Francis Joseph Idzikowski

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Frank liked to talk and tell stories. Here’s a story for you …

Born on May 28, 1951, to a single mother in a less tolerant world, Frank spent his first months at Saint Joseph's orphanage in Milwaukee, WI. He was adopted by Harry and Sophie (Liskowiak) Idzikowski, a childless couple on the South Side of Milwaukee. The extensive Idzikowski-Liskowiak families provided a loving network of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, who were more like siblings. He first lived in an apartment above his parents grocery store. When he father sold the store joining the Post Office, they purchased his mother’s childhood home near 16th and Oklahoma, a neighborhood filled with large Catholic families offering close friendships for Frank. Frank attended St. Alexander's Grade School just across the street from his home where he was known as a bit of a class clown. His racy reading material (James Bond novels) were regularly confiscated by the nuns and his knuckles ‘knew the ruler’. Frank was a Boy Scout but also enjoyed impromptu baseball games at nearby Holt Park. Several weeks each summer were also spent on a train journey to Ohio where his maternal grandmother lived. There little Frankie enjoyed life at her trailer court, swimming and fishing in the local pond, playing canasta with Grandma, and visiting nearby cousins, Kathy and Mike. The train ride to and from Ohio through Chicago forever instilled in Frank a love of trains. His childhood was also spent travelling throughout Wisconsin, the Upper Peninsula into Canada with his parents and a sequence of three family dogs all named Butch. Devil's Lake State Park was a favorite yearly location. The biggest family adventure, however, was when Frank was about 16; his father saved up five years of vacations to take them camping in the Yukon territories up to Alaska and on to the Arctic Circle. Travel with his parents is what instilled in Frank the love of travel that would be a hallmark of his own family’s passion for travel. Frank attended Notre Dame High School in Milwaukee and was known for several antics there as well, but there, inspired by history taught by Mr. Henry Dluzak, Frank's love of history was forever engendered. Frank’s work ethic was also established at this time. He worked after school, holidays and summer vacations at Wolford’s Pharmacy near his home, entrusted with a variety of duties that also included being a caddy for Mr. Wolford. A favorite memory was nighttime golf with Frank holding a flashlight at the eighth hole despite an ominous thunderstorm. It was the music of the Beach Boys, Elvis, the early Beatles, and the Doors, which marked these early years.

Shortly after Frank's 18th birthday, he received a ‘lucky’ single digit draft number. He chose, however, to enlist; that would provide him with a choice - the Army. Shortly after his 18th birthday in 1969, Frank shipped out for basic training to Baltimore at Ft. Holabird, where he attended the US Army Military Intelligence School. From there he was shipped out to Vietnam from Oakland, CA, serving two tours. A music memory was forever ingrained in Frank and the other soldiers shipping out – the song, “San Francisco,” playing repeatedly at the Oakland Airport. Much of Frank’s work in intelligence is still classified. On May 27, 1970, one day before his 19th birthday, Frank distinguished himself for exceptional heroism when while on a routine search and cordon operation, his team came under heavy enemy attack. Frank observed a secondary enemy attack about to encircle their team and their accompanying Vietnamese Army unit. Then a sergeant, Frank led a platoon of Vietnamese soldiers in a counterattack, which saved his unit, and then pursued the enemy until reinforcements could take action. For this initiative and heroism, Frank received the Bronze Star Medal and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with a Silver Star. Frank received additional awards from the Republic of Vietnam for his service. On return to the States, Frank was assigned to Fort Bragg, NC, where he served as procurement Sergeant with a knack for ‘special’ acquisitions. He lived off base with a number of buddies, and fondly remembers stories of moonshine and ‘speedy’ visits north to his parents in his red 65 Mustang. Frank’s time in the army was the most formative experience in his life; it shaped his character, world view, and future choices. The song, “We Gotta Get Out of this Place,” by The Animals, was a favorite in Vietnam, performed by Vietnamese bands, and also performed at reunions into the 2000s.

After the Army, Frank tried a variety of civilian jobs including serving as a County Sheriff for Milwaukee. He experimented with photography and journalism, receiving press passes to several Apollo launchings. Not satisfied with those career choices, he attended the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, earning a bachelor's degree (1980) in International Relations and in History and then a master's degree in Military History (1984). His master's thesis analyzed German tank battles of World War II.

It was in geology class at UW-Milwaukee, that Frank met Heidi, his future wife, together they shared a love of history, travel, reading and nature, and both grew up on the South Side of Milwaukee. Their courtship was fast with an impromptu proposal from Frank in front of the Air and Space Museum in Washington DC, but their engagement stretched on for six years as they both finished their first degrees. Together they worked for United Artists Theatres to pay college expenses. Frank worked security and Heidi, in concessions. All the Szpek brothers-in-law worked for the theatres in one capacity or another, Erv was in management and even young Perry joined in cleanup for tips and after work breakfasts. Working security for the late-night movies and rock concerts at the Uptown Theatre brought in the most unique characters as well as regular visits from ‘Milwaukee’s Finest’. The heightened excitement let Frank reconnect with his Army and Sheriff Deputy days.

