Kampschroer Memorial Service To Be Held June 13
Memorial services for World Drum Corps Hall of Fame member Dr. David Lee Kampschroer will be held on June 13, 2015 in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Details will be available via Facebook as the date approaches. He passed away on February 17, 2015 at age 74, surrounded by his family at home.
He was inducted into the World Drum Corps Hall of Fame in 2007. He was also a charter member of two other drum corps organizations: the Drum Corps International (DCI) Hall of Fame, inducted in 1985, and the Blue Stars Hall of Fame, inducted in 2011 in honor of his major contributions to the Blue Stars drum and bugle corps of La Crosse, Wisconsin dating back to the 1960s. He chaired the DCI Hall of Fame nominating committee for almost three decades following his induction.
In addition to serving as drum instructor and marching and manoeuvring instructor with Blue Stars from 1968 to 1980 he also served as corps director and chairman of the executive board. While he was executive director, he helped form a group of seven mid-western corps known as The Combine, the organization that became DCI. He also served as DCI board chairman.
In the mid-1960s, he judged overall general effect for both the All American Judging Association and the Wisconsin chapter. During more than 30 years of continuous participation in various aspects of drum and bugle corps activity, he most recently served with the Drum Corps Midwest Judges Guild.
He was a drummer with several corps, including the Phantom Regiment and La Crosse Commanders senior corps from 1948 to 1959.
Born and raised in La Crosse, he graduated from La Crosse Central High School in 1958 and later received degrees from University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, founded in 1839 by the Most Rev. Mathias Loras, first bishop of Dubuque, and a Ph.D. from University of Wisconsin-Madison.
He began his career in education as an elementary school teacher in Beloit, Wisconsin and served in various administrative roles in Wisconsin public school districts before retiring as Superintendent in Waukesha, Wisconsin in 1998 then enjoying early retirement years in The Villages, Florida.
He is survived by his wife of 52 years Barbara (Wells) and daughters Kelli (Dale) Antoine, Kimberly Kampschroer and Kristen Lee (Marc) Storey as well as five grandchildren and siblings Dr. Roger (Mary) Kampschroer, Reata Fanshaw, Mary Lou (David) Jones and Pamela (Mark) Semb.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations in his memory be directed to:
*Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps – in memory of Dr. David Kampschroer, P.O. Box 2523, La Crosse, Wisconsin 54602-252
*Drum Corps International – in memory of Dr. David Kampschroer, 110 W. Washington Street, Suite C, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204
*Central Florida Pug Rescue (CFPR) – in memory of Dr. David Kampschroer, P.O. Box 953744, Lake Mary, Florida 32795
The late Vince Bruni of Rochester, New York, who passed away in 2003, founded the World Drum Corps Hall of Fame in 1976. Membership has grown from six charter members – Vince Bruni, George Bull, Jim Costello, Henry “Lefty” Mayer, Harvey Olderman, Vinnie Ratford – to 472 regular and associate members from the United States and Canada who have contributed to the activity across North America, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the Middle East, South Africa and Japan. George Bull, the last surviving charter member, passed away in September 2014.
For more information about the World Drum Corps Hall of Fame, visit the web site at: http://www.worlddrumcorpshof.org/
