Reflection / Mike Krokos

A salute to a former team member who made us better

I As someone who has been in the newspaper business for 35-plus years, I’ve learned a lot about telling stories.

From my days in the secular world when the mantra “if it bleeds, it leads” was common in the newsroom, I am now tasked with editing and writing stories where people’s lives of faith are the driving force of our publication.

Despite the challenges—and they come with producing any publication—being a part of a team that works on Archbishop Charles C. Thompson’s primary evangelization tool at The Criterion is a blessing.

And “team” is the operative word in the previous paragraph. Among the team members I’ve been blessed to work with during my 20 years as the editor of The Criterion was Louis “Louie” Stumpf.

Louie, who died at age 85 on June 21, worked at The Criterion for more than 22 years, laying out our weekly newspaper as a graphic specialist. But his memory as a member of our Criterion family lives on.

At the time, our graphics department was across the hall from the editorial offices of The Criterion in the Archbishop Edward T. O’Meara Catholic Center in Indianapolis, and I enjoyed making the trek to chat with Louie, probably because of his laid-back nature.

We had several things in common: Louie enjoyed sports. He rooted for the Colts. And he loved IU basketball.

Most of all, I learned his faith was important to him. He and his wife of 62 years, Susie, were members of St. Barnabas Parish on the south side of Indianapolis since 1968. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus.

I did not know until later that Msgr. William F. Stumpf (our current vicar general and pastor of St. Matthew the Apostle Parish in Indianapolis) was his brother.

Louie always wore a smile when he talked about Susie, their children, grandchildren and ever-growing family. It was obvious how much they meant to him and how he felt blessed. It was an example worth emulating.

It was also fun listening to him tell stories about his previous jobs. Typesetting, a darkroom, and cutting and pasting copy (literally, not digitally) presented a unique history that was unfamiliar to many of our younger, more technology-driven staff. Louie brought a unique perspective, and I was among those fascinated to learn of how publishing had progressed during his career.

After Louie retired, we were able to see him and Susie on a yearly basis during our annual employee recognition lunch each spring.

We heard of their regular walks around Greenwood Park Mall in Greenwood, and Louie and I commiserated about IU’s prospects on the hardwood with its coaches. There was hope with Tom Crean, heartache with Archie Miller, and disappointment with Mike Woodson.

We last saw Louie and Susie in the spring, and didn’t realize he would be going home to God a few months later. Despite our sadness, the stories, the camaraderie and the friendships will last a lifetime.

I will remember Louie as a salt-of-the-earth person and one of the kindest people I have ever known.

Although he worked behind the scenes, Louie’s commitment to our publication and the archdiocese will never be forgotten.

His love for his family will be remembered, too.

Thank you, Louie, for showing us what’s important in life.
 

(Mike Krokos is editor of The Criterion, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.) †