Morinville Mayor Paul Krauskopf has died.
Krauskopf, 62, was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2010. He died Sunday.
Born and raised in Morinville, Krauskopf was first elected to town council in 1998. He was appointed mayor in 2012 after then-mayor Lloyd Bertschi stepped down.
“With Paul Krauskopf's passing, Morinville has not only lost its mayor, but it has lost a dear friend who was tireless advocate for Morinville, ” said the town's chief administrative officer Debbie Oyarzun in a news release Sunday afternoon. “Council, administration and staff are profoundly shaken by the mayor's death and are deeply moved that his dedication to the community he called home for 63 years and the obligation he took on as mayor of that community endured until the end. Paul never stopped working for Morinville or its residents.”
Krauskopf announced in early June that he would not seek re-election this fall due to health reasons.
“I came to realize that the cancer battles I have lost over the last three years were taking their toll on my body and my health,” he said at the time, “but believe I have not lost the war yet.”
As mayor, Krauskopf sat on the subdivision and development appeal board, Sturgeon Foundation, as well as the Capital Region Board and its housing committee.
He took great pride in his community, Oyarzun wrote. He was an active volunteer with many organizations, clubs and community initiatives, including the Knights of Columbus, St. Jean Baptiste Church Finance Committee and the Roman Catholic Parish Hall Committee. Among his many volunteer contributions, Krauskopf was a volunteer firefighter, serving as deputy chief of the Morinville Fire Department until 1982.
In his professional life, Krauskopf was a program assistant in special education for the Sturgeon School Division, and remained a board member of the Alberta Education Attendance Board.
Details on Krauskopf's funeral are not yet known.
