Longtime District 142 Teacher Remembered For Work Ethic, Kind Nature

OAK FOREST, IL — A longtime Oak Forest resident and beloved Forest Ridge District 142 teacher is remembered after his death as a somewhat gruff, yet deeply caring educator, father, and friend.

Ronald Rodak, 78, died May 19, and will be memorialized July 23 at St. Damian Church in Oak Forest. He spent his entire 30-year career within the Oak Forest school district. The dedicated teacher was known for his outdoorsy nature, devoted leadership, expert guidance, and—well, maybe somewhat grumpy—expression, his family lovingly told Patch.

Rodak would swear he wasn't a "people-person," his son Neal said, but somehow always found himself in jobs deeply connecting him with others. When he wasn't in front of a chalkboard he was behind a bar, a familiar drink-slinging face at Jardine's, mainstay local restaurant formerly on the corner of 159th and Oak Park Avenue.

"He was always trying to help people. I think it's funny in a good way, he would tell you he wasn’t a people person, but then he picked jobs that usually had him surrounded by people," Neal said. "He could be gruff some times, but he had a heart of gold."

He was a hard worker, Neal said, with long days and late nights away from their home at 154th and Ridgeland, to compensate for a low teacher's salary.

"My dad was either at home, or at one of those two restaurants," Neal Rodak said. "A lot of kids who ended up working at those restaurants, were kids he taught."

His father's influence as an educator ran deep, Neal said, and it showed.

"It was commonplace, especially in the summers, to have former students stop by and tell my dad thanks for being such a great teacher, or supporting them as a kid and as an adult. ... If kids wanted to put forth the effort and work hard, he wanted to give them every chance to succeed.

"Anything good I am, is largely attributable to my father."

Rodak's passions extended beyond the classroom. He was an avid outdoors man, fisherman, coach—and proud wrestling dad.

Neal took up wrestling at a young age and quickly excelled. He went on to become All State at Oak Forest High School, then Junior National All-American in Greco Roman. He had a 135-34 college record, landing him a two-time, Division 3 All-American designation at the University of Chicago. His wrestling conquests continued. He was the World Military Team representative in 2005, Armed Forces Champion, and Bronze Medal in the 2002 World Cup. He was also inducted into the University of Chicago Athletics Hall of Fame, Class of 2012. All feats his dad witnessed, and was so proud of, Neal said .

Neal doesn't seem to like to brag about his wrestling achievements, but boy, did his dad, said Rodak's former colleague from Ridge School, Val Inglis.

Never mind his fishing hobby or his green thumb—Rodak gave her some of his canna lily to plant (and they're still thriving today)—his son was his greatest source of pride.

"That’s all Ron talked about was his son," Rodak said. "He actually beamed about him at school. He was so proud of him."

Neal's close friend and wrestling cohort Denny Hartwig recalls in Rodak a stalwart supporter of his buddy's wrestling pursuit.

"Typically kids who do that well in that sport, they have somebody along the way pushing them who has a background in that," Hartwig said. "I think what Mr. Rodak did, he just adapted to what Neal wanted to accomplish, and was unyielding in the way that he would drive all over the damn country, to support his son to make sure he had everything that he needed.

"He might have a couple beers, give us his honest evaluation of our performance and how we did," Hartwig added. "Every Saturday night, we all congregated back at that place, to hear his opinion. He cared about all of us. I speak for our entire group, that we all valued his opinion, we enjoyed the delivery of it, and how he would set us straight, tell us his thoughts—lubricated by a couple beers."

The Rodak men are not known for their height, several people told Patch, and Hartwig echoed that.

"They are smaller in stature, but larger than life," he said. "Neal, he’s a lightweight guy, his dad was a smaller guy, but his dad had the personality of a giant."

Rodak's longtime best friend Denise Lyons said his style of teaching was "hands-on ... he took the kids outside a lot, he liked to talk to them one-on-one, get to know them.

"Very personable. But yet stern. When he gave you the eye, you knew to shut your mouth. For a small guy—5-foot-3—he had a big role. He was just a little guy."

After his retirement in 2001, he remained deeply invested in the Oak Forest community, as an active member of St. Damian parish, worker at the Oak Forest Park District, and organizer of local fishing derbies. He didn't stay away from teaching for long, either, returning as a substitute for many years, until as recently as 4 years ago when dementia took hold.

"A career of service in my mind, in many respects, mostly public service," Neal said.

In that respect, Neal went on to follow in his father's footsteps. He became a lawyer and served as a public defender, then joined the military and has led an illustrious career from which he'll retired in a few years.

"My desire to be a public servant and my work ethic come from my father, for sure," Neal told Patch. "As a leader, I have tried to take things I saw my dad do or think were important. I think if people work hard, try to do what they think is right and treat other people well, things won't all be easy or perfect, but on the whole, more things will work out for you than won't, and you will have a good life."

Beyond his role as father, wrestling fan, and teacher, Rodak cherished his time as grandfather to Neal's four kids: Austyn (14), Wrigley (12), and twins Carson and Finley (10).

"The funniest thing about Ron is that he was such a nice person, he had such a great heart," said Neal's wife Emily. "He was so tough, always had a sour look on his face, but just the nicest person. It was so fun to watch him around my kids, and see that tough exterior melt away."

Though Neal and his family live in Arizona, they had weekly phone calls with Rodak, whose phone etiquette some may say left a lot to be desired.

"He’d just hang up," Emily laughed. "He was not really one for a conversation, but he was so funny, he wanted to know what was going on, but he just cut to the chase."

The kids also loved getting packages from Grandpa Ron, she said—the excessive amounts of tape a telltale sign of the sender.

"Cubs bobble heads, Barbies, books that he thought they’d like," Emily said. "It was always such a fun surprise to see what was inside."

Though they met later in life, Emily could easily see in Neal his father's influence on him.

"My husband is an incredibly hard worker, he loves his family so much, he would do anything for us," she said. "And I just know he had to have gotten them from Ron. He instilled this great work ethic, that not only allows him to support us, but also be such a great support system for my kids. He cares so much about helping them, he had to have gotten that from his dad."

A memorial service in honor of Rodak will be held at noon July 23, at St. Damian Church, 5250 155th St, Oak Forest. In lieu of flowers, contributions to Lightways Hospice may be made in Ron's honor at lightways.org.

See here for the full obituary.