Remembering Frank Presecky

We lost a founding Father of the Duffers Frank Presecky left us on May 12, 2020

I started playing hockey with Frank in 1971. He and Jan had 2 boys and 2 girls that were similar in age to our 4 kids, so we had a lot in common. My wife Carole and Jan became great friends, so we share many memories together. When I retired in 2001 from teaching in Chicago, I started going to lunch with Frank and any friends who could make it. We went to lunch every week for 19 years until the COVID virus stopped us. We enjoyed many laughs and memories of hockey road trips. Frank got me hooked on Jimmy Buffett concerts with his family in 1999. We went to many concerts after that and had many more laughs with his family. He will be missed. Greg/Beak

The following e-mails came flowing in as soon as I sent out a notice:

So sorry Beak! He was a great man and I remember him for just being so nice to everyone! Tony Granato University of Wisconsin

I can't tell you how profoundly saddened I am by this news. Frank was a dear and close friend; we shared a lot sitting together in the corner as we got dressed. Did a lot with him and Jan back in the late 70's and early 80's. I am looking forward to the webpage you are putting together. John "Magoo" Landry

HI Beak! I am so sorry to hear about Frank! Frank always called me Formica. He was a great Duffer and friend.

Lots of great memories! Wow. I’ve been looking through all my Duffer News letters, pictures of road trips I was on, Duffers picnics at the Mafia Burial Grounds and lots of great memories with Frank, my dad Vytas etc. I told Duffer stories this weekend to my son while driving to WSU to pick up his household goods. Frank will be missed! RIP! Vidas #25 Formica

Greg I’m so sorry for the loss of your friend and your cousin. I’m glad I got to meet Frank and have a few Duffer lunches with him and I always love the stories you’ve told. I hope you’re doing ok. My thoughts are with you and both families. He was lucky to count you as a friend. xoxoxoxoxo Anna the Trainer

Thank you for your email Beak. So sorry to hear the news regarding Frank. Breaks my heart. I love Frank. He was a wonderful man beautiful family. I will send Mike a card. Many thanks for letting me know. Take care, Perry Lea

It has been way to long. My son Brian sent me the sad news about Franks passing. My heart grieves for his wonderful family. I do not have any contact information for his family, if you have any I would appreciate you sharing it with me as I would like to offer my condolences to the families. Frank was a wonderful person and loved by all of us. We had so many beers together as we laughed with Frank as he was trying to balance the Duffers books. God how I miss you all. Love to all From Your Brother Waju PS. please let me know how the rest of the gang is doing.

So sorry to hear about Knarf :( Please pass on my condolences to the Presecky family. My Dad had a beer waiting for him in heaven. Muzzy's Daughter, Paula.

God Bless you and your family Mike. We all love him for who he was and what he meant to us. He'll always be in our hearts every time the Duffers gather; we wouldn't because of the few like him. May our grief be short, and our stories be long and colorful in his memory. Our thanks to him for sharing. We offer our thoughts and prayers for you and all the Presecky family as we remember that we are all better than we were, had we never shared our lives, the ice, the beverages, or broke bread together. The Mazzarella Family; Papa Joe, Dee, Cowboy and Ogie.

Emil Ludy; So sorry to hear---what a great guy!!

Beak, Frank is the Classic Duffer ! A true friend and gentlemen to all of us. My heart hurts today for the Presecky Family. Tom "T&A" Ambrosia

Terrible, Bob Friedlander

You can view a Tribute Video here that the funeral home put together. I enjoyed it more when I muted the sad background music and played some Jimmy Buffett songs that Frank loved.

November 28, 2008 Playing in his second game in 30 hours, 70 year old Frank Presecky gets the game winner. Read more....

Bird Island was the first Duffer Road trip. Frank packed his family in the car and headed north when most people head south in February. This is the only trip that I missed, so I had to do some investigative reporting. I asked Papa Joe, the King and Bob "The Geek" Friedlander who the Czechoslovak refugee was. (He was mentioned in the Bird Island Star newspaper article in 1976.)

You can read the account of that first Duffer Road Trip. http://www.lopatka.net/headlines/page4.html

I put this web page together honoring Frank I welcome any pictures or memories that you have of Frank for his page. I chose a picture of Comet Hale-Bopp because we got a great view of it when we went on a road trip to Hayward Wisconsin in 1997. That is the trip where we almost got arrested for laughing.

I found that making a page honoring my friends helped me deal with pain when I made one for my dear friend Rich Dzingel who left us before he was 50.

The Duffers honor Tim Smith who left us way too soon. December 3, 2008

The Duffers honor Jim "Rags" Ragland who left us on April 5, 2020

The Duffers honor Muzzy (Rich Masiulewicz) who passed away September 1, 2017. Click here to see many Muzzy Pictures.

