Stan Krzanowski, 82, was an advocate for youngsters playing baseball and softball in Canton.
CANTON, May 8, 2024 – Stan Krzanowski, who has spent the last 46 years volunteering his time and expertise in Canton with the Canton Little League organization, died on May 2 at the age of 82.
Krzanowski has done a bit of everything with Canton Little League. He has been a coach, manager, player agent, a member of the Board of Directors and the league president from 2000-13. He started the billboard initiative in 1988 for local businesses to support Little League.
In the past decade, he has shepherded the construction of dugouts and upgrades to baseball and softball fields across the town. He went before the town boards to get the necessary approvals. He lined up quality contractors to build the dugouts.
His legacy will be enjoyed by athletes of all ages in Canton for years to come.
“He is an unstoppable force of nature,” said Greg Brisco, a former Little League coach and member of the Canton Little League Board in May 2023 when a newly-completed Little League softball field was named in Krzanowski’s honor. “He is just for everything good you want with baseball or softball. He has been behind it and he has been able to come up with the money. He has been this force of nature for good.”
A lifelong resident of Canton and a Canton High graduate, Krzanowski and his wife, Diane, raised their family in Canton.
“I look at him as an example of what it means to really serve the community,” said Robert Bessel, the town’s First Selectman in May 2023. “He is doing it for the kids. He isn’t doing it for grandstanding or anything like that. It’s all about the kids and you can see that.”
In May 2023, Stan Krzanowski fires the first pitch to open the new Little League softball field in Canton, which was named in his honor.
“I just love baseball,” Krzanowski said in May 2023. “Any way I could be involved in baseball or softball I took. I enjoy watching the kids. I take great pleasure watching these different age groups play on all of these different fields. It’s nice to see everyone out there enjoying the fields.”
Read more about Stan’s life and his work in Canton in our story last May of the dedication of the newest softball field in town.
Calling hours will be Sunday, May 12, from 3-6 p.m. at Vincent Funeral Home in Canton. A Mass of Christian Burial will be at 11 a.m. on Monday, May 13 at St. Patrick’s Church in Collinsville. In lieu of flowers, donations in Stan’s memory can be made to Canton Little League, c/o Bob Barnes, 97 Dyer Avenue, Canton, CT 06019.
