Former Middle School counselor Jim Kababik passed away April 26, 2021.

He served the Ravenscroft community from 1995 until 2012. His former colleagues and students will remember, as Head of School Doreen Kelly said, “a dedicated and caring educator” who was “always ready with a wide smile and a warm hug.”

“Jim wanted students and faculty to feel special and appreciated, so he would always reach out to everyone personally and by name,” his Middle School colleague Melony Lightfoot said. “Each day, Jim shared with the faculty and staff a special thought-provoking quote so our day would start with a positive message.”

As Denise Colpitts, who retired as Head of Middle School in 2020, shared, Jim was passionate about the Middle School’s community service program and led one volunteer group, Reading for the Blind, in support of the North Carolina Reading Service, a 24-hour news and information service reading newspapers, magazines and other forms of printed material for people who are blind or print impaired. He also delighted in the eighth-grade mountain trip, often chaperoning and leading students on excursions.

“It was due to Jim that a highlight of each trip was stopping at Dolly’s Ice Cream, where a flavor of ice cream was named after Ravenscroft. One particular memory is when he was with kids at Sliding Rock and actor William Shatner stopped and talked to them,” Colpitts said. “Of course, his main role was as counselor, where he focused on kindness and ‘being,’ in some ways ahead of his time, as now there is so much written about mindfulness. He initiated a character award program and recognized students with ‘The Starfish Story,’ a certificate, and starfish pin.”

Ravenscroft alumna and current parent Katie Pressel Gillespie ’95 said she and her husband, Rich Gillespie ’96, shared fond memories of “Mr. K.”

“Through his wisdom, candor and sharp wit, Mr. K truly served as a moral compass for the entire Ravenscroft community. You could count on his presence — engaged in conversation with students from all divisions, often laughing that huge, deep belly laugh — at basically every fine art and athletic event across campus,” she said. “His was always one of the first offices we would visit when we returned to campus after graduation, and we felt so fortunate that, even years later, he would continue to ground our days through his daily ‘morning missive’ emails.”

Former Director of Middle School Dave Monaco echoed these sentiments.

“Jim Kababik thrived in community. He fostered it with his interest in people young and old, his bellowing laugh and his ease with conversation,” he said.

Jim’s longtime counseling colleague Chris Harper agreed. “Jim found much joy in learning about others and in offering them interest and support, warmth and humor.”

Jim was predeceased by his wife, Carole, in 2018 and is survived by their daughters, Stacey Kababik, Kathy Kababik Walsh, Regina Kababik Quintin and Jackie Kababik; son, Jim Kababik; and many other family members and friends.

A service is planned for June 19 at St. Francis Catholic Church at 2 p.m.