Man Up!

Heroic Fathers Revisited Part 1: A Treasured Interview With My Late Father on Faith, Family, and the Men Who Shaped Him - Mike Stopulos

Episode Summary

In this deeply personal Heroic Fatherhood Revisited episode of Man Up, host Joe Stopulos shares a treasured keepsake interview with his late father, Mike Stopulos, on faith, family, and the meaning of heroic fatherhood. Mike reflects on the two men who shaped his life: his own father, a Greek-American B-17 pilot and Quad Cities theater owner who lived to 100, and his father-in-law Carl Liebscher, a calm and God-centered Catholic father of eight. Together they unpack servant leadership, lifelong devotion to a spouse, and why putting faith and family first is the heart of being a great father.

Episode Notes

This week on Man Up, Joe Stopulos revisits one of the most meaningful conversations he has ever recorded: an interview with his own father, Mike Stopulos, taped during the original Heroic Fatherhood series. Following Mike's recent passing, this episode has become a cherished keepsake, and Joe opens with a heartfelt encouragement to listeners: if you are blessed to still have your parents or grandparents, grab a microphone, sit down with them, and ask them about their lives. Those recordings become priceless.

In this first of a two-part conversation, Mike looks back on the two heroic men who modeled fatherhood for him:

• His father ("Papa") — the son of a Greek immigrant who grew up in poverty, served as a B-17 pilot in World War II, and built and ran movie theaters across the Quad Cities, open 364 days a year. Mike remembers his relentless work ethic, his hopeless optimism, his lack of any prejudice, and above all his total devotion to his wife, which only deepened as she battled Alzheimer's. He lived to 100.
• His father-in-law, Carl Liebscher ("Gopa") — a steady, God-centered father of eight who moved his entire life from New Braunfels, Texas to Davenport, Iowa simply to make his wife happy. Mike shares two pieces of advice that stuck with him for life: that unless something is keeping your children from getting to heaven, it isn't worth worrying about, and that a heavy load gets much lighter when there are many shoulders to help carry it.

Running through both men is the same thread Joe returns to again and again on the show: the servant leader who puts faith first, his wife next, and family at the center of everything. As Joe reflects, his confidence in speaking about fatherhood comes not from being a perfect father himself, but from witnessing three great ones up close.

Part two airs next week, when Joe and his father turn to Mike's own approach to fatherhood and how he raised his family.

Man Up airs on the Iowa Catholic Radio Network. Learn more and listen at https://IowaCatholicRadio.com/

Support for Man Up is provided by Construction Professionals. Learn more at https://CPCustomHomes.com/

#ManUp #IowaCatholicRadio #CatholicPodcast #HeroicFatherhood #CatholicMen #Fatherhood #FaithAndFamily #ServantLeadership #CatholicDad #CatholicRadio #FathersDay #CatholicFaith