Jerry C. Vranek, 70, of Riverside, who owned Jerry’s Meat Market in Cicero and served in the Korean War, died Saturday, June 3, of cancer. Mr. Vranek opened his Cicero shop in 1955, where it thrived until 1988. “He was one of those really nice roly-poly butchers,” said his son Stephen. Mr. Vranek was born in Chicago and during grammar school he was a paper boy for the Chicago Tribune and played for the Tribune’s softball team when it won a city championship. He attended Crane Tech High School and in 1949 joined the Air Force, earning the rank of sergeant and serving in the Korean War. In 1957, he and his wife Loretta settled in Riverside, and Mr. Vranek nursed his 2-year-old butcher shop into a popular destination for people interested in various meats, in particular his Polish and Italian sausages. “He loved the people–gave them recipes, sold them the right cuts of meat,” Stephen Vranek said. After selling his store in 1988, Mr. Vranek worked at Jim’s Market in Cicero until 1994. In addition to his son, Mr. Vranek is survived by his wife; three other sons, Robert, Lawrence, and William; and five grandchildren. Visitation will be held from 9 to 9:30 a.m. Wednesday at Hitzeman Funeral Home, 9445 W. 31st St., Brookfield. Mass will be said at 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Mary’s Church, 126 Herrick Rd., Riverside.
