Thursday, July 13, 2017
It is with great sorrow that I extend my deepest condolences to Barb, Donna and Judi. Tony had a very special place in my heart. It all started before I knew who Tony was and he didn't know I existed. On a bright sunny warm day in 1947 my mom gave me strict orders not to go to the cemetery which was just a short walk from our house on the farm. Upon hearing sounds coming from the cemetery my curiosity was stronger than mom's orders so I ventured down the path. Upon reaching a fence I noticed a funeral taking place and to my right there was a young man in a white shirt sitting on the bumper of a model A. This man was in great pain as he was crying loudly and uncontrollably but there was nobody there to comfort him. This image was so profound I have never forgotten it and it keeps returning every so often and especially today. When I got home I didn't dare ask mom who's funeral it was but I found out later it was for a man named John Cherniak and the young man in the white shirt sitting on the bumper of a Model A was Tony, John's son. I couldn't help but admire a person who so deeply loved his Dad and showed such strong emotion and because of that he became my hero. It wasn't Dick Tracy or Sargent Preston of the Yukon, it was Tony, the young man in a white shirt sitting on the bumper of a black Model A. It wasn't until Tony became a part of our family or we became a part of his, it didn't matter, that I got to know him. Eddy and I spent weeks of holidays with Tony and Pearl. During these times we went shopping in the BIG city. Most memorable were when Tony brought home a square pound of ice cream or a large water melon, cut it into 3, sat with us on the front step and told us about his work. His hero status was intensified each time I saw him in his police uniform. His shiny shoes, his tie and white shirt, his revolver and police cap put Dick Tracy to shame. I was proud to know him. Tony and Pearl treated me as one of their own and encouraged me while I stayed with them during my first term of trade school. As we grew older and had our own families we sort of drifted apart but Tony has been and will always be a part of my life.
To Tony I say. Congratulations on a life fulfilled. I'm sad to see you go but at the same time I see a young man in a white shirt sitting on the bumper of a black model A no longer nourning the loss of his Dad but to a happy everlasting reunion.
I have to go and face my mom who now knows I didn't obey her orders
