Stephen A. Purpora

Stephen A. Purpora Stephen A. Purpora was welcomed home into the arms of Jesus February 2, 2019 at the age of 54. A celebration will be held at 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 8 at Alliance Bible Church, 13939 N. Cedarburg Rd., in Mequon. A visitation will take place prior to the service from 2-5 p.m. at Alliance Bible Church. Pastor Roger Erickson will be officiating the service. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to one of the following charities of Stephen’s choice: 222 Ministries, P.O. Box 895 Grafton, WI 53024; The Project 82 Foundation, 9702 N. Cedarburg Rd. Mequon, WI 53092; and/or The Milwaukee Rescue Mission. Stephen was born on September 20, 1964 in Cook Country, Illinois to his loving mother and father, Susan and William Purpora. Moving around Southern Wisconsin during his childhood, Stephen settled down with his parents in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin; all before he was 10 years old. Being as outgoing as he was, it was no surprise he made friends and found his niche in the community. After graduating from Whitefish Bay High School, he attended Westminster College in Missouri on a baseball scholarship and later went on to University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. As a young man, Stephen began working alongside his father for the family’s petroleum businesses Protanic, Inc. and Purpora Engineering. While gaining experience and wisdom by his father’s side, Stephen moved up in the company and became lead foreman just seven years after his first day out in the field. In the wake of his father’s passing, Stephen assumed the position of President of Protanic, Inc. and Purpora Engineering in 2002. Proceeding his new position, he took the company international and expanded his outreach as a consultant and major business influencer globally. Outside of work, Stephen quickly discovered at a young age that he would gain a passion for America’s greatest pastime: Baseball. His love for the sport began to grow when he was a teenager in high school as a pitcher for the Blue Dukes. Carrying his love for Baseball through college and into adulthood, Stephen attended hundreds of Brewers games, perfected his swing and even coached his daughter’s softball team. As his children got older, he realized he wanted to get back on the field by mentoring and training young men on the local high school team. He ended up coaching Junior Varsity Baseball at Cedarburg High School and started work with players to prepare them for the next season. Stephen and his beloved wife Michelle Purpora met during one of his bartending shifts while they were both attending college in Milwaukee. After only a few weeks of dating, he knew she was the one. The two were married at ¬¬St. Catherine of Alexandria Catholic Church in 1989 and he finally saw what the rest of his life looked like. They moved into a small ranch house in Cedarburg, Wisconsin where they had and raised their three beautiful daughters: Samantha, Ashley and Sydney. In 2012, Stephen and Michelle moved to their dream home in Grafton, Wisconsin. From then on, the two took several trips together, explored new hobbies, and strengthened their love for one another. Every day of his life Stephen was always thinking of ways to help others. He donated to charities, held bible studies and mentored people of all ages. He believed there was always something he could do to make others happy; and that he did. He had the power to light up a room and put a smile on everyone’s face even during the toughest of times. Every person who met him — whether it was a long-term relationship or even a five-minute interaction at the grocery store — they all felt his love and the warmth of his laughter. Stephen truly was one of a kind, and he will forever be missed and celebrated by his family, friends and loved ones. Stephen is survived by his devoted wife and best friend of 29 years, Michelle (nee Koller) Purpora. Loving daughters Ashley Purpora, Sydney Purpora and Samantha (nee Purpora) Scofield as well as caring son-in-law Zane Scofield. Further survived by brother Ross Purpora; cousin Joseph Purpora; uncle Ronald “Ronnie” Purpora; aunt Elizabeth “Liz” Rackl; uncle Jack Rackl; cousin Linda (nee Rackl) Reiman; mother-in-law Beverly (nee Hoffman) Koller; father-in-law Mark Koller; brother-in-laws Craig Koller and Jeffrey Koller; and many other relatives and friends.