Mr. Okoniewski, 88, was a fixture around Diversey Harbor, especially when his son Capt. Mike Okoniewski ran a charter there.

I shared many outings with them, including one six years ago when I took the photo above on the ride back to Diversey Harbor.

``He taught me how to fish and hunt,'' Mike said. ``How to respect the outdoors.''

I most admired the way Mr. Okoniewski dealt with his grandson Justin, who was quite lively in his younger years and, like his grandfather, quite the fisherman.

Asked what he most remembered about his father in the outdoors, Mike said, ``I think it was helping the little kids catch fish, and watching people catch perch. I think he got more enjoyment out of that than himself catching fish.''

Mr. Okoniewski, a Northwest Side man, served in the Aleutian Islands during World War II. After he retired from the Post Office, he worked on bridges for the Illinois Department of Transportation.

Mr. Okoniewski married Sue in 1957. He is survived by his wife and their two sons, Mike (Tina) and Tom, and seven grandchildren.

Services are 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Hyacinth, Wolfram and Lawndale. There will be an honor guard ceremony at 5 p.m. Saturday at the American Legion Tattler Post, 4355 N. Western.