James John Van Gompel

He leaves eight children: his five daughters; Amy Wall, Beth Toth, Jo Ann Hamilton, Meg McCall and Missy Hickman; his three sons; Peter Van Gompel, Joel Van Gompel and Eric Van Gompel; fifteen grandchildren; sixteen great grand children; and one great great grand child.

Born and raised in Kimberly Wisconsin the son of Vincent and Johanna (Janssen) Van Gompel, he resided in Fremont and later Angola Indiana since l968. James is survived by his brother Clem Van Gompel, Menasha Wisconsin; his sister Therese Bednarowski, Orrville Ohio; and his sister Ann Mitchell, Appleton Wisconsin.

After graduating from Kimberly High School in 1947, he met and married Mary Lou Lemmers in 1951. Mary Lou passed away in 2001. Mr. Van Gompel began his career with the Marathon Corporation in Menasha Wisconsin where he worked for many years.

In 1966, Mr. Van Gompel created a start up called S & S Enterprises; a paper roll straightening company based on state of the art hydraulic technology which he invented and patented. This patent was later used as the basis for Brammall Inc, a long term successful company located in Angola Indiana with a footprint in the manufacturing sector of the Midwest. His son Peter worked with him for several years.

During the course of his lifetime, Mr.Van Gompel continued to engineer and patent over one hundred patents many of which benefited the railroad industry. For several years he worked closely with the Engineering Department at Tri State College in developing his ideas and working with students. Mr.Van Gompel however, was mainly self taught.

The quintessential outdoorsman, Mr. Van Gompel enjoyed deer hunting, fishing, kayaking, snow mobiling, motorcycling, camping and ice boating. An amputee since 2015, Mr. Van Gompel could be seen almost daily on his scooter fulfilling his desire to be out of doors as much as possible. He is a long time member of the Lake Area Christian Church.

A Memorial Service will be held at 11:00 am Saturday, November 16th at Lake Area Christian Church, 4760 Indiana 827, Fremont IN 46737.