Surnames: Szymanski, Franklin, Miller, Jordan, Deputy, Gezich, Stryjewski, Grimmenga

----Source: Marshfield News Herald (Marshfield, Wood County, Wis.) Saturday, 2 May 2009

Szymanski, John R. (22 June 1922 - 1 May 2009)

OWEN -- John R. Szymanski, 86, of Owen, died Friday, May 1, 2009, in the emergency room at Saint Joseph's Hospital in Marshfield.

Services are pending. The Maurina-Schilling Funeral Home in Owen is assisting the family with arrangements.

----Source: Marshfield News Herald (Marshfield, Wood County, Wis.) Monday, 4 May 2009

John R. Szymanski, 86, of Owen, formerly of Park Forest, Ill., died Friday, May 1, 2009, in the emergency department at Saint Joseph's Hospital.

A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Thursday, May 7, 2009, at Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Owen. The Rev. Benjamin Franklin will officiate. His grandchildren will serve as pallbearers. His burial with full military honors will be held at 1 p.m. Friday, May 8, 2009, at the Southern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Union Grove.

Visitations will be from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, May 6, 2009, at the Maurina-Schilling Funeral Home in Owen and from 10 a.m. until service time Thursday at the church in Owen. A Holy Rosary Parish Prayer Service will be at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home followed by a rosary service conducted by the Knights of Columbus 7498 Marian Council of Owen.

John was born June 22, 1922, at home in Wilmington, Del., to Teofil and Marianna (Stryjewska) Szymanski. He attended school in the area until the sixth grade. John served his country proudly by entering the U.S. Navy on Oct. 19, 1942. He was stationed on the USS Hornet CV-12, an aircraft carrier, where he served as an aviation machinist mate 1st Class until his honorable discharge from the Navy on Sept. 19, 1945. John married the former Dorothy Grimmenga May 4, 1946, at St. Barbara's Catholic Church in Brookfield, Ill. He worked as a tool- and die-maker for the Doehler-Jarvis Tool and Die Co. in Chicago. In 1953, John became the owner/operator of the Do-Rite Die and Engineering Co. located in South Chicago Heights. In 1987, John retired and they moved to Owen. He was a member of Holy Rosary Catholic Church, a 3rd Degree member of the Knights of Columbus 7498 Marian Council of Owen and was their financial secretary for the Marian Council for over 14 years.

For John, his wife, Dorothy, and their family were the most important things in his life. "Teach by example" was the theme John carried whether he was raising his children, being involved with the Boy Scouts as a scout master for 18 years, volunteering his time at church, or even trying to give someone a "break" in some situation because as John said, "Everyone deserves a break now and then." In his spare time, John enjoyed woodworking, gardening and hobby farming. His family remembers him as a great joke teller.

John is lovingly survived by his wife Dorothy of Owen; his children, John T. (Catherine) Szymanski of Topsfield, Mass., Marianne Gezich of Springfield, Mo., Alan (Cynthia) Szymanski of Peotone, Ill., Barbara (Eric) Miller of Renton, Wash., and Edward (Barbara) Szymanski of Park Forest, Ill. He is further survived by his grandchildren, Paul, April, Edward, Christopher, Andrew, Rachel, Sarah, Elizabeth, Anne, Matthew and Nathan; a great-grandson, Logan; and two sisters, Josephine Jordan of San Diego, Calif., and Victoria Deputy of Philadelphia, Pa. He is also survived by many other nieces, nephews other relatives and friends. John was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers Walter and Frank, and a son-in-law, Edward Gezich.

If desired, memorials to either St. Jude's Project Hope or Masses in John's name to Holy Rosary Catholic Church are being accepted by the family.