Obituary of James Sopinski

James D.Sopinski "Jim" Age 79. Born on July 14, 1935 and passed into God's hands on December 23, 2014 of pancreatic cancer. His final year was difficult--after falling and fracturing several cervical vertebrae early in 2014, he faced major surgery to stabilize his neck and then further surgery in an attempt to eradicate the cancer. He fought long and hard in his battle for life. He was preceded in death by his father, John D. "Jack" Szopinski; his mother, Sadie (Amshl) Szopinski; his brother, Richard J. Szopinski; his sister-in-law, Lorraine (Burda) Szopinski and his nephew, Robert J. "Bob" Duranto. Jim is survived by his beloved wife, Marilyn (McDonald) Sopinski, with whom he shared his life for the past 31 years. He is also survived by his former wife and close friend, Donna K. (Williamson) Szopinski-Amato and their five cherished children, James A. (Linda) Szopinski of Milan, TN, Daniel D. (Rita) Szopinski of Pembroke Pines, FL, Julie A. (David) Weisbecker of Waconia, MN, David J. (Donna) Szopinski of Yorkville, IL and Joseph D. (Naomi) Szopinski of Plainfield, IL; two stepsons, Mark M. McDonald of Las Vegas, NV and Heath A. McDonald of Wonder Lake, IL; 16 grandchildren; a sister, Beverly (Jack) Duranto; a niece; Kathy Duranto-Huebner, and one nephew, Jack (Terry) Duranto, Jr. He grew up in the Cheney neighborhood in Crest Hill and spoke warmly of his happy childhood. He maintained friendships with many of his boyhood buddies over the years and the family enjoyed listening to his stories of their youthful exploits. Jim attended Lockport High School and graduated with the Class of 1953. As often as possible, he attended reunion functions and enjoyed visiting with old friends from school days. He attended Lewis University and was so proud when two of his many grandchildren elected to carry on that tradition. He loved sports, but golf was his passion and he played often and well. Jim's career began as a design engineer with Philips Control and then with ITT telecommunications, where it expanded into leadership roles in the Operations and Marketing of various telecommuncations equipment. Among his unique contributions with ITT in this field were the design and patent of the first Toll Ticketing Telephone System for a major U.S. Air Force Base in Nevada and the marketing and installation of large PABX systems in such places as the Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles, large facilities in Moscow, Taiwan and many more. He then moved to Rockwell International Telecommunications, where he led the successful placement of their massive Automatic Call Distribution Systems into service in many U.S. Government facilities across the United States. After retiring from corporate life, Jim and a partner purchased three ITT Telecommunications sales and maintenance branches located in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, MD and Harrisburg, PA. Jim served as President of this new company, Americom, and worked there (in the Washington office) until his final retirement in 1998, when he and his wife returned home to Plainfield, IL Funeral Services for James D. Sopinski will be Saturday, December 27, 2014 at 6:00 p.m. at the Fred C. Dames Funeral Home, 3200 Black at Essington Rds., Joliet. Cremation Rites will be accorded following services. Visitation Saturday, 3-7 p.m. Donations may be made in Jim's name to the Professional Golf Association, 100 Avenue of the Champions, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33418 to assist underpriviledged children in learning the sport of golf, or to St. Jude Children's Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105 to help seriously ill children regain their health. For information: 815-741-5500 or visit his Book of Memories at www.fredcdames.co