ALLEGAN COUNTY, Mich — A man who dedicated his life to serving his community, Allegan County Commissioner Dean Kapenga, passed away on Monday. Now, fellow commissioners are left trying to balance mourning his life and the difficult task of finding someone who can fill his shoes.
“There's a legendary figure called Paul Bunyan. Those are the kind of shoes that we're looking at," said Jim Storey, chairman of the Allegan County Board of Commissioners. "It’s Paul Bunyan-sized shoes that Dean Kapenga left behind.”
A different kind of legend now lives on in Allegan County.
“He was able to get the best out of people, and that is a unique situation," Storey said.
According to Storey and Kapenga's family, he did just about everything a single person can do for their community.
“He essentially committed 50 years of his life to Allegan County," Storey told FOX 17.
The first 30 were spent with the Allegan County Sheriff's Office, where he held a number of different positions and was twice named Deputy of the Year.
Since 2007, Kapenga was a county commissioner alongside Storey. He expanded that role to also serve as chairman of Allegan's Community Action Board, chairman of the county's 911 Emergency Services Board, and a member of the Commission on Aging.
“The Board of Commissioners in Allegan County was a really good place because he contributed that kind of peace and equanimity that makes boards effective," Storey said.
Storey said the county grew by 8 percent from 2010–2020, with Kapenga playing a key role.
They weren't just colleagues, though. They were close friends.
"He was laughing [at] your jokes, even if your jokes were not really great," Storey said.
When he wasn't at work, family told FOX 17 Kapenga was always up for an adventure, whether that was hiking, boating or spending time with his 17 grandkids.
They said he was a man of integrity and strong faith.
“As a matter of fact, when he passed away," Storey said, "he and his wife had been scheduled to leave the day before to go on a mission trip to Guatemala to help build homes down there."
Storey said Kapenga suffered multiple strokes over the weekend before passing away Monday, Aug. 5. He was 69 years old, according to Dykstra Funeral Homes.
On Wednesday, Storey reminisced about one of their final interactions.
“He looked at me and he said, 'You know, Jim,' he says, 'you really put everything into the job of County Commission. More than the rest.' That was a nice compliment. I didn't think enough to go back and say, 'Yeah, but back at you. You do the same thing,'" Storey said.
While Kapenga himself sounds irreplaceable, county commissioners are still required to fill his position within 30 days.
Storey said it's a process they will complete but won't begin until they're done mourning.
Now, he's calling on others to do the same.
“If you want to pay respect to someone who's rendered public service like that, you spend some time thinking, 'How did he help me?' or 'How did he impact my life?' If prayer's a part of your life, say a prayer of thanks for that," Storey said.
A visitation is scheduled for this Friday at Central Wesleyan Church from 4:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m. (use Entrance H, parking lot 5).
Kapenga’s funeral will be held Saturday at the church’s sanctuary after an hourlong visitation, which begins at 9 a.m.
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