Stan Kosciuszko remembered as friend and leader to Butler County
Stan Kosciuszko took over the Butler County Chamber of Commerce at a time when it needed help. Struggling and losing membership, his addition to the chamber led to a change in tone, growth and further success.
Kosciuszko died Friday, Oct. 2.
When Kosciuszko officially retired in February 2022 — 20 years after taking the helm at the chamber — messages of thanks and congratulations poured in for him. Companies and local organizations recognized the outsized positive impact Kosciuszko had supporting the community, not just as a business leader, but as a dear friend to so many.
Ask those who grew close to Kosciuszko over the years, and they’ll tell you his kindness, friendliness and desire to help was what made him so successful. It was what made him so special as a person.
“He gave you his ear and he wanted to know everything about you,” his husband, Joseph Young, said. “He’d go into a room and know half the people in there. By the time he left, he knew everybody.
“He was such a well-loved guy.”
Kosciuszko leaves behind many in Butler County who consider him a friend, mentor, leader, helper, community ambassador, a man of compassion and integrity and more.
“I worked with Stan for over 20 years. He was a great leader. He was also a great friend. It was one of Stan’s key points at the chamber. He worked for every one of the organizations that belonged to chamber,” said Tom Graham, owner of Frames & Pixels.
Friends of Kosciuszko remember him as a mentor who cared deeply about those he was close with.
“He was always good at making me feel like I belonged and he believed in me more than I believed in myself. He was that type of person. He did that for me and he did that for so many others,” Tammy Schuey, publisher of the Butler Eagle, said.
Kosciuszko had deep ties to the communities he worked to support for so long. A 1969 graduate of New Castle High School, he spent 12 years as executive vice president of the Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce.
After that, Kosciuszko spent 20 years as the president of the Butler County Chamber of Commerce, where he developed a longtime presence lifting up the business community and helping residents thrive.
“He was a good one, we’re really going to miss him,” said Ken DeFurio, president and CEO of Independence Health System. “I’ve known him at least 25 years. He was always an absolute ambassador for Butler County, its businesses and its people. He was remarkable. He was everywhere. He had this kind of constant presence in the community.”
In advocating for Butler County’s businesses, Kosciuszko developed relationships with those in the corporate world, communications, education, agriculture and all industries Butler-related, helping them on both a professional and personal level.
“That friendship lasted a couple of decades. It’s so important to me professionally and even more so personally,” former BC3 President Nick Neupauer said. “Stan was a trustworthy mentor. I could bring unique, personal and professional situations I found myself in to Stan. I knew he was a safe voice.”
“When you have the position of president, there’s not many folks you can go over certain situations or insecurities with. But Stan was one of those,” Neupauer added.
By the time Kosciuszko retired, the chamber had become one giant community of over 900 members relying on each other, largely thanks to his friendship.
“Everyone’s life is shaped by a series of trials, tribulations, relationships, opportunities and, if we’re fortunate, people who believe in us enough to take a chance on us. Early in my professional journey, Stan was one of those people for me,” said Jordan Grady, current president of the chamber.
“He gave me an opportunity and placed his confidence in me at a time when he certainly didn’t have to. Had he not taken that chance, I know my life would likely look very different today.”
His impact is so deep that the chamber awards the Stan Kosciuszko Leadership Excellence Award, an annual honor given to a Leadership Butler County alumnus recognized as an industry leader and a vital contributor to the Butler County community.
“He was committed to Butler County and the chamber and seeing businesses thrive here. He turned the chamber around,” Schuey said. “He really got it back on its feet. It was struggling whenever he took the helm. He also elevated the leadership program. What a great program for the community and developing our future leaders. Stan was a true servant leader and I will miss him dearly.”
While Kosciuszko’s life was expansive and accomplished, his obituary noted, “perhaps his greatest accomplishment was the community of people he built around himself.” Charismatic and well-connected thanks to his hard work, he “had an uncanny ability to read people, sussing out someone’s character from a mile away.”
Kosciuszko was full of life experiences. After college, he later moved to Paris, France, to attend University of Paris I: Pantheon-Sorbonne, where he received a master's in French Literature.
Enjoying the company of others, Kosciuszko knew how to throw a memorable party, Young said.
“He was also a phenomenal cook,” Young added, reminiscing on how “he would cook just about anything and it would come out perfect.”
“He loved being the center of attention,” Young joked. “He loved where he lived. It was always a vacation. We didn’t need to go anywhere else because what we had was warm and he loved to share it with everybody. He wanted to make everything better.”
Visitation will be from 2 p.m. until the time of the 5 p.m. service Thursday, Oct. 8, at Ed and Don DeCarbo Funeral Home, 3000 Wilmington Road.
