SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) - Joe Karpuk starts his workday at 9 a.m. each morning and clocks out by 3 p.m. This has been his routine for nearly 66 years, and he doesn’t show signs of stopping anytime soon.
Just a few weeks shy of his 94th birthday he continues to call the shots at Baber’s Vis-Vita Sales in Sioux City.
“If it wasn’t for work, I wouldn’t know what to do with myself,” he told the Sioux City Journal (https://bit.ly/1ntjbSQ ).
He still holds the first check he received from the company at his desk. Written in 1950, the check paid him a total of $53.58. He is still considered the boss around the company that his family has run for over 30 years, specializing in vitamin concentrate for livestock and poultry.
His son and general manager Fred Karpuk admits his dad is still the boss who keeps an eye on everything.
“Nothing gets by Dad,” he said. “He’s as sharp as they come.”
Joe Karpuk was born the youngest of five children to Polish immigrants from Russia. His parents worked in a meatpacking plant in Sioux City and he said they were the ones who taught him the importance of family and hard work.
During his teenage years, he remembers shining Babe Ruth’s shoes when he worked as a clubhouse boy for the Sioux City Cowboys minor league baseball team. He also served about three years in the U.S. Army during World War II.
He said he stays busy keeping track of 28 grandchildren and a growing number of great-grandchildren. If that’s not exhausting enough, he frequently attends family sporting events, sings in a church choir, and writes parody lyrics to his favorite songs.
“Too many (senior citizens) stay at home and have nothing to do,” he said, shaking his head. “I could never do that. I need to stay active and go to work.”
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Information from: Sioux City Journal, https://www.siouxcityjournal.com
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