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Wanda and Gus
50th Anniversary |
Today is
Veteran’s Day and I salute all of my friends and family who have bravely served
our country. I also want to especially
remember my father-in-law Gus Gulyban who died 6 November 2016, just five days
before his ninetieth birthday.
Gus was born
in Martins Ferry, Belmont County, Ohio to Gus and Mary (Fendrick) Gulyban. They were both Hungarian immigrants who
braved a long sea voyage to come to the United States for a better life.
As Gus grew
up, he watched his coal miner father go off to a dangerous job with a metal
lunch box in hand. On his father’s
return home, Gus would watch his father go down to the basement and try to
remove the coal dust before going to the kitchen for dinner. Mary, his mother would remain home to raise
the three children (Gus, Mary Elizabeth, and John) and prepare the meals.
She also would cook for the church when there were funerals and other
activities.
Gus attended
public schools in Martins Ferry and St Mary’s Catholic Church. He never out ended the habit of kneeling
beside his bed to say his night
prayers. As soon as he finished high
school, Gus joined the United States Navy for the duration of World War
II.
After
training at Great Lakes, Gus was assigned to ships in the Pacific, serving on
the USS Zebra and the USS Lindenwald from which he was discharged. After the
navy, Gus settled in Chicago where he was employed by AT&T. While
working the night shift at AT&T, Gus met the love of his life, Wanda Peterson, a single mother of
two children, David and Patricia. Gus and Wanda fell in love and married on 1
Dec 1949.
After
several years in the city, Gus and Wanda moved to Wheaton, IL where they had
purchased a house. It was there that
their daughter Susan was born in 1952.
The family
continued to grow and thrive. In 1956,
just before David was to graduate from high school, the family build another house in Wheaton, to
make room for Wanda’s widowed mother.
This enabled Wanda to continue working for Illinois Bell while Gus
continued working in Chicago, walking to and from the train station daily.
Gus
joined the Knights of Columbus at St Michael’s Church in Wheaton, achieving the
rank of 4th Degree ( the patriotic arm) and becoming a member of the
Color Corps. Gus also volunteered as a
counter of the Sunday collection. This
was a task he performed weekly until they moved to Florida in 1983. Gus had retired from AT&T and after
selling the house in Wheaton, they purchased a condo in St Petersburg, FL just
a block from the beach. Not one to sit
around, Gus established a lawn care company which he named “WANGUS”. He then proceeded to take care of the condo
grounds as well as several other nearby properties. He even had a vanity license plate “WANGUS”.
In the 1990’s
Wanda and Gus moved to a bigger condo in Clearwater, where they lived a quieter
livfestyle. That was to be their final
move. Wanda’s increasing health issues
limited the traveling they could do.
When Wanda was required to move into an assisted living facility, Gus
visited her every day at both lunch and dinner time. Between times he would often do laundry or
grocery shop.
Sadly, in
2010, Gus’ health required his move to assisted living as well. Wanda and Gus were now in different wings of
the same facility. He still visited
Wanda as often as he could until her death in January 2011.
This is the
man my children knew as their grandfather.
He was cheerful, generous, patriotic, religious, loving, and
honest! I can’t imagine a better example
for a child to emulate. I am so proud to
have known and loved him.
