Obituary of Daniel Alphonse Proko

Daniel Alphonse Proko, Sr. of Leesburg, Virginia passed away on September 6, 2014 at the age of 82, due to natural causes. On June 13, 1932, Dan was born in Worcester, MA, to Anna (Blazko) and Julius Prokopowich, both ethnic Poles who had immigrated to the US during the early 1900's. Dan had 8 siblings and was eighth in the Prokopowich line-up: Alphonse, Stacia, Vitella, Julius, Jane, Joseph, Lucien, (Daniel), and Annie. He is survived by his sister, Jane (87), who still lives in Worcester. The Prokopowich's were a traditional Catholic family. Julius worked for US Steel, and Anna raised the children. Dan's parents were hardworking and instilled this ethic into their children, to be responsible and fiercely self-reliant. Dan's mother used to tell him, "No money, no funny!" in her broken English. All of the children were successful in and contributed to a diverse set of communities. All of the sons proudly served in various active or guard military roles, including combat tours during WWII and Vietnam. After a short stint in the Air Guard, Dan joined the US Air Force in 1950 and served at Nouasseur, Morocco, where Strategic Air Command had a forward deployment base with the B-47/Stratojet and the huge B-36/Peacemaker. After achieving the rank of Staff Sergeant, Dan returned stateside to change careers, seeking training and job opportunities in the emerging field of "computers". This led to Dan taking a job with the Central Intelligence Agency as a communications/crypto technician, where his initial involvement was with the early U-2 AQUATONE program. Supporting this program meant deployments to Nevada, Alaska, and bases in the Far East. It was during this time one of his best friends, and later his best man, introduced him to Shirley Prendergast, whom he later married in 1956, after a two-year courtship. She remained the love of his life. By 1957, they started a family with four children (Eugene, Danny, Rosalie, and Rita). Now, Dan loved to travel and see the world; however, it was clear Dan going overseas for U-2 deployments, alone, wasn't Shirl's idea of raising a family. By 1960, Dan began a series of overseas Cold War support assignments, taking the family to England, Germany, and Australia. Living overseas provided the family with outstanding and unique opportunities for cultural interactions and making new friends during the 60's and 70's. Between overseas assignments, Dan would take his family every year to summer reunions in Worcester and Cape Cod, to visit his mom and brothers/sisters and their families, magical times for the entire Proko family. After a debilitating work-related accident dating back to the early 60's, Dan retired in 1985 to face a string of medical challenges. Growing up in the city, Dan loved the outdoors and country living…fishing, hunting, weekends at their mountain log cabin, quiet times at the lake, cooking, and shopping for good deals. Dan knew his way around the tools, and he would often putter around fixing small engines as a hobby, after retiring. Dan supported Christ the Redeemer Church in Sterling, VA during their annual fundraiser carnival, running the chicken BBQ stand with his special sauce, using help from his coworkers and family. He would negotiate special discounts for the supplies from vendors to keep the profits higher, with proceeds going to the church. Normally, the BBQ stand had the highest profit margin, of which Dan was always proud. He cooked many batches of his Carolina and Redneck BBQ sauces over the years, and his distribution network consisted of his supportive friends, family, and doctors and nurses. One of his favorite pastimes was spending time with his work buddies at reunion lunches and picnics, or hunting and fishing at the cabin, where the "war stories" would start to flow. His "work hard/play hard" at the cabin and lake passed his parents' work ethic to his children, surrounding them with a life experience bolstered with his most trusted and best of friends. Until the end, these "silent heroes" supported Dan with visits to boost his morale during his lengthy hospital recuperation periods. The 90's arrived with many challenges. In 1990, Dan and Shirley lost their daughter Rosalie due to complications from Leukemia, which had a great impact on the entire family. Further, in 1991, while gardening at their retirement lake home, Shirley suffered an aneurysm, which hampered her mobility and dramatically altered her personality, as well as her near-term memory. After saving her life, for over the next two decades, Dan was by her side at every waking moment to help her every step of the way, along with the devotion of her children, to ensure Shirley had adult companionship for her comfort and safety. This allowed Shirley and her grandchildren to know each other, even to get reacquainted in some ways, and giving 20 more years to travel and experience her family in retirement. Both Shirley and Dan loved to dote on their grandchildren. Shirley passed recently in January, 2013, a huge loss for Dan and his family. Dan is survived by his three children and their spouses: Eugene (Corinna), Danny (Renee Remick), and Rita (Wes) Driskill; six grandchildren (Jake, David, Daniel, Natalie, Nicholas, and Michael Trent); and three great-grandchildren (Ryan, Abigail, and Emma). The family will receive guests from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday, September 12, 2014 at Adams-Green Funeral Home, 721 Elden Street, Herndon, VA. A graveside service will take place at noon on Saturday, September 13, 2014 at Mount Comfort Cemetery, 6600 State Route 663 Alexandria, VA. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (www.lls.org) in the name of his late daughter, Rosalie Proko Cessna. Arrangements have been made by Adams-Green Funeral Home. The family would like to extend deep appreciation to the staff at the Inova Loudoun Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Leesburg, VA for their dedication to Dan and Shirley.