Gus Svolos

Gus Svolos was a modest man, quiet and observant in his ways. He was trustworthy and traditional in his approach to his life and in his relationships. He was tough-minded with the kind of “stick to it” attitude that earned the respect of all who knew him. He was also a man who was meticulous, carefully disciplined, and orderly in virtually everything he undertook. Realistic about life, he was always at the ready, prepared to take on responsibility.

Gus was born on September 8, 1930 at He was born at home with a midwife in Cicero, illinois. His parents were Amelia and John Svolos. Gus was raised in Cicero, Illinois. He was brought up to be self-confident and dependable. These were traits that would serve him well throughout his life.

Growing up in the Svolos household was a bit different than most homes. There were good times to be had, but just as often there was a fair share of challenges as well. However, Gus was able to work through the usual family problems when they appeared, and he was the one person in the family who seemed able to keep the stress at bay. Gus was raised with two siblings, Pat and Mary. He had an older sister, Pat and a younger sister, Mary. Gus was constantly involved in activities with his brothers and sisters. Gus and his siblings may have had the typical rivalries while growing up but Gus was always consistently loyal to his family.

As a young child, Gus was never someone who needed to be the center of attention. He wasn’t pushy and never forced his way into games or other activities. Gus developed a variety of interests, though, and the things he enjoyed doing he did well. He was always curious about the world around him and was often eager to explore it. Gus took part in baseball. He was a member of the Cermak Church. In his spare time he liked to drive little card and loved toy trains. Gus' memorable achievements included. However, what Gus enjoyed most was simply playing and spending time with his many friends.

While his teachers and even his friends generally thought of Gus as being a serious person, he managed to have a pretty good time in high school as he made that critical transition from adolescence to adulthood. He graduated from Jay Sterling Morton High School in 1947. He enjoyed some courses more than others, having favorite classes and teachers. His favorite class in high school was English. Gus was a very logical person who enjoyed learning about factual information. Using his exceptional memory, he was able to learn much through observation. Gus always seemed to have a command of the facts and was able to make it seem as though he could easily master any problem that might be presented to him.

College life brought with it a new set of challenges, but Gus handled them well. Being a critical thinker who always remained intellectually independent, Gus was able to focus on the task at hand in order to complete his class work. He seemed to thrive on college reading assignments, something that often bogged down his classmates. Gus was able to read the material and retain the information in a way that impressed his fellow classmates. The ability to efficiently complete the task at hand was a skill that served Gus well during his college experience. He earned his Liberal Arts Degree from the University of Illinois. He also pursued graduate school, earning his Law Degree from the University of Illinois. His favorite course was History. He had originally planned to become a reporter. But he changed his mind after the Dean of his College told him he thought he would be a great lawyer. He was editor-in-chief of the University of Iliinois Law Review.

Always considered to be a solid friend, Gus was fortunate to have numerous acquaintances and several very close friends during his life. Since he disliked making generalizations about people and preferred to draw his own conclusions based on direct observation, Gus was able to see beneath the surface of relationships and became a true friend to those who knew him. He was committed to his friends and valued the trust he placed in them. It was not uncommon for Gus to go beyond the call of duty for others, and friends frequently sought him out for advice because he had a knack for coming up with practical solutions to any type of dilemma. While growing up, some of his best friends was Alan Zyjicek and several others. Later in life, he became friends with Bob Plotkim, Al Mendelsohn, Ron Miller, Ken Arneson, Ted Desch, Al Gryman, John Schmidt, Ed Glenon, Glen wagner and Herb Zabel.

On February 23, 1963 Gus exchanged wedding vows with Lucille Prosi at the St Peter Canisius Church of Chicago, Illinois. Compassionate and devoted to Lucille, Gus held endearing, traditional values about marriage and family life. He took the responsibility of marriage to heart, giving it his total commitment. He was a source of strength to Lucille and using his gifts at nurturing one-on-one relationships, he worked hard to make his new family happy.

Gus brought the same traditional values in his marriage to bear on how he raised his children. He was a good parent to them, always firm yet fair in his dealings. He would always listen carefully and think things through before he acted, even when it was an adverse situation. Gus was also a walking schedule, always seeming to know what everyone in the family needed to do, where they needed to be and when they needed to be there. Gus was blessed with three children, two sons, John ans Michael, and one daughter Laura. They were also blessed with five grandchildren, Zachary, Ava, Eliza, Natalie, and Luca.

Gus greatly enjoyed what he did for a living. He was a hard worker who expected the same in return from his co-workers. He was skilled at working effectively in small groups and in one-on-one situations as well as handling solo assignments efficiently. Gus enjoyed dealing with concrete ideas and could penetrate any amount of fuzzy information to reach the essential facts. Always able to attend to the task at hand, Gus was excellent at meeting deadlines. He was an efficient worker, one who paid careful attention to detail, allowing sufficient time to complete one task before moving on to the next. His primary occupation was an Attorney. He was employed for 34 years by the Santa Fe Railroad. He became the company's Vice President and General Council. Gus worked hard to be a team player, doing what was necessary in order to get the job done.

Gus was an Army Veteran. He was stationed in Germany. Through his hard work and dedication, he achieved the rank of Private First Class. A literal thinker who possessed a calm exterior, Gus seemed to enjoy the routines set forth by the military. His results-oriented approach to things made him committed to the job, and he understood well his role in serving his country.

Gus liked to experience things first-hand as well as learn about them. This trait carried over into his hobbies, where he was very methodical in how he organized his activities and categorized things. Since he enjoyed his private time, Gus always tried to allocate a specific time for working on his hobbies. His favorite pursuits were golf, reading, poker, skeet shooting and all sports. Gus was content to enjoy his hobbies alone but was also willing to share his interests with others.

Gus found pleasure in sports. Being a person who was comfortable making win/lose decisions throughout life, he could appreciate that athletes made those types of decisions in sports. He applauded those who won, and he enjoyed the statistical data and sports facts and could find himself wrapped up in those details. In high school, Gus played sandlot ball with friends. Recreational sports included golf and running. He would watch his favorite sporting events whenever he got the opportunity. Tops on his list were the Chicago White Sox and University of Illinois basketball and football.

Many organizations were grateful to have Gus as a member, since he always brought with him a “stick to it” attitude and a high degree of common sense. Using straightforward methods to successfully complete the job, Gus was a great planner who was incredibly well organized. It seemed that he was able to schedule any event or activity with ease. He always seemed to know exactly what needed to be done. Throughout his later years, Gus was an active Little League Manager and was President of the National Association of Railroad trial Council.

Commitment is a key word that can be used to describe the life of Gus Svolos. He was committed to living the life of a

He committed himself to being a hard worker who expected the same effort in return from those around him. Most of all, he was committed to those he knew and loved.