Frank and Heidi’s travel passion began with a geology field trip where they rafted down the Green River, visited Canyonlands and Monument Valley. Their travels continued throughout the United States into Canada, especially the western U.S. states, with Spring Breaks typically spent at Busch Gardens, Disneyworld and the beaches of Florida. This was Frank’s Tom Selleck/Magnum phase where he sported that special mustache, Hawaiian shirts, covered in cold weather by his former Sheriff Deputy black bomber jacket, that scared Heidi’s college girlfriends. Their music inclined toward the Blue Grass of the late 70s-early 80s. In 1984, the planets finally aligned. Heidi received a full scholarship to Johns Hopkins University to study Near Eastern Languages and Literature and Frank began a long-awaited career with the Defense Investigative Agency. His dream job was ‘THE’ agency, but failing that DIA was supposedly a good start. His work again was classified. This agency, however, was suspicious of Frank's workings in Vietnam, creating an unpleasant work environment. Heidi was dissatisfied with the declining program at Hopkins. So next was a return to Wisconsin and employment with the Drug Enforcement Agency. Frank daily commuted to Chicago from their apartment in Kenosha; Heidi travelled to UW-Madison. As an analyst for the DEA, Frank’s work should have been intellectual, but his past experience took him into the field on unofficial ‘research’ trips to Florida. Frank’s next agency move to the Defense Investigative Service allowed them to settle in Big Bend, WI, buy a house and start a family. Heidi’s Garth Brooks, Dixie Chicks and Tina McBride competed with Frank’s still love of ‘60s music, mixed with the classical Ride of the Valkyries or the 1812 Overture.

In 1988, Frank and Heidi welcomed their daughter Sara and a whole new world of parenting emerged. Frank became the quintessential girl dad, playing Barbies and sporting painted toenails. (Later, Sara would learn colorful language from Frank.) In 1994, inspired by Frank's own adoption, Frank and Heidi decided to adopt. US adoption was not available because of Frank’s age, so they traveled to Moscow, Russia, assisted by Rainbow House Adoption as recommended by Frank’s friend and colleague Archdeacon Dimitri Kamolov of the Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church. From Moscow, they travelled by Trabant to the orphanage in the little town of Tula where they met their son Alex (Sasha). Their family life became even richer now as they had both a daughter and a son and from then on, a cadre of loving pups. For the next 35 years, their homes would welcome five dogs - Max, Murphy, Morse, Blackie, Hazel and Preshus, the cat, who lived to the ripe old age of 21.5 years.

But there was something absent from Frank’s work at DIS, prompting Frank and family to move to Arizona where for nearly two years Frank worked in the public sector. While in Tucson, AZ, Frank applied and was offered a position with the Veterans Administration in Seattle. And so began the most rewarding career in Frank's life, serving as adjudicator and then senior adjudicator for 20 years, assisting veterans in receiving their proper benefits. He loved this work and adored the people with whom he worked. He was an inspiring mentor and also created resource materials in anticipation of his retirement.

Frank’s dedication to veterans extended beyond working hours at the VA. VA colleague and friend, John Armezzani founded O.A.S.I.S (Operational Advocates Supporting Injured Soldiers) in 2014 later the Green Beret Foundation in 2018. Its purpose was to attend military conferences, military bases and events in order to assist veterans with understanding the benefits due to them. Frank’s background with the VA made him perfect in this role of advocation and liaison. In this capacity, Frank attended more than a dozen SOAR (Special Operations Aviation Regiment) Conferences in Las Vegas. He visited such military bases as Fort Bragg, NC, Fort Carson, Colorado and even the far away Okinawa, Japan. To be part of such an incredible organization, not only gave Frank a sense of purpose but a comradery reminiscent of his Army days.

Frank and Heidi continued their travels now with their children, engendering the same love of travel and exploration as they had experienced before marriage and in their own childhoods. They travelled throughout the US, Mexico, Canada, to Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic and to Israel. Their children continue this passion for travel. In 2005, another travel experience would forever change Frank and Heidi's lives. On a trip to Poland and Germany, preparing for a new course at her university (Central Washington University), Frank accompanied Heidi as her security guard, beast of burden, researcher and photographer. By chance, they visited an out of the ordinary place at that time, the city of Bialystok in northeastern Poland. There they encountered a devastated Jewish cemetery. Peering out of the ruins were exquisite inscriptions on the Hebrew tombstones; Hebrew was Heidi’s specialty. For Frank, photographing these stones and investigating the people behind the inscriptions became another passion. For the next 20 years, they would return to this cemetery in Poland, assisting in its restoration. Since 2016, Frank and Heidi have been devoted members of the Bialystok Cemetery Restoration Fund, working to bring back the dignity of this final resting place for Bialystok’s Jewish community prior to the Holocaust. Involvement in this project created a family of like-minded volunteers from the US, Poland, Belarus, Russia, Germany, Canada, and Israel. Bialystok became a home-away-from home. For Frank, being part of this project allowed him to use his photography skills but also draw on his interests in Eastern European History.

