Frank A. Garancovsky, 91

Poland………Funeral services will be held 10:30am Monday at Kubina-Yuhasz- Wasko Funeral Home in Boardman and at 11am at St. Columbia Cathedral for Frank A. Garancovsky, 91, who passed away Wednesday evening. Frank was born Feb. 24, 1924 in Youngstown, the son of Andy and Sophia Skovira Garancovsky. Frank attended St. Elizabeth Elementary School in Youngstown and graduated in 1937. He attended Memorial High School for one year and transferred to St. Joseph Academy in Rensselear, Indiana, graduating in June of 1941 with a high school diploma. Following graduation, he worked in his father's grocery store and also attended Rayen Vocational School to learn the machinist trade. Following successful completion of the course, he applied for work as a machine operator at the Youngstown Welding and Engineering Co. and was granted employment following his 18th birthday in 1942.  He worked at Youngstown Welding through Oct. of 1942, after which he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps on Nov. 5, 1942. Following basic training as a private at Camp Williams in California, he was assigned to the radio school in Sioux Falls, S.D., where he studied radio theory and Morris Code.  After graduation in April of 1943, he was appointed to aviation cadet school in Boca Raton, Fla., officer's training school.  Upon successful completion of the courses, he was assigned to the Army Air Corps Technical Command at Yale University for further training in communications and cryptology. He was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in Aug. of 1943, at the age of 19. Following commissioning, he was assigned for additional training in specialized radio communications at Tomah, Wisconsin near Camp McCoy. Having completed the course, he was assigned to Bradley Field in Connecticut (Hartford International) as a communications officer in Nov. of 1943.  After several weeks he formed a cadre of men that formed a fighter control detachment and assigned to overseas duty in the Pacific Theater of Operations for two years. Following the Leyte, Philippine Islands campaign he was assigned to the U.S. Army Intelligence Corps but the assignment was thwarted by a three month hospitalization at Tripler General Hospital in Honolulu, then, evacuated to Letterman General Hosp. in San Francisco, Ca. and on to White Sulpher Springs Military Hospital in West Virginia. Following 43 months in the military service he was honorably separated in 1946 to the inactive U.S. Army Air Corps Reserve Officers Corps.  During his service he was awarded the American Theater Campaign Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with Bronze Star and Bronze Service Arrowhead Award, Philippine Liberation Ribbon with 2 Bronze Stars, Presidential Unit Citation Philippine Government and WWII Victory Medal. He returned home to continue working in his father's grocery store until employed by the Post Office Department in 1947 as a postal clerk Married on July 14, 1949 to Helen M. Beney, they have one son Mark, born in 1951, Frank continued working at the USPS in Youngstown until Feb. of 1978. As a clerk window technician he was given a special award from the postmaster in Youngstown for superior performance for his knowledge of postal regulations and training postal personnel for window services. He retired as Manager of Accounting following 31 years of service. He was a member of the American Postal Workers Union, National Postal Supervisors Assoc., Ohio Postal Supervisors and NARFE (National Assoc. of Retired Federal Employees) He was a noted philatelist with memberships in the American Philatelic Society where he served on the committee of experts for stamps of Czechoslovakia. He also held membership in the Mahoning Valley Stamp Club and the Society for Czechoslovak Philately where he served on the board of directors for six years.  He also served as a columnist and feature writer for several years as well as other national philatelic publications that included translating services form Czech to Slovak languages to English. He was proud of his Slovak heritage and was a member of the American Slovak Cultural Association of the Mahoning Valley for whom he was a frequent contributor of articles for their newsletter. He was awarded their Man of The Year award in 2006. An avid reader of best sellers, both fiction and non-fiction, Mr. Garancovsky read over 2200 books during his retirement years. Another retirement hobby was travel, when he and his wife would live in Florida, Arkansas and Kentucky before returning to Ohio and settled into their seventh home! He was member of St. Columba Cathedral, a member of the former St. Elizabeth Church and was a member of the Holy Name Society and the Rosary Society. He is survived by his wife Helen and his son Mark. He also leaves behind to cherish his memory several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; and a brother John of Glendora, California in 1996. Mr. Garancovsky's family wishes to send a special "Thank You" to Dr. Robert Spratt and staff, Dr. Karim Hussein at Poland Cardiology and staff, Dr. Leonidas Vassilaros and staff, and all the staff of Shepherd of the Valley for taking such good care of him. The Garancovsky family has entrusted their loved one to the care of the Wasko Funeral Home and will receive family and friends on Sunday afternoon from 2 to 4pm at Kubina-Yuhasz-Wasko Funeral Home, 5925 Market St. in Boardman.