STEUBENVILLE — Friends and family are mourning the death Monday of Jerry Krupinski, the coal miner-turned-insurance agent who served six years as a Jefferson County commissioner and 14 years in the Ohio House of Representatives.

Krupinski, 83, is being remembered as a man who “loved his family, his community and his faith.”

“He was an absolute gentleman, he represented our area very well in Columbus and was well respected (here),” remembered Domenic Mucci Jr., former Steubenville mayor and former regional planning director. “I recall back in the day, when Art Bowers decided not to seek re-election to the House, Jerry and I threw our names in the hat to run — there were nine of us. Jerry came in first, I came in a close second, but we had a good time on the campaign trail. He showed me nothing but respect.”

Krupinski, he said, “was a great family man, a great representative of our area.”

“He had faith in God and his family at the forefront,” Mucci recalled. “I do remember when the state of Ohio named a day after Dean Martin — Jerry and Eileen, his wife, conducted a little singing session on the House floor, they sang ‘That’s Amore,’ they had other representatives who pitched in the day they passed the resolution We had a great time with that — Rose Angelica was there, a few of us were. It was good to see Jerry and everybody honoring Steubenville’s famous native son.”

Born Feb. 27, 1941, in Adena, Krupinski was a miner with Y&O Coal Co. from 1962-65, then embarked on a career as an insurance agent. He served as county commissioner from 1981-1987, when his attention shifted to the Statehouse, where he succeeded Bowers as Ohio’s 98th District Representative — a position he held until 2000 when term limits barred him from running again. He was a member of the Jefferson County Democratic Executive Committee for 56 years and served in the Marine Corps.

“I felt he was an honest, decent man who thought things through, you could always count on him for advice,” said Tom Graham, the former Jefferson County commissioner who recently took over as principal at Steubenville Catholic Central.

Graham said the two of them “worked together on political issues from time to time, I learned a lot from him.”

“One thing was the county needed to go to self-funded health insurance instead of private insurance,” he said. “It was his recommendation when he was commissioner and they didn’t do it, but he told me about it, I researched it and realized it was a good idea.”

“He was a straight shooter, he always fought for the working class, the middle class, when he was in state government and with the county commissioners, I always felt he looked out for the people,” Graham said. “That’s what I admired. He always wanted me to go further, but I said ‘No, not me.’ He was always a big supporter of mine and I appreciate his family for that.”

Jefferson County Democratic Party Chair Eddie Abdalla said Krupinski and his widow, Eileen, “are two incredible human beings who always had the best interests of our community at the forefront of their minds.”

“Jerry dedicated decades of his life to public service to our area, and he genuinely cared about the well-being of those around him,” Abdalla said. “I consider both of them to be very dear friends and I, as well as the Jefferson County Democratic Party, will miss Jerry immensely. He was always willing to share with me invaluable nuggets of wisdom and insight for which I will be eternally grateful.”

He said Krupinski “lived by the principle of passing down to the next generation the lessons he learned in his service to our community.”

“Steubenville and Jefferson County will forever be grateful for his selfless contributions to our region,” he added.

In all his years in local government, Mucci said he “never once had to worry about not getting a return call from (Krupinski) or action done on whatever the subject was.”

“Jerry was always there, right beside the community,” he said. “He did or tried to do whatever he could for whatever request we had. He always treated everybody with respect — he was a down-to-earth person who really loved his family, his community and his faith.”

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said Krupinski “dedicated his life to serving our state as a representative in the Ohio General Assembly and serving our country as a United States Marine.”

“For 14 years, Jerry represented and fought for the Ohio Valley,” Brown said. “His leadership made a difference for so many. My thoughts and prayers are with his wife Eileen and his family.”

Visitation will be Thursday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Mosti Funeral Home, Sunset Chapel, 4435 Sunset Blvd. Funeral liturgy with Mass will be celebrated Friday at 10 a.m. at Holy Family Catholic Church, with burial at Olive Branch Cemetery in Harrisville.

Memorial contributions may be made to either the Urban Mission, 311 N. Sixth St. Steubenville, OH 43952 or the Friendship Room, 419 Logan St. Steubenville, OH 43952