Richard, best known to his friends as "Silver Tounge" will always be in my memory for the many times we spent together in the hallowed halls of Chicago Vocational in classrooms, on the Senior Boys Council, ROTC events, Senior Varieties, Student Council, etc. In the classroom he was at his best for well composed questions and comments for our teachers and impressing all with his excellent command of the language and a few choice words that perfectly matched the thoughts and sent some to the dictionary to be sure the word was indeed appropriate for its use. As far as I know they always were. In ROTC, we were chosen one semester to actually teach a subject from one of our manuals or accounts of military history with the freedom to add from our own readings or from what that we had from some additional knowledge or from personal sources. He did something on the American Civil War and me on the battle tactics and my father's experience as a Seventh Armoured Division medic in the "Battle of the Buldge" in WWII. Our Army Sgt. Parmentier was impressed and became friend to us and got our assistence when he and his family needed to take a new assignment and asked for some help packing up for his move. Sorry Sgt. for scratching some of that furniture in getting it down the the outside back stairs!
After school perhaps not everyone knew that Richard had a very strong interest in pipe organs; those musical instruments in old fashioned theaters and many churches in the USA and Europe. That interest was so strong that he followed it lifelong and expressed it best in being the top person in the American society devoted to the appreciation of these musical wonders of man's creation. I can still recall driving home from suburban Chicago traffic listening to Public Radio station WBEZ and hearing him being interviewed and talking so lovingly about some of the places he had traveled in the states and abroad to promote wider appreciation and support for efforts to keep these pipe organs maintained and preserved as operating historically important artifacts of engineering, mechanics, and aucustical marvel. Richard, you will be dearly missed by many. Thank you for your military service and friendship.Bless you for it all.
Robert Hojnicki (Hojnicki)
Below is the link to Richard Sklenar's obituary:
https://www.heritageberwyn.com/obituary/Richard-Sklenar
Thomas Krask
Richard, best known to his friends as "Silver Tounge" will always be in my memory for the many times we spent together in the hallowed halls of Chicago Vocational in classrooms, on the Senior Boys Council, ROTC events, Senior Varieties, Student Council, etc. In the classroom he was at his best for well composed questions and comments for our teachers and impressing all with his excellent command of the language and a few choice words that perfectly matched the thoughts and sent some to the dictionary to be sure the word was indeed appropriate for its use. As far as I know they always were. In ROTC, we were chosen one semester to actually teach a subject from one of our manuals or accounts of military history with the freedom to add from our own readings or from what that we had from some additional knowledge or from personal sources. He did something on the American Civil War and me on the battle tactics and my father's experience as a Seventh Armoured Division medic in the "Battle of the Buldge" in WWII. Our Army Sgt. Parmentier was impressed and became friend to us and got our assistence when he and his family needed to take a new assignment and asked for some help packing up for his move. Sorry Sgt. for scratching some of that furniture in getting it down the the outside back stairs!
After school perhaps not everyone knew that Richard had a very strong interest in pipe organs; those musical instruments in old fashioned theaters and many churches in the USA and Europe. That interest was so strong that he followed it lifelong and expressed it best in being the top person in the American society devoted to the appreciation of these musical wonders of man's creation. I can still recall driving home from suburban Chicago traffic listening to Public Radio station WBEZ and hearing him being interviewed and talking so lovingly about some of the places he had traveled in the states and abroad to promote wider appreciation and support for efforts to keep these pipe organs maintained and preserved as operating historically important artifacts of engineering, mechanics, and aucustical marvel. Richard, you will be dearly missed by many. Thank you for your military service and friendship.Bless you for it all.
Frank Biegel
Thomas,
That was a great tribute to Richard. I remember him as one smart individual. May he rest in peace.