June Carol Pollak

On June 16, 1941, in the city of Evergreen Park, June Carol Pollak (Samuel) joined the world. She entered a family led by her wonderful parents, Margaret and Spencer Samuel, and was accompanied by her older brother Earl. June loved her family and friends and was thought to be a ray of sunshine that showed kindness to everyone she met. In her young years, her family settled in Frankfort, Illinois where she was taught in a one room schoolhouse. Before residing in Peotone for most of her life, June lived on a farm. It was here that her love for animals would ignite. June had compassion for farm animals, especially horses and pigs. She even kept a pet pig Sophie, who she loved dearly. Sophie was her first friend and went on many adventures together, however she was lost in an unfortunate accident, resulting in a delicious breakfast for June.

She maintained this love for the farm as she lived in Peotone, keeping a horse in her backyard barn. One day she decided to sell the horse to make some money. She sold the horse to a strikingly handsome, charming, and extremely strong man, and it was love at first sight. They were truly a perfect match and decided to settle down together and got married on April 22, 1961. June was no longer a Samuel and was welcomed into the Pollak bloodline with open arms. Walter Pollak became her wonderful husband and loved her with his whole heart. He was willing to do anything for her, including waiting in an hour-long line to get her an egg roll after she swore she didn’t want one, until she had a bite of his.

Together they lead three warm souls into the light of life, Barbara, Jennifer, and Gregory. The Pollak Family was created, and they were an inseparable team, aside from some bumps in the road. They would camp quite often and vacationed every summer. One of these vacations was to a national cemetery where a baby Gregory knocked the car into gear and the whole family came together to stop it. Another time, Walter and June were visiting a rest stop in New Mexico with two year old Barbara where she had to perform a daring outhouse rescue. Barbara fell into the toilet, and June needed to go deep into the toilet to rescue her. Despite the havoc the family got into, they all loved each other, June especially.

 She loved to create things with her grandchildren and was always working on a project. Whether it be seeing stuffed animals or creating wooden magnets, she could always be found bringing art into the world. She always wanted to capture these moments, and that’s where her camera skills would come in handy, if she had any. She was notorious for taking pictures of the sky with people usually cut off at the bottom. When she actually managed to aim it at the desired location, her thumb would be blocking the view. She was not any better at the other end. June was commonly seen looking in other directions, holding her mouth agape, or closing her eyes. When paired with children or pets, getting a decent photo was often a challenge! 

As she progressed into her life, she got into the driver seat of a freakishly slow scooter. She could be considered an Olympic athlete because of her unintentional wheelies and other jumps. When she wasn’t busy performing stunts, she was crashing into every surface possible. June also loved playing Pictionary with her grandchildren, which paired excellently with her amazing artistic skills. We wish we could have seen some of her art, but her arm was blocking it. June loved going to local events, such as the Halloween parade. Her times at the fair were joyous, particularly because of her appreciation of the local cuisine. She dabbled herself by creating some deserts seen as peculiar by the rest of her family.

She was seen as a loving person by all, and supported everyone she knew with a welcoming smile. She helped out the community by decorating weddings and contributed to events at the American Legion. June always kept a smile on her face and never saw the negative in things, even when she was sick. She always fought for the well-being of her and her family and never gave up when faced with the right decision.

Sadly, June was taken from this word on March 25, 2023. As she ascends into the afterlife, she is greeted by everyone she has loved. She is now reunited with her parents and brother, her two sons, Gregory; and David, who died at birth. She met with her beloved pets Sophie, Cindy, Ginger, Hercules, Alex, Nekko, and Jax. June was loved by many and made a positive impact on the world around her. She will forever be remembered as a bundle of hope and a great person. Her memory lives on with special friends Emily Stice and Gillian Hannigan, her daughters and Sons-in-law, Barbara and Robert Musch and Jennifer and Gus Paschalis, daughter-in-law Kirsha Pollak along with her beloved grandchildren: Ethan Pollak, Breck and Quinn Pollak, and Alaina and George Paschalis.

Visitation will be held at Fedde-Helfrich-Cross Funeral Home on Saturday, April 1, 2023 from 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. with funeral services being held at 5:00 p.m., Rev. Terry Krouskoupf officiating.  Memorials may be directed to the wishes of the family.  Share a memory at www.feddehelfrichcrossfh.com