Joliet man was dedicated to faith and family

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John Such of Joliet was 84 when he died Oct. 28, 2010. | Submitted photo

Updated: November 18, 2011 8:38AM

John Such of Joliet was a man of mottos.

Some favorites were, “If you’re going to do something, do it well,” and “Treat others as you would like to be treated.”

But each fed into the two things he held most dear: faith and family.

“Family” included his wife Wanda; two daughters, Mary Beth Guzman and Lisa Bender; six grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; his “adopted” son, Crest Hill Mayor Ray Soliman; and his many, many friends

“He was such a people-person,” said Lisa, of Joliet. “It wasn’t necessarily anything he did. It was how he made you feel. When I was growing up, he was the favorite dad among all my friends. He was a self-employed accountant for many years, but when he was through with work, he spent his time with us. When my son Jack was 7 and diagnosed with cancer, my dad called up and said, ‘I wish I could trade places with him.’ ”

Such was 84 when he died Oct. 28, 2010. He had grown up in Morris, the youngest of nine children and was able to earn his degree at Xavier University in Ohio because of the time he served in the U.S. Navy Air Corps in World War II.

“His family was so poor that he and his sister were the only ones to finish high school and John was the only one to get his degree,” Wanda said. “The others had to go out and work. He always felt very fortunate for it.”

Such, who once considered becoming a Catholic priest, was 13 years older than Wanda when he met her through a mutual friend.

Wanda said at the time, “You leave John Such where he’s at. He’s too old for me.” She soon changed her mind.

“He was such a nice and caring man. He had no enemies,” Wanda said. “He made my life so wonderful. After he retired, he just enjoyed his family. The most important thing to him was going to activities: his grandchildren’s and when he was raising his two girls.”

Such became a fountain of advice in raising girls to Soliman, who had two girls of his own. The two met at a mutual friend’s home 25 years ago and found they shared a love of Joliet Catholic Academy football games.

For Such, that lifelong love of those games began when Lisa, a graduate of the school, was on the pom pom squad. For 25 years, Such and Soliman attended every home and away game, the springboard for deep and meaningful conversation.

“I lost my parents at a young age and he became my surrogate father,” Soliman said. “He taught me a lot about life and I’m thankful to have had him for so many years. It meant an awful lot to me.”

This year’s football season has been bittersweet. Jack, now 13 and in remission, plays eighth grade football on JCA’s field.

“He made three touchdowns yesterday,” Lisa said. “Dad would have been so proud of him.”

Contact Denise M. Baran-Unland at 815-467-5249 or artemis279@aol.com.