James J. Scerpella

Scerpella, Dr. James J. Born to Eternal Life on March 27, 2020 at the age of 64. Beloved husband of Rebecca Scerpella (nee Eisenmann). Loving father of Michael (Danielle) Scerpella, Caitlin (Danny) Stemper, Christopher (Brianna LeMay) Scerpella, Marina Scerpella and Isabel Scerpella. Proud grandpa of Declan Scerpella. Dear brother of Daniel (Jill), Patrick (Tammy), Mark, and Matthew (Mandy) Scerpella. Cherished uncle of Danny (Jessica Lee), Jamey, John, Will, Colleen, Patrick, Madalaine and Niklaus Scerpella. Further survived by other loving relatives and friends. Funeral Mass will be Saturday, July 11 at 11:00 at Divine Mercy Catholic Church in South Milwaukee. COVID precautions are in effect, with social distancing, face masks, hand sanitizer required. The church can accomodate a maximum of 250 people. For those who don’t feel comfortable, or are unable to attend in person, the Mass will be live transmitted via YouTube. People can either like the Divine Mercy Facebook page and find the link there, or use the following direct link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCTsGBR-HNgT1Q95yQLuYnw Fellowship/Open House at our home following from 1-3 for any who want to stop by. Jim was born October 11, 1955 in Lima, Peru. They lived there until 1962, when his dad decided to come to the US for more specialized surgical opportunities. They lived in Detroit initially, then moved to the South Milwaukee/Oak Creek area where he has lived ever since. He went to school at St. Sylvester, graduated from Pio Nono HS in 1972, and went on to college at Marquette University. Jim grew up with hospital ties, started working at Trinity Memorial Hospital when he was 16. He earned his MD degree from UTESA in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and finished his training in Family Medicine through the Medical College of Wisconsin. Dr. Jim practiced with Lakeshore Medical Clinic in his South Milwaukee community for several years, then moved to the Milwaukee Health Services Clinic in downtown Milwaukee. He will be remembered as a compassionate, "tell it like it is" physician who truly cared for his patients. He was also a trusted mentor with lots of real-world experience to his colleagues. Dr. Jim has touched many lives through his work. Jim was passionate about family ties. He remained close with his extended family in Lima, despite not living there for most of his life. He cherished his younger brothers, being involved in their lives even in college and beyond, coaching their sport teams, teaching gym class, or being their cheerleader in the stands. Jim played soccer, tennis and softball, passing on his passion for soccer to his children. From early ages his kids had a soccer ball and boots; he never minded driving to practices or far-away games, as long as his kids "came off the field sweaty and with a smile on their faces". He loved spending every spare moment with his children; they knew that a house full of music on Saturday morning meant waffles for breakfast! He will always be cherished. He was diagnosed with Acute Leukemia in January 2017. Since then he had gone through several rounds of chemotherapy and 2 bone marrow transplants. The battle came to an end on March 27, 2020. His family would like to thank the clinical and inpatient oncology teams at Advocate Aurora Health Care and Froedtert Medical Center for their expert and compassionate care over the past 3 years. In lieu of flowers, family requests either memorials to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, or a pledge to donate blood to your local Blood Center.