Leon A. "Lee" Kaboski

On June 1, 1943, Leon Andrew “Lee” Kaboski was welcomed into this world by his parents, Helen (nee: Witkowski) and Leon Kaboski. God welcomed him home on April 28, 2023.

Lee and his sister Rita (William) Torok grew up in South Amboy, New Jersey, enjoying large family gatherings at his grandmother’s home.

He and his family were members of Sacred Heart Parish in South Amboy, and he attended Sacred Heart grade school and St. Mary’s High School. As a teenager, he worked at his Aunt Tek’s ice cream and candy shop, where he loved helping little children select their treats.

Lee earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism in 1965 from Marquette University, where he met his future wife Mary (nee: Schuman). He was always an avid Marquette basketball fan and shared season tickets with his very good friend John Kerscher and wife Sandy. With his degree emphasis in advertising, he held advertising and sales positions throughout his life, including more than 25 years at Industries for the Blind in Milwaukee, where he was sales manager.

Lee and Mary were married on April 30, 1966, at St. Columba Church in Chicago. Soon afterward, they moved to Racine, Wisconsin, where they were blessed with five children: Mary Catherine (Ron Shadix) Kaboski now of Greenville, SC; James (Hilary) Kaboski of Barrington, IL; Karen (Dave) Clay of Granger, IN; Joseph (Juhi) Kaboski of Granger, IN; and Thomas (Isabelle) Kaboski of Muskego, WI. They now have 14 greatly loved grandchildren: Adrianna Cook; Elizabeth Kaboski; Nathaniel, Jacob, Catherine, and Michaela Clay; Andy, Tommy, John Paul, Claire, and Mary Kaboski; and Sophia, Daniel, and Matthew Kaboski.

He loved his children and grandchildren and enjoyed taking them to places like the Racine Zoo and the Quarry Beach. He took them trick-or-treating, sledding at Johnson Park, and to Brewer baseball games and Marquette basketball games – and sometimes just to the Milwaukee airport to watch the airplanes. For quite a while, he held “drop-in homework nights” for neighborhood teens and in those years he and fellow father Gary Exner were a formidable duo in pick-up basketball games on Three Mile Road.

Lee was an active member at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church and over the years he served as chair of the Stewardship Committee and co-chair of the parish bingo, he oversaw the meal program for the poor, co-taught religious education classes, and sliced corned beef for many St. Patrick’s Day parties. In retirement he became active in the Our Lady of Guadalupe conference of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, first as a visitor to neighbors in need and later as vice president of the conference.

Lee will be remembered as a loving husband, a dedicated father and grandfather, and a very good friend. No matter what happened, he always saw the good side, frequently saying, “well the good news is….”

We will always miss you, Lee, but the good news is that God blessed us with you for many years.

Family and friends are invited to the visitation at Maresh-Meredith & Acklam Funeral Home (803 Main St, Racine, WI 53403) 5:00-7:00 pm Friday, May 5 and at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church (1100 Erie St, Racine, WI 53402) 9:30-10:30 am Saturday, May 6. The Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 10:30 am Saturday.

The family suggests memorials to St. Patrick’s or to the St. Vincent de Paul Society, c/o St. Patrick’s Parish, 1100 Erie Street, Racine, WI 53402.