Stanley H. Szczepanek Sr. died March 23, 2008, in the Pottstown Memorial Medical Center. He was 74. He was the husband of Sara C. (Vercoe) Szczepanek of Upper Providence. Born in Norristown, he was a son of the late Stanley J. and Lillian (Zurawski) Szczepanek Lawler. Mr. Szczepanek was a graduate of the Milton S. Hershey High School. He served in the United States Army and was stationed throughout Europe. Mr. Szczepanek was employed as a packer for Allentown Portland Cement Co. in West Conshohocken and then as an operator for Pennsylvania American Water, until his retirement in 1996. In addition to his wife of 49 years, Mr. Szczepanek is survived by a daughter, Miriam Szczepanek of Royersford; sons Stanley H. Szczepanek Jr. of Hill Church and Andrew P. Szczepanek of East Coventry; sisters Mary Ann Rees of Warrington and Nancy Patterson of Conshohocken; brother John Lawler Jr. of Mt. Airy; and seven grandchildren. He was preceded in death by brothers Edward Szczepanek and David Lawler and stepfather John Lawler Sr. Relatives and friends are invited to attend the memorial service at the Cattermole – Klotzbach Funeral Home, 600 Washington Street, Royersford, March 27 at 10 a.m. Friends were invited to call from 9 to 10 a.m. at the funeral home. Interment will be in the St. Benedict’s Cemetery, Conshohocken.

Memorial gifts may be made to the Sacred Heart School, P.O. Box 64, Royersford, PA 19468.

Note from his son:

Stan H. Szczepanek Jr says… Posted 7 minutes ago He introduced me to the natural world and all of its wonder, a world which I am still exploring today and will never complete. It is the real world, the only world that means anything. Babbling brooks say much more than babbling people. During the course of all this education, few words were spoken, no lectures, no parables. Life is meant to be lived and so you can not sit idly by, for life is a hands-on experience. This is my Dad. He has given me his name. If I should become half the man that he is, I shall be far ahead of the rest of the world. This is my Dad and I Love him with all my heart. Stanley H. Szczepanek Junior 2/28/04

Stan H. Szczepanek Jr says… Posted 8 minutes ago He has taught me self-reliance, the power and tenacity of one. He has proven to me the importance of setting goals and of being single-minded in order to achieve. He has taught me to do for myself. That when no one else is around, you are still with your best friend. He has given me the skills to build and create. He was the first person to put a piece of wood into my hands and show me that the possibilities were endless. That lesson, the superiority of wood over plastic, transcends the mere objects which surround our daily lives. It is an emblematic of relationships with all people, organic versus artificial. That men are to be judged solely upon their character. He is without guile. He has taught me that our society was created by the small people, the working class and that any structure is built from the ground up, not in reverse.

Stan H. Szczepanek Jr says… Posted 9 minutes ago This is my Dad. It is because of him that I draw breath. It is because of him that I am the person that you see today for he has taught me the importance of being a man; what it means to be a husband, father, teacher, student, leader and follower. He has taught me humility and the importance of self-depreciating humor because he has instilled in me a sense of pride that emanates from within and needs no outside succor. He has given me laughter. He has taught me the difference between right and wrong and the consequences of both. Because of him, I walk through life knowing “what I should do”, despite the influence of the outside world. I sometimes stand alone, but know that I am righteous. Leadership can only be accomplished by example.