Stephen Schostok, 101, who established a successful milk route in Chicago and whose secret to life stemmed from his sense of humor, died of natural causes Thursday, June 22, in Resurrection Nursing Home in Chicago. Born in what is now the Republic of Slovakia in 1899, Mr. Schostok was active in the Slovak community after coming to Chicago in 1930. A cabinetmaker by trade, he started his own milk-delivery route on the Near North Side during the Depression. He sold his successful route to Western Dairy Co., later Western United, in the late 1930s and continued delivering milk until his retirement in 1964. Though he had only an 8th-grade education, Mr. Schostok was fluent in German, Hungarian, English and Slovak; was knowledgeable in Polish and Czech; and dabbled in Greek and Italian, said his son, Stephen. Mr. Schostok told people that one of his secrets to longevity was getting up before breakfast. “He was known for that kind of comment,” his son said. “He was great for those one-liners.” He was preceded in death by his first wife, Mary. Other survivors include his second wife, Margaret; two daughters, Terry Dudas and Audrey Casey; a sister, Millie Keller; 12 grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren. Visitation will be from 2 to 8 p.m. Sunday in Kolssak Funeral Home, 189 S. Milwaukee Ave., Wheeling. Mass will be said at 9:30 a.m. Monday in St. John of the Cross Church, 5005 S. Wolf Rd., Western Springs.
