Helen "Maxine" Polak 1924-2012

POLAK HOUSE MAXON

Posted By: Connie Swearingen-Volunteer (email)
Date: 7/23/2012 at 12:44:11

Sioux City Journal
May 02, 2012

Helen "Maxine" Polak, 88, of Dakota Dunes, formerly of Sioux City, passed away Sunday, April 29, 2012, at a local hospital surrounded by her family.

Services will be 1 p.m. Friday at Westlawn Presbyterian Church, with the Rev. Paul Speidel officiating. Burial will be in Memorial Park Cemetery. Visitation will be 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday, with family present 6 to 8 p.m. and a prayer service at 7 p.m., at Meyer Brothers Colonial Chapel.

Maxine was born on April 27, 1924, in McNally, Iowa, the daughter of Michael and Nettie (House) Maxon. She graduated from Central High School in 1943 and went to work for Armour and Co.

Maxine married George Polak on May 6, 1944, in Columbia, Mo. The newly married couple traveled for a year and a half before moving to New York from 1946 to 1950, when George was discharged from the U.S. Air Force. After moving to Sioux City, Maxine worked at the Holiday Inn for 15 years before retiring to be a caretaker for her mother and George's parents. In 2005, the couple moved to Dakota Dunes, S.D.

As a very active member of Westlawn Presbyterian Church, Maxine devoted a lot of her time leading the sewing group that volunteered for the cancer center, meticulously producing hundreds of pillows for breast cancer patients. She participated in the Mariners group for more than three decades, was a deacon, a choir member, and received the Mother of the Year Award from the church in 1998. As a young parent, Maxine was a room mother for all of her children and a den mother for her two sons. For a number of years, she volunteered many hours for Meals on Wheels, the Sgt. Floyd Welcome Center and the Senior Nutrition Site in Riverside.

Maxine was a member of the Postal Workers Auxiliary, the Center for Active Generations, the Gad-a-bouts Camping Club, and the Lazy J Covey in Omaha. The family traveled extensively throughout the United States, and since retirement, George and Maxine have continued their love of adventure. Among her favorite activities, she enjoyed sewing, gardening, doing crossword puzzles, and spending time with her family, who always enjoyed her exceptional cooking. Maxine was a very kind and generous person, and everyone she knew loved her and will miss her deeply.

Survivors include her husband, George Polak of Dakota Dunes; four children, Susan Jones of Sioux City, George Polak Jr. and wife, Deana of Dakota Dunes, Steve Polak and wife, Sandy of Hinton, Iowa, and Pam Polak and husband, Mark Williams of Dillon, Colo.; 11 grandchildren, Stacey Jones, Rick Jones and wife, Marianne, Lisa Rendzio and husband, Joe, Julie Jones and fiance, Greg Siegal, Elizabeth Barnard, Jill Sponder, Ben Polak, Jennifer Plathe and husband, Rick, Steven Polak II and wife, Julie, Kris Polak, and Katie Polak; 16 great-grandchildren; and a sister-in-law, Trudy Soncrant and husband, Ed of Phoenix, Ariz.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her brothers, Donald and Robert Maxon; and a great-grandson, Keaton Jones.

In honor of Maxine, memorials can be made to the DAV in Riverside or the Siouxland Humane Society on Tri View Ave.