HR0836LRB097 20674 KXB 66895 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Lester F.
4Macko of Cary, who passed away on January 12, 2012; and
 
5    WHEREAS, He was born September 2, 1930, to Frank and Anne
6Macko, and lived his entire life in the Cary and Fox River
7Grove area; he married Frances Cassell in 1952 and they had 5
8children, the late Steven, Anne, Jeff, Leslie, and Carlene
9Macko; and
 
10    WHEREAS, He proudly served in the United States Army as a
11Private First Class during the Korean War from 1952 to 1954;
12upon his honorable discharge he became a lifetime member of the
13Frank H. Nagel Jr. Post of the American Legion in Fox River
14Grove; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Along with his brother, Karl, he founded and
16operated Macko Brothers Construction in McHenry County; he
17joined the Cary Fire Protection District in 1963 as a volunteer
18firefighter; his dedication to fire safety lead to his
19promotion as Fire Chief in 1975; and
 
20    WHEREAS, He was an innovator in the development of
21emergency medical training of paramedics in the 1970s, helping

 

 

HR0836- 2 -LRB097 20674 KXB 66895 r

1organize the McHenry/Western Lake County Emergency Medical
2System, and later helped found the Fire Science program at
3McHenry College, which continues to provide critical training
4to firefighters; his leadership lead to the hiring of the Cary
5Fire Protection District's first full-time paramedic and to the
6purchase of the District's first Mobile Intensive Care Unit;
7and
 
8    WHEREAS, His leadership was critical as a founding member
9of McHenry County's Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS Division
105) that provides pre-planned response of fire and rescue
11services to other communities when a large scale emergency
12occurs that requires the assistance of other fire departments,
13and he was an important factor in MABAS-IL becoming a model for
14other states; and
 
15    WHEREAS, His dedication to fire protection and public
16safety lead to the decisions of his son Steven and his son Jeff
17in becoming firefighters; and
 
18    WHEREAS, He retired from the Cary Fire Protection District
19after 37 years of service, serving as Chief for 25 years; after
20his retirement he remained active in the Illinois Fire Chiefs,
21the McHenry County Fire Chiefs, and the Lake County Fire Chiefs
22associations, and in 2008, was named Fire Chief Emeritus by the
23Illinois Fire Chiefs Association; and
 

 

 

HR0836- 3 -LRB097 20674 KXB 66895 r

1    WHEREAS, He was preceded in death by his beloved wife,
2Frances Macko; his son Steve Macko; and his brother, Karl
3Macko; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Lester Macko is survived by his children, Anne
5Macko, Jeff Macko, Leslie Macko, and Carlene Macko; his
6grandchildren, Amy Tamason, Kayla Macko, Stephanie Nommensen,
7Jeffrey Sandburg, and Carl Macko; his great-grandchildren,
8Brayden, Dylan, Quinn, and Loralye; his sister, Doris Nastal;
9and his daughter-in-law, Diane Grever; therefore, be it
 
10    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
11NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
12we mourn, along with his family, friends, and all whose lives
13he touched, the passing of retired Cary Fire Protection
14District Chief Lester F. Macko; and be it further
 
15    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
16presented to the family of Lester F. Macko and to the Cary Fire
17Protection District as a symbol of our sincere sympathy.