Ireneus “Renie” M. Jasinski, September 21, 2001 after complications from heart failure. Preceded in death by his parents, Napoleon and Melania Jasinski; his sisters Janina and Ludmilia and his first wife, Adeline, nee Mikos, Jasinski. Survived by his second wife, Ann Sluis Jasinski of Frankfort; his children, Susan (Stephen) of Lubec, Maine, Tom (Cindy) of Shorewood and Christine Kane of Downers Grove; his grandchildren, John and Amy Kane, Sara, Erin and Steven Jasinski; and the Ann Sluis Family, Joe (Helen) of Frankfort, Helen (Herb) Gramse and Bill (Carole) of Mokena, Ben (Linda) of Chicago and John (Terri) of Wheaton; and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren; numerous relatives in Chicago area and Poland and Ann’s relatives in Holland. Renie was born on August 1, 1914, in a house on School Street in Chicago, and was the eldest of three children to Napoleon and Melania, nee Sokolowska, Jasinski. His parents had immigrated separately to Chicago from neighboring villages in Russian occupied Poland and met and married in Chicago. In 1921, when Renie was seven, his family returned to the hamlet of Lipolaty, near the village of Widze in northeast Poland, now near Vidzy, Lithuania. He returned alone to the United States to live in Chicago in 1936. During WWII he served in the U.S. Naval Air Force in a Patrol Bomber Squadron over the Atlantic. Portions of the European Underground reported the Allies progress by messaging “Reniek is shaking the chimneys” in whatever city or country the Allies entered. While stationed in Opa Locka, Florida in 1945, he flew in the first weather reconnaissance mission through a hurricane when the Navy was requested to attempt this effort by President Truman. He studied aeronautical engineering and metallurgy at the Illinois Institute of Technology. He retired in 1978 after 30 years at U.S. Steel, Southworks, Chicago. With his first wife, Adeline, (deceased in 1976) and their three children, he built their home by hand from paycheck to paycheck in Sunny Acres, Mokena. Adeline’s two brothers, four sisters and their spouses and children joined them in their efforts on many weekends. The Jasinski’s built their home at the same time the William Sluis family was building their own home across the street. After the death of their spouses, Bishop Joseph L. Imesh of Joliet blessed Renie and Ann Sluis in marriage in 1984 in their 70th year. Fishing, gardening and camping on his land in Canada brought him many hours of contentment. He walked whenever he could, and was seen by many on his way to Mass at St. Mary’s or to the Frankfort Senior Center. He challenged his mind with chess, the math of absolute zero, and with his computer–writing his autobiography and conducting e-mail with relatives in Poland. His trademark was his love of freedom and independence. Family will receive friends at Vandenberg Funeral Home, 19604 Wolf Road, Mokena, Monday from 3 to 9 p.m. Funeral mass at St. Mary’s Church, Mokena at 11 a.m. Tuesday. Burial will be in St. Mary’s Cemetery at the discretion of the family. In lieu of flowers, donations could be sent to; Research to Prevent Blindness, 645 Madison Ave., 21 Floor, New York, NY, 10022-1010, Ph# 800-621-0026, Web site: www.rpbusa.org. Almost 100% of the donations go to Macular Degeneration, which caused Renie’s blindness in later life.
