Obit: Cesarec, Frank I. (1918 - 2008)

Contact: Audrey Roedl

Email: audero@charter.net

Surnames: Cesarec, Holy, Kingsbury Heilberger

----Source: TRG (Loyal, Clark County, Wis.) 01 Jul 2009

Cesarec, Frank I. (22 JUN 1918 - 26 NOV 2008)

Frank I. Cesarec, 90, Tucson, Ariz., died on Nov. 26, 2008 . A memorial Mass will be held on Saturday, July 11, 2009. at 11 a.m., at Holy Family Catholic Church, Willard. Burial of the ashes will follow.

Frank Cesarec was born on June 22, 1918, in Milwaukee, to Marcus and Justina (Holy) Cesarec.

Frank and his wife, Doris (nee Kingsbury) Cesarec were married for more than 50 years. They had three children, Frank M. Cesarec, Tom Cesarec and Dorine Heilberger. He worked in Milwaukee with the U.S. Postal Service for 31 years, then moved to Willard where he built his own house on Mead Lake with the help of his son, Frank. He and Doris spent many hours brushing out the land and, according to their daughter, Dorine, the home started as a pup tent. Frank was active in many organizations in Clark County. He served as commander of the American Legion Post, Greenwood, president of the Neillsville branch of the National Association of Retired Federal Employees (NARFE) and a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). He was a member of Holy Family Catholic Church, Willard, where he served as administrator for several years. He sang in the Slovenian Singers group, in the church choir and in Clark County Men’s Chorus. He also served in The Sheriff’s Auxiliary Volunteers (SAV) for eight years and in the Lions Club. He met his future wife, Lea Goodwine, at the Chippewa Valley Technical College where he had been trained as an adult Literacy tutor to help adults whose reading skills were limited. Lea came to Neillsville as a Volunteer in Service to America (VISTA) to coordinate an adult literacy project which became Page Forward of Literacy Volunteers (LVA) in Clark County. Together they trained many tutors, recruited students and created a program which is still going. He married Lea on April 24, 1994. In 1997 they moved to Ajo, Ariz., where they bought a home and remained until his death. He was cared for in-home hospice by Casa de la Luz Hospice and his body was donated to the University of Arizona Medical School to further cancer research. Frank served

Preceding him in death are his brothers Edward and John, sisters Justina and Ann, and son, Tom.

Survivors include his brother, Michael Cesarec, sister Diane (nee Cesarec) Gibes, son Frank Cesarec, daughter, Dorine Heilberger, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.