Richard Allen Kukac of Orland Park, Illinois, passed away peacefully, February 20, 2021, at the age of 75, at home with his family by his side. Born February 12, 1946 in Chicago, Illinois, he was: a loving son to the late LaVerne (Carl) Leidos, a life-long role model, to younger brother Gary, a devoted husband to the late Diane, a pillar of strength to daughters, Jennifer (Lee) Hayward, Laura (Jeff) Ream and Cheryl (Travis) Herrin, and a proud grandfather to Brendon, Kylie, Alexis, Kristin and Kaitlin.
Rich’s love of trains, both model and real, began in childhood, and lasted his entire life, as evidenced by his “workroom” dedicated to everything trains. His dream of working on the railroad was fulfilled in 1964, when at age 18, he went to work for the Wabash Railroad, initially as a switchman at the Landers Yard in Chicago, and later as a brakeman on the Norfolk & Southern Line. At age 18 he also became a volunteer firefighter for Orland Park and did “ride alongs” with the Chicago Fire Department giving him the rare experience to assist with the Chicago Riots in 1968.
In 1966, he joined the US Navy and completed recruit training at Great Lakes Naval Training Center, after which he began training as an electronics technician. After receiving a medical discharge, he used his US Navy training to get a job with IBM, as a Customer Engineer in the Chicago area. IBM sent him to Rochester, Minnesota, for additional training, and it was there, that he met his soul mate and love of his life, Diane Huls. They married at St. Anne’s Catholic Church, on October 19th, 1968 in Stanley, Wisconsin.
On Rich’s 25th birthday in February 1971 he made a life changing decision to become a firefighter, and on July 20, 1971, he performed his first duty, picking up a new set of license plates for his Chief. He chronicled his love for the Fire Service in a journal, where that documents every call he answered as a firefighter, as a paramedic, and as a Lieutenant. Rich received his first recognition in 1973 by the LaGrange Area Jaycees and was honored with “The Outstanding Firefighter Award”, the highest award annually presented. On May 1, 1974, Rich helped LaGrange join International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) and form Local 2338 as acting Secretary, later becoming President of the union, a position in which he served, until he retired. Rich was assigned to the “fire investigation bureau” in July 1978 and promoted to Lieutenant on September 7th, 1978.
During this time, he resumed his education, enrolling in undergraduate courses at Northern Illinois University. Eventually he transferred to Southern Illinois University, where he was one of the first 30 people in the nation to earn his Bachelor of Science degree in Fire Service Technology. In spite of all that, he still found time to pursue his second love, building and remodeling homes, and he and Diane started R&D Construction. On July 15th, 1982, while working on a home remodel, he sustained a life changing spinal cord injury that ended his career as a firefighter, forcing him into retirement in December 1982, and confining him to a wheelchair for the remainder of his life. After more than a year in the hospital recovering from his spinal cord injury, he made the decision to get on with his life. In spite of all the setbacks, he went back to school, ultimately earning his MBA from Governors State University.
With the support of his loving wife, Diane, and family, for the remainder of his life, he was able to pursue new careers, where he could leverage his brilliant mind and his love for the fire department and trains. He became an accomplished independent investor, taught building construction at Moraine Valley Community College (MVCC), helped elevate Moraine’s Fire Science Program as an Instructor of Fire Science, and was later promoted to Dean of the Business and Technology Department at MVCC. While serving as Dean, he dedicated his free time as a public servant to the Orland Park Fire Protection Service, first as a Commissioner and later as Trustee. He also served on the Illinois Fire Chief’s Foundation Scholarship Program, assisted The Orland Park Historical Society, and was published in Trains Magazine. After retiring from Moraine Valley, he continued teaching Fire Science at Joliet Junior College while caring for his wife Diane.
Memorial Visitation for Richard will be from 10 AM - 12 PM on Saturday, March 13, at Orland Funeral Home, 9900 W 143rd, Orland Park. Memorial Service to follow at 12 PM at the Funeral Home. Due to current restrictions of having a maximum of 50 guests for Funeral Services, the family asks that you please RSVP to [email protected] if you wish to attend the Service at 12 PM. If you are coming during the visitation portion between 10 AM - 12 PM, there is no need to RSVP. Interment private. In consideration of the safety of our guests and associates, Orland Funeral Home will adhere to the current gathering restrictions in the state of Illinois, which allow 50 or fewer guests at services. Proper social distancing must be practiced and all guests will be required to wear face masks at all times. Thank you for your cooperation.
If desired, at 11:45 AM you can begin to view the services live at the following link using the access code of 565176 -- https://join.startmeeting.com/laura_ream. If you would like to listen in only without viewing, you can do so by dialing (781) 448-7215 and using the same access code of 565176 followed by pound or hash (#).
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Illinois Fire Chiefs Association Foundation in memory of Richard Kukac at: https://www.illinoisfirechiefs.org/donate/
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