Edmund F. Kuryla

The youngest of eight, he was born in Chicago, Illinois on October 9, 1934 to Rose and Michael Kuryla. He is survived by his beloved wife of fifty five years, Carol, as well his children Joe (Lisa), Pete (Kathy), and Ed, and three grandchildren, Nathan, Lauren and Matthew.

Home was a vibrant Polish neighborhood in North Chicago in the 1940s, full of adventures with boyhood friends on its streets and alleyways. Ed joined the Air Force as a young man, eventually serving over twenty years. He served in Korea just after the fighting stopped, spent time in Japan, worked in California, and served as a jet engine mechanic in Da Nang during the Vietnam War. Upon his return to the States, he courted and then married his wife Carol, to whom his love and devotion remained unparalleled. A stint in Germany followed the births of his three sons. After his retirement from the service in 1975, he and Carol raised their family in Rantoul, Illinois.

Ed earned a bachelors’ degree in marketing on the G.I. Bill, and after a time found work in the Civil Service branch of the Air Force, using his formidable expertise to teach generations of young men and women how to repair and maintain jet engines. He always loved the workings of machines and business enterprises and was endlessly impressed by those who could make useful things that people wanted. The son of Polish immigrants, he firmly believed in the promise of the American way of life, even if he never fully appreciated just how far he himself had risen in it.

Searchingly intelligent and curious, yet eminently practical and astoundingly well organized, until his very final day he had a peerless memory and precise attention to detail. Upon request, he would gladly explain the inner workings of a jet engine, sometimes with clearly rendered, hand-drawn diagrams made on any available scrap of paper lying around. He was a lifelong teacher who loved to tell stories, sometimes in the shape of parables with subtle lessons for his children and grandchildren.

His sense of humor was quirky, at turns absurdist, but always tempered by a deeply held faith in God. A lifelong Roman Catholic, he actively cultivated his spirituality, expressing his faith through sacrifice and good works. As an older man, he did daily devotionals. He once said he meant to tutor himself in the art of patience. And he succeeded. He was, without fail, a remarkably patient, honorable, dignified, unusually kind and self-effacing man.

A visitation and service will be held for Edmund on Thursday, September 21st from 4 to 7pm at Moss-Norris Funeral Home in St. Charles, IL (100 S. Third Street). Burial services will follow at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery the next day, Friday, September 22nd at 9:30 am. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in his name to the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund https://curealz.org

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.EastlandFuneralHome.com for the Kuryla family.