Jan Pirog - More Than "Just a Soldier"
by Tony (Antony) Pirog, Jan's 3rd son.

I was prevented from giving the following speech at the funeral service. And so I present it here:

I built a web site for my Dad. It's at http://www.janpirog.com. It celebrates his life and his accomplishments as a soldier during WWII. Dad was proud of his military exploits, but I am here today to tell you all, he wasn't just a soldier! He was much more than that!

Jan was a loyal husband. He stayed with the same woman for over 60 years! He was a ladies' man but he stayed loyal to the love of his life, Maria through thick and thin.

Jan was a ladies man! I remember when he came to Chicago in 1988 for my son Jon's christening. He was 69 years old, but he was full of life and vigor, and the ladies swooned over him.

In that same vein, he was an awesome dancer. I remember going to dances with him at the Polish club. When he stood up to dance all the ladies' eyes turned in his direction. He was Fred Astaire, and all the ladies wished they could be his Ginger Rogers. You could see it in their eyes.

He was a musician. How many here knew he played harmonica? And he was damned good at it! He also played a little guitar. I doubt many people remember that. LOL

He was a barber! He cut all our hair when we were growing up. And he cut Mr. Kapelko's hair (what there was of it) from across the alley, and his son's.

He was a cobbler. Anyone? Anyone remember that? He owned a cobbler's shoe last, and when we needed new heels or soles, he'd get it out, and all his other supplies, rip the old stuff off and replace it with glue and nails until they looked brand new. Who'da thought?

He sang! I have images of him and Mum together in the kitchen, she washing dishes and he drying, singing a beautiful Ukrainian melody in harmony. I remember the tune but I have no voice, sadly. Wish I could sing it in his memory. They would sing that over at my Godmother's house too. Or when she visited. Nadia Czemerys! They made the most beautiful harmonies together my parents and Nadia.

He was a gardener. He had the most awesome garden out back. I've tried to recreate his results but have never come close. I remember turning over the soil with him in the Spring and Autumn. I remember planting potatoes with him, and I remember harvesting them months later. HUGE MOUNDS of taters there were! He grew onions, and radishes, and carrots and beetroots too. I can't make any of them come out right, but Dad did, year after year after year. I remember clipping hedges and mowing grass with him. He was so patient with us.

He kept rabbits. But he didn't buy a rabbit hutch. He built it. He didn't buy me a sled for the winter of 63. He built it. And he hung wallpaper. Jan was a handyman!

And he loved birds. He would throw bread our for them in the morning, and huge flocks of sparrows, and robins and thrushes would come, and we would just sit and enjoy them together. For those who knew him in his later years, when Jan was young he did not like, cats. We would be watching the birds and if a cat jumped after them he'd get so mad! I suspect young Jan would have been quite disturbed to think that he'd become a cat lover in his later years. ROFL!

Our Richard told me a story of when he was young and Dad had made him a catapult (slingshot). Dad was showing him how to aim by aiming at a bird. He let fire, and damned if he didn't hit the bloody thing! HE WAS MORTIFIED! He still had his warrior's eye!

He liked to cook. His placuszki and Pyzy (better known as paluszki), were to die for.
Above all, he was a great Dad. He was gentle, and kind, and patient. He stayed his hand from violence where another might have beaten us every day. All the children loved him. His own children loved him, and his grandchildren loved him, And he loved children. I remember a scene when I was a toddler. It was a sunny Easter. (Aren't all memories of childhood sunny?) I can see big Chocolate Easter eggs on the mantelpiece. And Dad came in and scooped me up in his arms and sang to me while dancing with me in his arms. I remember watching TV laying on the couch with him, and he would stroke my feet for me night after night as a kind of ritual of peace. And he played! He would lift me up on his feet (laying on his back with his feet in the air), and make me giggle. And I remember him racing me down the street and letting me win. He laughed when Richard and Henry played wrestling. Richard was Mick McManus and “H†was Steve Logan. Dad loved his wrestling on Saturday afternoons, and he laughed his head off when the boys played at it.

Dad was a funny man. He was a comedian, but he WAS NOT a clown! He loved to make people laugh, but he always exhibited an immense aura of dignity. People laughed WITH him, but they never laughed AT him.

Steve (Mac) McEnnery sent me a story in the same vein: "Here's a memory of him I have. I fondly remember the warm welcomes every time I paid a visit and the early days before your wedding at the polish club. The total respect he had from the other members always struck me and how happy he seemed in that environment. My fondest memory by far is the first time he pulled out a bottle of his home made vodka and said "You try this Mac, better than shit from Tesco" and he had this great big grin on his face. I was never sure if the grin was for his distilling prowess or in anticipation of the reaction from me after I had chucked it down. Brilliant!"

Which reminds me...

Jan made moonshine. He was scared of getting caught, but I figure he doesn't hafta worry about that anymore. LOL

He made the best spirit east of the Mississippi! In Polish many call it "Bimber". He called it "Samogona" meaning "made by one's one hand". He took great pride in the quality of his vodka and spirit. Dad was a Moonshiner!

In the Bible the Apostle Paul says “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodnessâ€... LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, GENTLENESS, GOODNESS! All these words apply to my Dad. He may not have always been religious, but I declare that my Dad exhibited the “fruits of the Holy Spirit!†If there is a heaven, he's sitting up there with Apostle Paul having a laugh and a giggle (and probably a shot of that other spirit) right now. Paul is laughing WITH him, not AT him.
Dad, you were SO MUCH MORE than a soldier, and today I celebrate you, Jan, the husband, father, ladies' man, dancer, musician, cobbler, barber, gardener, coal miner, cook, handyman, bird lover, moonshiner, and the gentlest, kindest, most patient Dad you could want!

I miss you Dad!