Stanley Boguszewski

Stanley Boguszewski, 87, of Bradley, died Friday (Dec. 10, 2004) at Provena St. Mary's Hospital, Kankakee, while holding his son's hand.Visitation will be from 9 a.m. Tuesday until the 11 a.m. services at the Clancy-Gernon Funeral Home, Bourbonnais.Entombment will be in All Saints Cemetery, Bourbonnais.Memorials may be made to St. Joseph School, Bradley.Mr. Boguszewski worked at Roper for 41 years.He was born July 4, 1917, in Kankakee, the son of John and Antionnette Konoski Boguszewski.His wife, the former Esther Racheal Shoven, whom he married July 14, 1948 in Kankakee, is deceased.Surviving are two sons and daughters-in-law, Michael and Deborah Boguszewski of Roseville, Minn., Roland and Janet Boguszewski of Clifton; one daughter, Marie Boguszewski of Bradley; seven grandchildren, Thomas and Anna, both of Roseville, Minn., Jennifer, Re'jean, Stanley II, Anthony and Esther, all of Clifton; two sisters, Antionnette Geraci of Bradley, Angela Pangle of Kankakee; and one brother and sister-in-law, John and Ruby Boguszewski of Kankakee.Two sisters, Mary and Katherine; and two brothers, William and Iggy, are deceased.Mr. Boguszewski was a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army. He served in the Battle at Omaha Beach in Normandy, the battle in Northern France, the Battle of the Bulge in Ardennes and the battle in Rhineland. He was a member of the 3rd Armored Division which led the First Army out of Normandy and across France. They closed the Falaise gap and hammered through the Siegfried Line and took Cologne. At Mons they captured three generals and 8,000 ordinary prisoners. They fired the first American artillery shell to land on German soil and took the first German town. They were the first division to completely pierce the Siegfried Line. There was a 60 percent casualty rate. He was wounded in action July 9, 1944, by a sniper. He returned to combat and was then hit by shrapnel in Germany Sept. 16, 1944, which earned him two Purple Hearts with Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters. Other medals awarded him were the Good Conduct Ribbon, the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Ribbon with four Bronze Battle Stars and three Overseas Service Bars.He was a member of the Kankakee VFW Post 2857. He played in the American Legion baseball league in Kankakee, once playing the House of David. He was also a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church, Bradley.Mr. Boguszewski was an avid hunter, fisherman and lifelong gardener.He loved watching the Cubs and Bears with his grandchildren.

Stanley Boguszewski

July 4, 1917 - December 10, 2004