Francis
Walter Kazak was born in Springfield, Vt., on February 7, 1942.
As
the son of Veronica Janowski and Walter Kazak, he grew up in
Springfield and Cavendish in the heyday of the machine tool industry,
where the extended family of Polish Russian heritage were hardworking
individuals as farmers, manufacturing plant workers and grocery store
owners. His maternal grandfather worked in the mill at night and
tended his small farm and cows in Cavendish during the days.
Fran
was proud of the Springfield community where he grew up and sang the
praises of all the resources that they had for young people. A fond
memory he had as a young boy was of walking down the steep hill from
his home to the center of town to drop off the bill payments for his
parents and pick up two loaves of Polish bread from the local bakery.
He would carry them back home as fast as he could, so they were still
warm for butter. During his high school years, he especially enjoyed
the block dances and working as the rope tow attendant at the local
ski hill. He was the designated “weeder” in his father’s
extensive garden, where they would grow vegetables by the basketful
and bring them home where he and his sisters and mother would prepare
them for freezing. He also helped his grandfather in Cavendish,
haying and tending to the cows.
In
high school, he attended the co-op program at Springfield High
School, with several weeks in academic studies followed by a set of
weeks in the manufacturing plants to learn the skills and tools of
all the trades involved. The plan was for him to be prepared to
transition into a good job after finishing high school. Fortunately,
his high school teachers, along with an observant guidance counselor,
recognized Fran’s academic ability and told his parents that “This
young man should be going on to college.” Following that advice,
Fran went off to Boston and attended Franklin Institute on an ASTME
scholarship to finish up requirements in order to apply for college.
He attended the University of Vermont school of engineering and when
he graduated was immediately recruited by IBM. There he thrived in
the demands of his job and the freedom to use his creative mind for
new innovations in the chip manufacturing industry.
At
IBM, he met Lorraine Elizabeth Hurst, the love of his life, and
introduced her to his extensive family of aunts, uncles and a
multitude of cousins. Lori and Fran married on June 20, 1969.
Together they built a home in Westford, Vt., and welcomed their son
Christopher Michael in 1979, and then Corey Joseph in 1982. Later,
they relocated to Essex Junction. As a devoted father, Fran involved
the boys in outdoor activities and the Cub Scouts, took them to the
mountains for family skiing, and was there for them as they pursued
their passions for playing soccer and running cross-country and
track. For many summers, he and Lori and the boys would join other
family members on the coast of Maine for camping or renting a big
beach house for lots of beach time, lobsters and summer fun. Fran’s
large extended family was his social network and support system for
his whole life, and he maintained close connections with his cousins.
As
the turns of life go, Fran and Lori entered into a 13-year battle
when she was diagnosed with cancer. He was with her every step of the
way on this marathon, trying everything to beat the odds, that ended
in the summer of 2003 when she passed away. He continued his devotion
to Chris and Corey as they journeyed through college, spent time
living and working in Boston, establishing their careers, and moved
on to finding and marrying their wonderful spouses. Fran especially
enjoyed traveling to Boston to go to the Red Sox games with them. He
was so proud of them and delighted in having daughter-in-laws and
three wonderful grandchildren.
Fran
passed away on August 9, 2025, and is survived by his sons, Chris and
his wife, Devon, Lorraine (6) and Nolan (3); and Corey, his wife,
Natalie, and their 4-month-old son, Colton; a sister, Janice, and two
nieces in New York; a sister, Jean, and husband Bob and a niece in
North Carolina and a nephew in Maine; and his life partner of 20
years, Maura O’Brien.
Fran
and Maura, also of Westford, reacquainted in 2006, and soon it became
clear that they would become partners for life. Fran often said that
he was blessed with the two greatest loves of his life. Fran and
Maura recognized the passion in the love each had for their own
families, and Fran welcomed Maura’s son, Benjamin, and daughter,
Anna, along with her husband, Bill, and daughters Elsa (14) and Alice
(11), into his circle of love. He delighted in attending the girls’
jazz band nights, dance performances and the McCloy and O’Brien
family gatherings. Fran and Maura had a mutual love for the outdoors,
jazz music, and music of the ’50s and ’60s. They relished every
opportunity to dance, including in the kitchen on Saturday nights to
the “My Place” music on VPR. Together, they loved touring the art
galleries in Vermont, Cape Cod, Boston, D.C. and New York City and
historical museums, and they especially loved musical theater
productions. They shared similar reading interests, especially in
history, and often had long discussions on issues related to social
justice. They loved cooking together, especially finding great
recipes and planning gourmet meals with each other. For many years
they gardened together on the “lower four,” as Fran called the
property where they had garden beds and boxes. Together, they took
the “trip of a lifetime” and spent a month in Africa, touring
Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Johannesburg, South Africa. They
continued to revisit the trip in the photos and memories they shared.
Fran’s
passions and pastimes were reading, music and radio-controlled (RC)
planes. He was a voracious reader. Every day he consumed several
national and local news publications. There were always at least two
books on his chair-side table: one with a historical focus and the
other an action-packed thriller. In recent years, he discovered
enjoyment in reading poetry. As a lover of music, he catalogued and
downloaded his favorite music onto all his devices. For many years,
he focused on building, fine-tuning and flying RC planes, mostly the
fine-tuning and creating adaptations for a better flight. He did
everything with scientific precision, from creating the right compost
for the garden to designing a new gate for the deck for the
grandchildren, experimenting with weights and measures in his passion
for making bread, finding the best lens for his many cameras, and
researching and practicing restoration and storage of family photos.
He loved watching the birds and came up with all sorts of
technological improvement to bird feeders to attract them, especially
the Baltimore orioles and hummingbirds this past spring. Fran was a
truly wonderful man who had a kind word for everyone he met and
genuinely believed it when he would say, “Life is good!”
Many
heartfelt thanks go to the extraordinary and compassionate nurses and
doctors at UVM Medical Center Cardiac Care unit. In keeping with his
wishes “to get involved and contribute to civic and charitable
projects,” Fran recently became a proud member of and volunteered
for the Essex Rotary Club. In lieu of flowers, please consider a
donation to the Rotary Club Charities of Essex, Vt., P.O. Box 8466,
Essex, VT 05451.