Joseph B. "Joe" Stanek

1932 - 2025

Joseph "Joe" B. Stanek
Born: April 16, 1932 in Eola, IL
Died: November 22, 2025 in McHenry, IL
Joseph "Joe" B. Stanek, 93, of McHenry, Illinois, passed away peacefully on November 22, 2025, at Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital. He spent his last day with his children and grandchildren and was ready to be reunited with his loved ones again in Heaven.
Born on April 16, 1932, to Frank and Frances Stanek of Eola, Illinois, Joe was the 7th of 8 children. He attended St. Therese Catholic School through 8th grade and was a proud high school graduate of Marmion Military Academy in nearby Aurora. As teenagers, Joe met the girl who would become his "forever love," Marilyn D. Brown of West Chicago, in the grocery store that Marilyn's mother and aunt owned in Eola. They married in 1952 and went on to have 6 children.
Quite the athlete in his youth, he played baseball and was a lifelong fan of the Chicago White Sox and Bears teams. In the 1960s and early 1970s he played and coached local baseball teams and competed in local bowling and golf leagues.
Shortly after Joe and Marilyn married, he was drafted into the Korean War, where he served in the Army's 32nd infantry regiment "the Queens" and 7th Infantry Division later becoming a Sergeant. "Duty, honor, country," was the motto he lived by, and he often recited it with pride. Joe started cutting hair in the Army and discovered he had a talent for it. His Army buddies started calling him "Joe the Barber," and when he returned home, he decided to continue with the trade.
In 1955, Joe and Marilyn moved to McHenry, where he opened Joe's Barber Shop on the west end of town and worked for more than 50 years. His slogan was "Those in the know go to Joe's, those who don't care go elsewhere." He never officially retired, and often joked, "You'd have to pry the clippers out of my hand!"
Joe and Marilyn considered their Millstream Drive home their castle. With a yard that ended at the bank of the Boone creek, he loved fishing off the pier or on his boat. He always made sure to have a pool in the backyard for Marilyn and his children (and later, his grandchildren) and enjoyed tending to his fruit trees and the grapes he used to make his own wine.
As a father, he enjoyed having fun with his kids, and always made sure to stop for ice cream on their many road trips. Vacations to a cabin in Ontonagon, Michigan were a highlight for the kids, who spent summers swimming and collecting driftwood on the shores of Lake Superior.
A pillar of the community, Joe's dedication to serving others led him to engage in local politics. He spent more than 30 years in local elected office, starting in the 1960s when he became a McHenry alderman. In 1973 he was elected mayor, a position he held until 1985. Known as the "Parks Mayor," he led the city government in establishing a Parks and Recreation Department, and developed Petersen, Knox, and Fox Ridge parks, among many other accomplishments. To celebrate one of his proud achievements, Petersen Park Road has an honorary street sign bearing his name. From 1985 to 2001 he was a McHenry Township Trustee.
Joe and Marilyn considered family to be everything. They proudly displayed a sign on the garage that said, "J & M Stanek + 6," and when their children grew up, they were loving and devoted grandparents to their 10 grandchildren. A lifelong provider, he took pride in being able to hand his grandchildren a $20 bill and tell them to "go buy a Cadillac!" Even more valuable are the memories of cozy Christmas Eve nights spent around the basement fireplace, and the fun afternoons swimming in the backyard pool.
Joe and Marilyn enjoyed traveling to many different parts of the country, an enjoyment they indulged more as they neared and then entered their retirement years. Destinations ranged from the Amish country of Indiana to the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado to the Islands of Hawaii.
For a man who "if you met him once, you would never forget him," he will always be remembered for his love for his family. Even at the end of his life, while he and Marilyn were shifting from the family home to an assisted living facility, he was awarded "Most Devoted Husband". Visits from his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren brought him much joy.
If someone said to Joe, "Have a good day," he would say, "It's not 'have a good day,' it's 'have a good forever'." Reunited with his forever love, the family knows Joe is having a good forever.
Joe is survived by his sons: Steven (Kristine), Kenneth, and Paul; his daughters: Cynthia (Kurt) Zwicke and Lisa (Gary) Schultz; his daughter-in-law: Denise Stanek; his grandchildren: Katelyn Stanek, Alyssa (Charles) Jones, Ashley (Rory) Letteney, Cameren (Justin) Drobish, Patrick (Nicole) Stanek, Grant Zwicke, Summer (Diego) Saravia, Brock Zwicke, Amanda Schultz, and Tamara (Angel) Cruz; his great-grandchildren: Roman, Serena, and Valencia Cruz, Owen, Cessily, Leo Stanek, Joseph Letteney, and Camila Saravia; and many nieces and nephews, relatives, and friends.
He was preceded in death by his loving wife: Marilyn; his son: Joseph Patrick "Pat" Stanek; and his siblings: Frances Glover, Elizabeth Kramer, Anna (Sister Fleurette of the Order of St. Francis nuns), Rosemary Fisher, George Stanek, Vincent Stanek, and Theresa Anderson.
A Visitation will be held on Sunday, November 30, 2025, at Colonial Funeral Home in McHenry, IL from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM. The Funeral Mass will be held on Monday, December 1, 2025, at St. Patrick Catholic Church of McHenry, IL at 11:00 AM. The Burial will follow at Ringwood Cemetery in Ringwood, IL where Military Funeral Honors will take place.