When the Rev. David Palmatier passed away in 2010, I wrote a column about his lifetime of service in the Fox Valley and also in Guatemala.
As a monk of Marmion Abbey, he was such an inspiration to me that I asked a question of Beacon-News editors: Could I write a monthly column to feature a person (or group) who has served the Aurora and Fox Valley area in a special way?
I was given the green light for the project, and have spent more than eight years pursuing stories of some of the most remarkable people that anyone could ever meet. It has never seemed like “work,” and the privilege of meeting wonderful people and telling their stories has not gotten old.
For a time the feature was called “Who’s Who of the Fox Valley,” and this is the 100th in the series of stories.
Who are the people who give of themselves, whether in their career, volunteer activities or military service?
A brief look back revealed that public school teachers and staff have been featured 13 times. Youth workers or volunteers, veterans or military personnel, and ministers or priests have each been honored 11 times.
Also, small business owners, coaches and private school teachers and staff have each been highlighted nine times. Physicians, police officers, musicians and office holders have also been saluted.
The group of 100 have been very different from one another. But they’ve been the same much more than they’ve been different. Each person or group has either dedicated a career, volunteer activity or military service trying to build this community or to preserve our American way of life.
To rank this amazing group would be impossible. Recalling some of the more memorable servants is only a little easier.
John Giartonia, Ron Olson, Lloyd Gannegan, Harold Ray and Delmar Gerth are World War II veterans. Olson and Giartonia each landed at Normandy. Olson was wounded twice, and Giartonia later parachuted behind enemy lines near the Rhine River. Gannegan and Ray fought in the Pacific Theater, with Gannegan receiving the Purple Heart and Silver Star Medal for Valor. Unfortunately, Giartonia, Gannegan and Gerth have passed away.
Walter Schroeder and Rich Gaffino are Korean War veterans, and Schroeder was awarded the Silver Star and Bronze Star for heroic service. To meet or to know these heroes to whom we owe so much, and to tell their stories, was indeed memorable.
The Revs. Clyde Galow, Toni Kretowicz and Mike Miller are clergy members who have served our community, but also have served with much courage in far-away lands.
Galow served as a missionary in Sierra Leone, West Africa, for 18 years. At times, he attended meetings with civil leaders who had come to power through revolutions.
Kretowicz ministered in Poland, Belarus and South Africa. He spoke out against oppression in situations that became world-changing.
Miller served as a missionary in Colombia, challenging in that the people didn’t have much in the physical world, but whose faith was important.
All three wonderful ministers returned to the Aurora area to humbly serve their congregations here.
Drs. Tom Huberty, Chitra Madhavan, Robert Foody and Jaweed Sayeed are physicians who have cared for patients far beyond their physical needs.
Raised in Aurora, Huberty assumed many unpaid positions in the community in his desire to give back. Foody gave credit to the many people behind the scenes in his office and hospital, and has traveled abroad on many medical mission trips.
Madhavan has, at times, cared for patients unable to afford medical services. She has purchased medications and covered travel expenses for patients, and accompanied them to specialist appointments.
A cardiologist, Sayeed gave a summation of his practice that I consider the most memorable quote in any story: “A patient is a gift to you from God,” Sayeed said. “And it gives you a chance to take care of God in a way, because man was made in the image of God. If you can take care of that, why would you need anything else?”
Recollections of the stories of so many people who have gone above and beyond. You don’t have to look very far in the Fox Valley to find loving, dedicated and heroic servants.