life Memorial Ceremony will be held at the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater University Center on Monday, September 19^th, from 5:30 p.m.-7 p.m. In honor of Tommy, please wear your favorite Whitewater Warhawk apparel when attending the funeral service and/or memorial ceremony.

Nitardy Funeral Home is assisting with arrangements. Online condolences can be made at www.nitardyfuneralhome.com.