Frank's love of military history is also demonstrated in a project much closer to home. His father-in-law Ervin Szpek, Sr. was a Prisoner of War in World War 2, held in the infamous Slaughterhouse V Complex in Dresden, Germany, made famous by American author, Kurt Vonnegut’s Sci-Fi novel, Slaughterhouse V. Vonnegut was one of the prisoners as well. In the 1980s, Frank and brother-in-law Ervin Szpek, Jr. began the daunting task of collecting the memoirs of over 150 men, who were held in the complex. In 2008, they published Shadows of Slaughterhouse Five: Recollections and Reflections of the Ex-POWs of Schlachthof Fünf, Dresden, Germany, forever preserving the painful memories previously left unspoken. Frank and Erv travelled to Dresden, as did Erv and his wife, Donna, and Frank, Heidi and their children, Sara and Alex. It was Frank's hope to update this book with a few more memoirs recently discovered and an Afterword. Unfortunately, fate decided otherwise.

Last August, Frank and Heidi celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary. After working on the restoration project in Bialystok, they travelled to Oslo to see the new Edvard Munch Museum and then on to a bucket-list destination, Iceland. Anniversaries fell amidst the restoration season, but each year after their work they chose different locations to explore. They traveled throughout Germany, the Baltic States. the Scandinavian countries, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and France, as well as ancestral travels throughout Poland. Frank also had travelled, of course, to Vietnam, Cambodian and Thailand, and was but wasn’t in Laos. His bucket list never ended … one travel regret took him back to grade school days and his James Bond novels and the Bond movies that came next. He wanted to ride the cable car to the top of Piz Gloria. To family or friends who make this visit, please raise a toast to Frank!

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Frank was preceded in death by his parents, Harry and Sophie Idzikowski. He is survived by his wife Heidi Szpek, daughter Sara, partner Evan Farevaag, granddaughters Sophia and Erika; son Alex, his partner Kevin Yang, and grandpups Hank, Zeus and Tulip. Frank is also survived by his most special brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, who were part of his life since he first met Heidi in 1979: Ervin Jr. and Donna, Randy and Barb, Tim and Perry. He also treasured his nieces and nephews, Morgan (Rob); Jesse (Mike), Dan “Spike” and Sam (Jenna); Josh, Nick; Olivia and Nathan. He celebrated being a great-uncle to Zane, Leah, Max, Luke and, most recently, Liliana. He is survived by Idzikowski and Liskowiak cousins as well as by the cousins of his biological mother, the Belmer family. In the early 2000s, the Belmer-Wilk cousins discovered that another cousin (Frank) existed. They sought out the missing cousin and welcomed him into their huge family, a family that holds the record for Wisconsin’s longest-running family picnic, held at South Milwaukee’s Grant Park. In the early 2000s, Frank, Heidi, Sara and Alex travelled to Wisconsin to attend the family picnic. Their they met aunts, uncles, and cousins and immediately felt at home.

Frank was truly a man of the world, well-traveled, educated, a lover of nature but he was also very much a homebody, who loved to spend simple time with his family, watch endless rerun programs, which he claimed to have missed while in Vietnam:) He enjoyed a good hot dog - pork and chicken not beef. Diet Mountain Dew and Jim Beam were his beverages of choice. His greatest pride was in seeing his children, Sara and Alex, become independent, strong-willed yet kind and compassionate adults with the best sons-in-law, Evan and Kevin, a parent could wish for. The only thing that distracted Frank from responding to his wife, his children, to Veterans or to his volunteer work with the Bialystok Cemetery Restoration Fund was … his granddaughters, Sophia and Erika. Stop the world if they needed ‘Baba’ – Erika’s title for Frank! His greatest sadness in these last months was not being able to see them into adulthood. No matter how poorly he felt in recent times, he ‘faked’ being healthy when the girls came round. Frank also wished to become an organ donor. His passing has given the gift of sight to two people in need of corneas.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Green Beret Foundation; to the Bialystok Cemetery Restoration Fund or to the Intensive Support Classroom Fund at Sherwood Elementary School, granddaughter Sophia’s school, in Edmonds, WA. A Celebration of Life is planned in Washington in mid-February; in Wisconsin in late May, and in 2026 at Arlington cemetery. Frank’s wish was to be interred amidst the men and women, who fought for our country.

Green Beret Foundation https://greenberetfoundation.org/donate/

Bialystok Cemetery Restoration Fund https://bialystokcemeteryrestoration.org/donate/

Intensive Support Classroom Fund, Sherwood Elementary School, Edmonds, WA – contact Heidi Idzikowski ([email protected]) or your donation can be mailed to her: 113 Logan Road, Lynnwood, WA 98036