Casimir (Casey) Syzdak, age 97, beloved husband of the late Dorothy (nee Fleck) Syzdak, father of Howard Casey, Mary (Bob) Kopp, and Nancy (Tom) Brett, grandfather of Kathleen Jane Brett, brother of the late Charles (Alice) Syzdak and Emily (Stanley) Weidner, son of the late Fracisek and Maryja (nee Gac) Syzdak, went to be with our Lord on Sunday, March 14,2010 at Delnor Hospital.
Casey was born, Cadjimiers Fracisek Syzdak on October 20, 1912 to Fracisek (Frank) and Maryja (Mary) Syzdak. Casey's parents came to the U.S. from Poland via Ellis Island in the late 1800s and settled in Chicago. Frank was a barber by trade and Mary once owned and operated a candy store and soda fountain out of their home. Undoubtedly this accounts for Casey's lifetime love of chocolate. Casey was the youngest of three children: he had an older brother Charles and a sister Emily.
Casey left high school prior to graduating to pursue his dream of becoming a pilot. He started working to earn enough money for pilot training school and when he was ready to apply, he needed his parent's permission since he was not yet 18. His parents refused, so Casey continued to work toward that goal. Due to job scarcity during the Great Depression, he eventually found regular work with the Illinois National Guard. When WWIl started he was shifted to active duty in the United States Army Air Corps. Because of his mechanical gifts, he became a "crew chief" or airplane mechanic for the 340th Fighter Squadron l540th Fighter Group which served in the Southwest Pacific Arena (which included New Guinea, Southern Philippines, Luzon and Leyte Isiands).
Casey met his wife of 52 years, Dorothy, at the Chicago Figure Skating Club, where they were members. They eventually married in 1951 and started a family, and settled into a home in the Old Irving Park neighborhood on Chicago's Northwest side. Casey was employed by Teletype Corporation fabricating parts for teletype machines for over 25 years before retiring in 1977. Casey had an extensive workshop his basement and at one time considered opening his own repair shop. Instead, he continued to work, to raise his family, to repair TVs, radios, and cars, and to pay down the mortgage on his home.
After his wife Dorothy passed away in September of 2003, at the age of90, he moved to Bethany Retirement Community in Chicago where he lived independently for almost for five and a half years more years. Eventually, his health needs required that he relocate closer to his daughter in the western suburbs and he became a resident at the Bickford of St. Charles last September.
Visitation will be held on Thursday, March 18 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Hultgren Funeral Home, 304 N. Main Street in Wheaton. where a funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Interment will follow at Elm Lawn Cemetery in Elmhurst.

Memorials in Casey's memory may be directed to: Bethany Retirement Community, 4950 N. Ashland Avenue, Chicago, IL 60640-3499.