Obituary of Kenneth Max Schopen

KENNETH M. SCHOPEN age 78, of Fort Atkinson, passed away October 15, 2015 at the Fort Atkinson Memorial Hospital. He was born on May 25, 1937 in Jefferson, Wisconsin, son of the late Julius and Margaret (Biwer) Schopen. He married Ione Rahn on August 10, 1963 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Fort Atkinson. Kenneth served as the Clerk of Courts for Jefferson County for 38 years, retiring in 2006. In his earlier career, he had been employed as a Senate Page at the Capital in Madison, and had worked at Crepaco in Lake Mills. He was a member of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Communities of St. John's and St. Lawrence Parishes, St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Fort Atkinson, and St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Whitewater. Ken loved to sing and was a member of the Christian Faith Singers, and he was a member of the church choirs. He was very much a people-person and also loved spending time with his family. He was an avid baseball fan and enjoyed watching the Milwaukee Brewers. He will be deeply missed by his family, wife Ione Schopen of Fort Atkinson; daughters Rita (Thomas Aldrich) Schopen of Fort Atkinson and Renee (Dan) Hibbard of Johnson Creek; sisters Janet Hansen of Florida, Barbara (Robert) Speck of Burbank Illinois, and Ann (Russ) Ganzow of Fort Atkinson; brothers Nicholas (Lynn) Schopen, Jack (Nancy) Schopen, David (Jean) Schopen, Mark (Linda) Schopen, and Michael Schopen all of Jefferson; sisters-in-law Angeline (James) Buchholtz of Portage and Camilla Rahn of Waukesha; and brother-in-law Charles Schroeder of Jefferson. He is preceded in death by his sister Donna Schroeder; brothers Thomas Schopen and Richard Schopen; sister-in-law Judy Schopen; and brothers-in-law Ken Hansen and Carl Rahn. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 12:00 noon on Friday, October 23, 2015, at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Jefferson with the Rev. Thomas Coyle officiating. Burial will follow in the Evergreen Cemetery in Fort Atkinson. Visitation will be at the church on Friday from 9:00 a.m. until the time of Mass. Those wishing to give a memorial in Ken's name may direct them to Rainbow Hospice Care, or to the Randy Schopen Foundation. The family would like to thank the doctors and nurses at Fort Health Care, St. Mary's Hospital in Madison, the staff at Fairhaven in Whitewater, Alden Estates of Jefferson, and Rainbow Hospice. Visit www.schneidermichaelisfuneralhome.com to leave a condolence or light a candle in his memory.