Gladys WALESIEWICZ

24 JAN 1937 - 4 MAR 2012

• BIRTH: 24 JAN 1937, South Bend, IN
• BURIAL: Cremation
• DEATH: 4 MAR 2012, Lakeville, In

• MARRIAGE: AFT 1958

1.  Ronald KOPALA
2.  Linda KOPALA

INDEX

[N1366] Gladys Reta Kopala
Jan. 24, 1937 - March 4, 2012
LAKEVILLE - Gladys Reta Kopala, 75, of Lakeville, IN, passed away in her residence on Sunday, March 4th, at 7:40 PM after a short illness. Gladys was born on January 24th, 1937, in South Bend, IN, and had resided in the Michiana area her lifetime. Gladys is survived by one daughter, Linda S. Spry of Danville, IN; one son, Ronald W. Kopala Jr. of Bremen, IN; two sisters, Alice Young of South Bend, IN, and Annette (Gary) Stefaniak of Mishawaka, IN; and one brother, Chester (Artie) Walker of Mishawaka, IN. Also surviving are two grandchildren, Jessica H. Fortunak of Avon, IN, and Melissa M. N-Doye of Indianapolis, IN, whom she loved and cherished. Ms. Kopala was preceded in death by her parents, Chester Walesiewicz and Helen (Paszkiet) Walesiewicz; one sister, Eleanor Walesiewicz; and one brother, Edward Walesiewicz. Gladys retired from Cardinal Bottling Company in South Bend where she worked for many years. Gladys was a wonderful loving mother, grandmother and sister, who will be dearly missed by her wonderful, loving family. She loved farming, gardening, canning, politics, religion, and was also a community advocate. She wanted all people to have public access. She was also a member of the PNA & Teamster Union. The family request that all memorial contributions be made to the YWCA Women's Shelter at 1102 Fellows Street, South Bend, IN 46601. There will be no visitation or services. Cremation has taken place. The HANLEY & Sons "Walkerton Chapel" Funeral Home handled arrangements and extends its deepest sympathy to the Kopala family.
Published in South Bend Tribune on March 6, 2012

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Area advocate for government records access dies at age 75.
March 08, 2012|ERIN BLASKO | South Bend Tribune

SOUTH BEND -- For more than 20 years, Gladys Reta Kopala attended nearly every public meeting in South Bend, becoming, in the process, a fixture at the County-City Building, as recognizable as the mayor.

Tape player set to record, the widowed farmer's wife listened to debates about taxes and drainage, zoning and budgets, nodding or rolling her eyes when appropriate.

During public comment, she often stood, stated her name and address, and expressed her opinion -- unvarnished, in most cases -- on a number of topics, including access to public records.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that most public officials probably knew her address by heart.

"She just wanted to make sure that everybody could have access to records," her daughter, Linda Spry, of Danville, Ind., said Wednesday.
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No more, though.

Following a stroke, the 75-year-old died Sunday at her home in Lakeville, leaving behind a son and daughter, three siblings, and two grandchildren.

And those tapes. So many tapes.

"You wouldn't believe it," her son, Ronald Kopala Jr., said Wednesday. "We have like 10 or 15 filing cabinets and probably 20,000 tapes."

Dissatisfied with the county's response to a drainage issue at her farm, Kopala first became involved in local government back in the early 1980s, quickly becoming a fixture inside the County-City Building.

Most days, she drove up from Lakeville and spent the entire day downtown, attending meeting after meeting, the definition of involved.

"She kind of got involved the way a lot of people do," Andy Kostielney, president of the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners, said Wednesday. "She had an issue and she wasn't satisfied with the answer she was getting, so she jumped right in the middle of it."

Kostielney said he recalled a six-month period in which Kopala "literally ... attended every single public meeting in the county."

An outspoken advocate for transparency in local government, Kopala constantly requested public records, both formally and informally, and excoriated any public official who dared deny them to her.

"She just wanted to make sure people were aware of what was going on," Spry, her daughter, said. "She was never harmful to people, she just got excited about the topic."

At the Board of Commissioners meeting Tuesday, board members acknowledged Kopala's death and her record of involvement.

And Kostielney, who admitted to a sometimes rocky relationship with Kopala, suggested she's now holding heaven accountable.

"When she got to the pearly gates and saw St. Peter," he said, "the first thing she probably asked was, 'Where's the agenda posted and when am I gonna get it?'"