Theodore Martin "Mike" Szempenski

 August 11, 1942—November 3, 2022

Mike Szemplenski Theodore Martin "Mike" Szemplenski, age 80, of Camdenton, Missouri, passed away Thursday, November 3, 2022, at Lake Regional Hospital in Osage Beach, Missouri.

He was born August 11, 1942, in Morristown, New Jersey, a son of Theodore Martin and Rose Ann (Gilligan) Szemplenski.

On October 28, 1963, he married Joyce A. Denne in Omaha, Nebraska. They raised two daughters and shared fifty-four years of marriage before her passing on August 4, 2018.

He was also preceded in death by his parents and two sisters, Ann Szemplenski and Susan Tubbs.

Survivors include his daughters, Ann Plaza and husband Chris of McLean, Virginia and Janet Szemplenski of Omaha, Nebraska; five grand-children, Matthew Plaza, Katherine Plaza, Madelynn Szemplenski, Randi Szemplenski and Theodora "Teddie" Szemplenski; a brother, Tom Szemplenski of San Diego, California and many other relatives and friends.

Mike graduated high school in Parsippany, New Jersey in the class of 1960. That fall, he attended the University of Nebraska at Omaha on a baseball scholarship. After playing for one year in college, he signed a pro contract with the Boston Red Sox. In 1963, Mike was assigned to Statesville, North Carolina in the Western Carolina League. He received the Topp's "Player of the Month" award for July 1963. At the end of the season, he was assigned to Winston-Salem of the Carolina League. In 2000, Mike was inducted into the South Atlantic League Hall of Fame for his record-setting 1963 campaign.

In 1965, Mike returned to Omaha to complete both a bachelor's and master's degree in counseling the hearing impaired. He and Joyce both worked at Iowa School for the Deaf in Council Bluffs, Iowa for more than thirty years.

They retired to the Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri in 2000. Mike was a member of the St. Patrick Catholic Church in Laurie and the Knights of Columbus.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 a.m., Thursday, November 10, 2022, at the St. Patrick Catholic Church in Laurie with Father John Schmitz celebrating. Graveside services and interment will follow in St. Patrick's Cemetery in Laurie.