John V. Hrupek

John V. Hrupek

September 1, 1940 – November 13, 2018

FUNERAL MASS: Monday, Nov. 19^th at 11am at St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church, 11802 Pacific.  In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church or Creighton Prep.

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John V. Hrupek, also known as Husband, Dad, Grandpa, Johnny, Johnny Boy and Butch, was born in Omaha, NE on September 1, 1940 to John S. and Martha (Bogatz) Hrupek.  John attended St Stanislaus (aka St. Stans) and later graduated from Creighton Prep in 1958.  John was a “South Omaha boy,” grew up on South 42^nd St., and had strong ties to the community.  He introduced his family to Bohemian Café, kolaches and steins of beer!

After high school, John went on to tour Europe, but soon had to come home when he exhausted all his money! John eventually graduated from Creighton University in 1967 with a Bachelor in Political Science and a minor in Russian History.  Creighton Blue ran in his blood – he was an avid Bluejays fan and wouldn’t miss a game.

John eventually was set up on a blind date with Mary Kay Kanouff.  On May 28, 1966 they were wed and recently celebrated their 52^nd wedding anniversary.

John developed his love of cooking through his Dad’s restaurant, Johnny Hrupek’s Cafe.  He was always called upon to lend a helping hand if the cooks didn’t show up.  John would always be appointed to be the cook for family vacations, ALL holidays, Sunday night dinners and even helping out at his daughter and son in law’s restaurant, Gather, in Jackson Hole.  Because of his love of cooking, he ended up with many grandchildren “sous chefs” that eventually joined him in the kitchen.  He also has an abundant collection of cooking and recipe books, every kitchen gadget, pot, pan and utensils that you can imagine.

John’s career started with positions in City government with Mayor Leahy.  He ended with a long successful career in commercial real estate.  He was always available for advice on real estate deals for his friends and family!

John enjoyed golf.  He made many, many close relationships with his golf buddies, especially his Thursday league in which he was appointed scorekeeper.  He took that job seriously!  John also was the talk of the neighborhood when it came to his lawn and landscape.  Always beautiful, impeccable and green!  He didn’t have much luck with his snow blowers though.

Anyone who knows John, knows his love of ice cream.  I think it added extra years to his life, the nightly errand Mary Kay had to run to DQ for a chocolate fudge malt then finish up their night with The Antiques Roadshow.  The grandkids remember the root beer floats every Sunday at Grandpa’s house.  He especially loved Hires root beer; in which he sent us on errands to get from the hospital!

John loved numbers which included the love of the stock market and the lottery.  He was convinced that he would have the winning ticket.  Maybe now he can have some influence on the lottery.   He was an avid reader and would devour any history book he encountered and especially loved anything about World War II.

John died peacefully on November 13, 2018.  Survivors include his wife, Mary Kay of Omaha; sister Jackie (Tony) Hurst of San Rafael, CA; and brother Bob Hrupek of Lincoln, NE.  Children include: Michael Hrupek of Maple Grove, MN, Kathryn “K.C.” (Chris) Andersen of Bennington, NE, Christine (Graeme) Swain of Jackson Hole, WY and Laura Hammond of Omaha, NE.  John took pride in and loved deeply all of his 11 grandchildren: Taylor of Juneau, AK, Isabella and Preston Hrupek of Maple Grove, MN, Carly, Fischer and Courtney Andersen of Bennington, NE, Ellis and Ivy Swain of Jackson Hole, WY and Alex, Ethan and Faye Hammond of Omaha, NE.  He is also survived by many other relatives and friends.