On the 28th of August 2017, Richard Zapala passed away at La Porte Hospital after severe medical conditions.
He was born April 15th, 1943 to Walter and Sophie (Dombrowski) Zapala in Chicago, IL.
Richard had a love for cars all his life. He rebuilt his first transmission at the age of 15 with only an instruction manual. It grew from there to building street cars, street racing, fabrication and high-performance race engines and more. He had so many stories that he shared from his first car to truck driving to racing to fabricating and more. Papa “Bear” will always be in our hearts.
He was preceded in death by his parents; mother of his sons, Karen Zapala; 3 great-grandsons; daughter-in-law, Danielle Zapala; and Sabrina Frangello. He is survived by his wife, Mary Zapala; sister, Phyllis Goldberg of OR; children, Richard J. Zapala Jr. (Kim), Mark Zapala (Dana) and Kimberly Zapala; 12 grandchildren, Kaylee Pittman (Chris) of OH, Mark Burklow of IL, Alexandria Zapala (Kyle), Kailey McMahan of IL, Tara Zapala, Dakota Zapala, Jordyn Zapala, Kyria Zapala, Tiffany Smiley (Josh), C.J. Hmurovic, Brayden Roark, and Aubrey Roark; 6 great-grandchildren; as well as several nieces, nephew and cousins.
Cremation has taken place with Cutler Funeral Home and Cremation Center.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 AM (CST) on Wednesday, September 6, 2017 at Sacred Heart Church, 201 Bach Street, La Porte. Father Ian Williams will be officiating.
The family will receive guests prior to the mass in the fellowship hall from 10-11 AM (CST) on Wednesday at the church.
Memorial contributions may be directed to the family c/o Mary Zapala, 2900 Monroe Street, La Porte, IN 46350.
Condolences may be shared online at www.cutlerfuneralhome.com