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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are pleased to congratulate Francis "Frank"
4John Kania on the occasion of his 100th birthday on August 2,
52012; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Frank Kania was born on August 2, 1912; he is the
7first child of Catherine (Swiderski) and Joseph Kania; he has 4
8siblings, Johnny, Sophie, Eddie, and Eleanor; he married Anne
9Smreczak on October 30, 1949, at St. Wenceslaus Church in
10Chicago; their child, Joette, was born in January of 1952; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Frank Kania spent most of his life in Chicago; he
12attended 3rd grade at St. Hyacinth Catholic School on West
13Wolfram Street and served as an altar boy at the associated
14church; he also attended the first general meeting of the
15Eucharistic Congress at Soldier Field on June 21, 1926; and
 
16    WHEREAS, During the 1920s, Frank Kania worked with his
17uncle, John Swiderski, as a part-time employee at his grocery
18store/butcher shop; after he graduated from the 8th grade in
191927, he went to work for his uncle full-time in order to help
20support his family; in 1937, he bought the grocery business
21from his uncle and renamed it "Kania's Food Shop"; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Frank Kania was inducted into the United States
2Army on April 29, 1942; he began his service to his country in
3Rockford, where he served in active duty for one day; he later
4went to training at the Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis before
5he was placed with the 5th Army/Air Corps, 46th Service Group
6at Angel Island, California; soon after his placement, his unit
7traveled to Australia; drawing on his experience as a butcher,
8he was soon inducted into the unit's food-preparation unit;
9after a year in Australia, his unit was moved to the Dobdura
10base at Port Moresby, New Guinea; while there, he was assigned
11to work on a crane unloading supplies; he also served as a
12photographer for various entertainment events on the base,
13during which he took many photographs of Bob Hope, Gary Cooper,
14Phyllis Brooks, Una Merkle, Jerry Colonna, dancer Patty Thomas,
15Frances Langford, and guitarist Tony Romano; he also created an
16extensive photo documentary of New Guinea native life during
17his time there; in 1944, his unit was moved to Manila, the
18Philippines, in anticipation of the massive Allied invasion of
19Japan; fortunately, the war had ended before any such invasion
20was to take place; he was honorably discharged from service on
21October 19, 1945 at Fort Sheridan where he was originally
22inducted; and
 
23    WHEREAS, After the war, Frank Kania returned to the grocery
24business that his uncle had maintained for him during his Army
25service; after marrying Anne, they moved into her family's

 

 

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1apartment building on Ridgeway Avenue; in 1951, he sold his
2grocery business and went to work as a butcher for National
3Tea; he subsequently became a manager of the meat department
4and later the fish department, where he remained until his
5retirement in 1979; he remained in his home on Linden Avenue
6until 2005, when he moved in with his daughter; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Frank Kania has served as a model of hard work,
8integrity, and dedication for his family, friends, and
9colleagues throughout his life; therefore, be it
 
10    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
11NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
12we congratulate Francis "Frank" John Kania on the occasion of
13his 100th birthday and wish him many happy and healthy years to
14come; and be it further
 
15    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
16presented to Frank Kania as a symbol of our esteem and respect.