Jamey Koapke

Jamey Everett Koapke was born the son of Luther and Marie (Rasmussen) Koapke in Devils Lake, North Dakota. He was baptized at St. Peter's Lutheran church and attended grade school in Devils Lake.  He was confirmed at St. John's Lutheran Church and attended St. Thomas Public Schools where he graduated from St. Thomas High School in 2006.

After graduation, he continued his education in Minot, North Dakota, acquiring his welding certification and CDL. He worked in the oil field doing a variety of work with heavy machinery and hydrovac excavating in Minot.  He always said he was a jack of all trades, but a master of none.

In January 2010, he was blessed with his first child, James.  In November 2012, he met the love of his life, Patty, along with her daughters, Sasha and Sahara.  Jamey and James left Minot in 2013 for Bismarck, North Dakota, to be with Patty and the girls.  Jamey and Patty blended their children and became one family.  They moved to Center in 2014 where they made their home.  They married May 23, 2015, and from there, their family grew. Welcoming the addition of Colton, William and Alora to make their family complete.  Jamey adored all his children and was proud to be their dad.  He tried to be at every event and even helped coach wrestling where his boys were participants. You would always find Jamey behind a camera or his phone, taking pictures or videos capturing any moment that he thought was important, which there are many.  If he was unable to, he made sure that someone would be able to capture that moment and send it to him.

Jamey enjoyed operating large equipment in all types of settings.  In April 2020, he joined Strata Corporation where he became an equipment operator, mainly handling a paving roller.  He thoroughly enjoyed his time with Strata and the crew he worked with quickly became family.  With his vast knowledge of safety, he was given an opportunity to go back to college to expand his career with Strata.  In November 2022, he obtained his Associates Degree in Occupational Health and Safety from Columbia Southern University Online.  He was proud of receiving that degree and looked forward to this coming spring to utilize his skills with Strata as their Safety Manager.

Jamey was known for helping others regardless of the situation.  He began volunteering with the Oliver County Fire Department and joined the Oliver County Ambulance to be a driver.  Feeling like he could do more for the ambulance, he decided to further his training and became an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) in October 2018.  He was so proud of the accomplishment and the fact he could fill multiple positions on the shift where he was needed.  While he was an EMT, he became a Basic Life Support (BLS) CPR instructor for CPR, AED, and First Aid.  Whether he was at work, an event, driving, or at home, Jamey never hesitated to assist when someone was needing medical assistance.

Jamey enjoyed the outdoors with hunting, fishing, or just hanging out with family and friends down by the water.  He always had people join him with these activities, especially his children.  Hunting season was one of his favorites where he could spend time with his children even if it was goofing around in the truck making memories.  He was proud of all their accomplishments and made sure everyone would know with either a picture, video, or just in general conversation.

Jamey will be remembered most for his huge heart and how generous he was with his time, never hesitating to help when he saw someone in need.  His family was the most important thing to him, and he made sure everyone was included.  He was a jokester, so if he was not picking on you, he said you better worry.  He was always up to something with the thought that his baby blue eyes and mischievous smile could get him out of anything.  He was wrong a lot of the time.  His boys usually followed suit when dad would ask them to do something and would teasingly blame them for any mishap that may occur.  There was rarely a dull moment when Jamey was around and for that, he will be missed.

Jamey will be deeply missed by his wife and children all of Center; parents; sister, Katrina Koapke, all of St. Thomas, North Dakota; brother Travis (Heather) Koapke of Huron, South Dakota; father and mother-in-law, Richard and Deborah Geary; sisters-in-law, Mischelle (Jason) Dahna, Heather (Justin) Baumann, Christie (Christopher) McKamey; brother-in-law, Richard Geary; god-parents Richard and Darlyn Siegel of Sunnyvale, California, as well as many nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins.

He was preceded in death by his maternal grandparents, Everett and Katherine Rasmussen and paternal grandparents, William and Martha Koapke.  Uncles and aunts, William and Clara Koapke; Everett Rasmussen; and Carl Rasmussen.  Cousins, Elson Duffy; Steve Rasmussen; William Jr. Koapke.  Nephews and niece, Jalen Baumann; Theodore Jangula; and Sarah Dahna.