Lawrence W. Gierut

Lawrence "Butch" Gierut. Age 81. United States Army Vietnam Veteran. Beloved husband of Judith nee, Pienta. Loving father of Lynette (Richard) Benda, Michael (Stacey), Kristin Gierut and Patrick (Becky). Dear grandfather of Joe, Harry, Lou, John, Addy, Grant, Maggie, Stephanie, Bobby and Emily. Devoted son of late John and Stephanie. Fond brother of late Eugene (Lucille), late Jerome (Ruth) and Marilyn (Robert) Doherty. Dearest brother-in-law of late John (Kitty) Pienta and Betty (Jack) Shopin.  Uncle of many nieces and nephews. A visitation will be on Thursday, May 16th from 9 a.m. until time of funeral mass at 10 a.m. at St. Cletus Catholic Church, located at 600 W. 55th St, La Grange, IL 60525. Interment is private, Resurrection Cemetery, Justice, IL.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Larry’s honor to the Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital.

Born on the Southside of Chicago in 1942, Larry “Butch” Gierut worked a paper route in the McKinley Park neighborhood to help the family pay the bills and graduated from De La Salle High School. He met Judy Pienta from the neighborhood, and they married in 1964. He was drafted into the Army and went off to Vietnam in 1967 at which time the 1st of his 4 children (Lyn) was born whom he didn’t meet for another 7 months when he returned home. They would go on to have 3 more children (Mike, Kris & Pat) over the next 4 years.  He graduated from Lewis University on the GI bill while working and supporting his family with Judy.  He was a Chicago native who lived in Willow Springs for 42 years.

Larry loved the community in the suburbs and was very involved with Little League, the Park District, Village of Willow Springs (where he took part in the implementation of 911 in the town), as well as serving on the Lyons Township High School Board. He worked for the IRS for 33 years while also working for the Circuit Court of Cook County. Larry retired from the IRS and went on to work for the State of Illinois and IDOT, making many friends along the way. He then spent many days working at Cog Hill & Flagg Creek golf courses. He was an avid sports fan, always taking the family to the old Stadium, The United Center, Comiskey Park, and Santa Fe Speedway.  Larry was an umpire and referee throughout his life and coached many teams leaving a lasting positive impact on all who had the pleasure to meet him. He was a superfan of his 4 children and 10 grandchildren, and along with Judy they attended more games of every sport than can possibly be counted. Whether you knew him as Larry or Butch, he will be greatly missed, but the positive impact he had on those he met will live on for many years to come.

For more information call the Sourek Funeral Home at 708-652-6661