By Rod Rowe
DUNLAP — The Friday death of Larry “Jake” Jackowiak, assistant Concord Schools superintendent for business, shocked his many friends and the Concord community.
Jackowiak, 51, died early Friday of an apparent heart attack at a local hospital. Survivors include his wife, Robin, and three children.
Arrangements are pending at Stemm-Lawson-Peterson Funeral Home, Elkhart, where visitation is set from 2 to 8 p.m. Monday. A mass is planned for 11 a.m. Tuesday at St. Vincent dePaul Catholic Church.
Jackowiak had been serving as interim superintendent as Superintendent George Dyer was on medical leave the past several weeks.
Dyer was planning to return to work next week he said, but went to the office today and was responsible for relaying news of the death of his assistant this morning.
Dyer explained that Jackowiak taught for about three or four years at Jimtown before joining Concord Schools in 1986. He first served as a special education teacher and coach for football and baseball.
“For the last 12 years he was at the high school,” Dyer said. “He was athletic director.”
Jackowiak joined the superintendent’s staff in 2000-01 as business manager and was named assistant superintendent for business four years ago.
“We worked together a lot of hours every day,” Dyer said. “He stopped and visited me at home just this week.”
Dyer explained that Jackowiak was a very hard worker and was directly involved in a lot of the corporation’s initiatives.
“He was my right-hand man,” Dyer said. “He doesn’t back away from a thing. He wanted involvement in a lot of things and he’s had that. I appreciated his leadership. I mostly appreciated his friendship. We’re all going to miss him.”
Bob Culp, retired Concord teacher, coach and athletic director, said he was assistant athletic director with Jackowiak for 11 years.
“Jake was a good guy to work with and to work for,” Culp said. “It’s hard to believe he’s gone. It was an unbelievable beginning to the day when I got a call from Mr. Dyer telling me about his death.”
Culp called Jackowiak an outstanding person and friend who was devoted to his family, his job and school.
Culp said they had plans to go to dinner together last Sunday, but Jackowiak called and changed the plans, saying he was going to Fort Wayne to visit his daughter, Amy, who is attending college there.
Culp pointed out that in his position in the administration, Jackowiak was the construction manager during the renovations at the junior high and high school and construction of the new junior high facility along C.R. 24.
He said no one doubted that Jackowiak was being groomed to replace Dyer when he retires.
“We’ve lost a good friend, an extremely good friend,” Culp said. “He was a great, great person with a lot of connections. It makes you sit back and analyze. It puts things in perspective. There are no guarantees.”
Concord teacher and long-time volleyball coach Jim Routhier said you could not find a nicer person than Jackowiak.
“He always had a positive attitude,” Routhier said. “He never said anything negative. He was definitely a people person. Nobody disliked him.”
In his post as assistant superintendent of business, Jackowiak took a lot of heat when the corporation increased health insurance premiums.
The whole corporation met in the performing arts center, and Jackowiak walked into that auditorium wearing a metal suit of armor, Routhier explained. “That’s the king of individual he was,” Routhier said. “He could take a tough situation and turn it around. He’s going to be so missed. He was a good friend. ... It was a tragic loss not only for the family, but for all of Concord Schools.”
Rob Staley, former Concord principal and founder of The Crossing alternative school system, explained that Jackowiak was athletic director when Staley served as principal there.
“Jake has a history of being a wonderful role model, a good example,” Staley said. “Jake was a man of great integrity. He was not caught up in the political system. He did what was best for Concord.
“He had tremendous ability, going from the classroom to administration. He was one of the best athletic directors in the state. Then he moved to the superintendent’s office.”
Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum Wayne Stubbs, who has been in the Concord office the past five years, said he met Jackowiak when they both took classes at the Elkhart campus of Ball State, as they worked on their superintendent license.
“I always appreciated the fact that we worked as a team,” Stubbs said. “Jake always brought something special to our conversations. He looked at things differently. He had a good analytical mind.
“It is a terrible loss.”
