Tony Stempeck ~ Class of 1975

                 Tony Stempeck was born March 2nd, 1957, in Reno, NV to Inez and Casmir “Steamboat” Stempeck, the fourth of their six children. He was raised on the property of Casale’s Halfway Club where he helped in the family business as soon as he could hold a rolling pin. Tony attended Kate Smith Elementary School and Sparks Junior High School before his time at Sparks High School. He came from a family of Sparks Railroaders, his mother Inez (class of 1946), brothers Charlie (class of 1965) and John (class of 1970) aw well as sister Madaline (class of 1971) are all fellow Sparks High Alumni.

            During his time at Sparks High School, he played Freshman, JV, and Varsity football and basketball, participated in the school newspaper, and Block S before graduating in 1975. The friendships he made at Sparks High School were lasting and his fellow classmates remained his closest friends throughout his life, including his partner and classmate Lynne Brooke. After high school he attended UNR before starting his own business with his brother John. Together they ran a fire and flooring business until Tony turned his focus back on the family business.

            Through the years Tony attended reunions, fundraisers, and events at Sparks High School and was quick to recite the fight song anytime a fellow SHS alum walked through the door. Tony was an integral part of the Casale’s Halfway Club fabric and built a clientele based on his humor and wit. He became a proud father of two daughters, Haley and Cierra, who raised him to be the man we always knew he could be. He was an amazing single father, and his daughters were his crowning achievement. Tony continued to work and grow the family business alongside his mother, brothers, sisters, and daughters until his untimely passing in 2020. He is remembered as a friend of friends, the person walking into your life when everyone else was walking out, and that all started at Sparks High School many years ago. To be recognized and inducted into the Sparks High Hall of Fame would be a very proud moment for him, as it is for the friends, family, classmates, and community members that will always remember him so fondly.

Inducted 2021