Duffers 1979

Thanks to Fred, The Duffer History man, we have all players identified in this 1980 picture.
1st Row, Left to Right -Paul Jankowski, Jr., Hal "The Mailman/ I Only Date Married Women" Loshinski, Wally "Waju" Kraft, Jim "The King" Miceli, Bob "Screwlander/The Geek" Friedlander,
Tom "Slime Dog" Kowalkowski, Ken "Stump" Barczynski, Dennis "The Butcher" Cross, Joe "Papa Joe" Mazzarella, Frank "Knarf"Presecky, Rich "Muzzy" Masiulewicz

2nd Row, Left to Right -Jim "Titz" Michaelsen, Carl "Sod Buster" Landgrebe, Gene "Thor" Miller, Pete Moody, Dan "Digital Dan the Data Man" Mazanec, Fred "Fruit Cake" Bobka, Bill "Batter up" Batten, Larry "Hodown" Hodek, Mark "THe Elf" Elfstrom, Gene "Geno" Cromwell, Greg "Beak" Lopatka
Notice not everybody would spend the money for the new Duffer-Montreal logo jerseys that Screwlander was pushing.

Tampa Bay 1979

Frank was 40 in this picture when we went to Florida to play in the Bayfront Arena. I had my 8mm movie of this trip put on a DVD

.We made the 10:00 news in Tampa Bay when the game ended in a fight. My 17 year old son, (Grandpa Ken) returned a hard check and slammed a guy into the boards right in front of the TV camera. The guy came up swinging and Pat Hickey, who just graduated from UIC where he played Hockey for 4 years stepped in and took over and the fight was on, when the players tumbled to the ice, the game ended and both teams lined up and started shaking hands while to 2 players continued trading hugs and punches. The Newscaster said, "No hockey came is complete without a fight and this game was no exception as the camera captured both teams shaking hands as we navigated around the fighters. More pictures here: http://www.lopatka.net/09-05-01/index.html

Peoria 1999

Frank was with Beer nuts and me in Peoria where we drank Champaign from the Kelly Cup that Donny Granato's Rivermen team won in 1999. Frank and Beer nuts try to get Jason Christi to join the Duffers when He retires. Jason has gone on to break the all time ECHL record for wins as a coach.

(Left to Right) The King, Slimedog and Frank getting dressed.

(Above) Frank brought his Lake Placid photo album to lunch.

(Left) Frank getting dressed for a game in Lake Placid in 1982

Jimmy Buffett Concerts

Frank got me started going to Jimmy Buffett concerts with his family in 1999.

2002 Winter Olympics

Hitman and I made plans to drive to Sault Lake City to see Cammi Granato play in the 2002 Olympics.

We invited Frank and Bill, but Frank didn't want to go until his son told him to get off the couch and go!




	We had to join a club to buy some Polygamy Porter beers. Frank was happy that his son talked him into going to the Olympics.

When we walked the streets of Park City in our Duffer jackets, there were many Olympic athletes there in their team jackets like Germany's Women's Curling team pictured here. Autograph seekers were in their glory. We had a few visually impaired fans ask us what team we were on , when we said the Duffers, they asked us for our autographs.

When the next winter Olympics came around, I talked Frank and Bill into wearing our USA Olympic Toques (Made in Canada) and the Cammi Granato sweat shirts that the Granatos gave us. (Frank couldn't find his)

We skated in the San Jose Shark Tank

1998 Team San Jose

2001 Team San Jose

Green Bay 1995-96

We went to Green Bay Wisconsin 3 times when Donny Granato took an expansion team to two National championships.

We went there in January 1995, December 1995 and November 1996


We played outside once. The guy at the park got scared when we pulled up in our Lamers Luxury Coach. Papa Joe and Muzzy had a great time.	He timidly told us that we couldn't play hockey there. Then I told him that we would shovel the ice. He welcomed us and opened a heated room to dress.

Duffer Cartoons

Post Game Meal

Frank's 50th Birthday was recorded on 35mm film

The "Call Outs" were cut with scissors and pasted with paste

Road trip to Toronto 2006


John Koss only needs one hand to tell Frank a semi true story.	Tim "Basketball Jones" Smith needed both hands for his story, so he held his beer mug between his legs.

Boat to Bimini

Sometime in the late 1970s, The King organized a trip to Bimini. Frank, Wally, Boris, Timmy and Geno jumped in the boat. They had so much fun that they did it again a year or 2 later when Stump, Magoo and Thor joined in the fun.

When our Canadian Duffer, Lou saw these pictures, He noticed that Boris had hair. I replied, "Lou, you are very observant! Boris did have hair way back when and when he and Harvey turned on their 220 v hair dryers, they would blow the fuses in the rink. They blew the main fuse at Saint's spectrum one night and we were in complete darkness for several minutes. They blew a fuse at the Civic center in Peoria too, but it only affected a small area. The hot tub stopped bubbling. "

Nashville 2010

On Beak's 70th birthday, We went to Nashville with a busload of Duffers. Our Canadian Duffers, Darrin and Lou, flew to Chicago just to ride the bus to Nashville. Darrin even smuggled a Maple Leaf Jersey into the country for Beak's birthday gift.

Lunch with Duffers

We celebrated Frank's 80th birthday at the United Center followed with a lunch at the Tilted Kilt.



We celebrated my 80th birthday at the Vault with Karen.	Joe Mazzarella skipped out of work in time for the picture.




I have been bringing in items and newsletters to stimulate aging brains. This week I brought in a 17 year old copy of the Sun that had Frank and me on the cover of an issue that featured a 3 page story about the Duffers. I also brought my meaningless trophy that featured the Horses Butt. Duffers make The cover of the Sun
This is at Nick's in Lemont where we first started Duffer Lunches. The Nailer, seated between Boris and Frank brought in 10 copies of the Sun newspaper.

Duffer Picnics