James B."Ben" Polak, 79 of Whiting, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, January 17, 2017 surrounded by his beloved family, at St. Catherine Hospital, East Chicago. He is survived by his beloved wife of 59 years, Barbara “Bunny” Polak (nee Ginther); loving and cherished father, grandfather and great grandpa of Scott (Mary) Polak and family, Aubri (Paul) Larson (Derek and Julianna), Amy (Eric) Larson; Daniel (Therese) Polak and family, Jeremy (Heather) Polak, Justin (Katie) Polak and Jared Polak; Jackie (Richard) Polak and family, Ryan Polak (Jasmine and Alayna); Jim (Shelly) Polak and family, Lauren and Austin Polak; late David (Sue) Polak and family, Stephen (Haylea) Polak, Andrew (Elissa) Polak (Maleena and late Amiyah), Jordan (Rosa) Polak (Penelope); Michael (Marytherese) Polak, Elizabeth, Emily and Madison Polak, Kristen Gehrke-Polak (William, Emma and Lucas Gehrke-Polak, Ava Vogel); Nancy (Peter) Koutropoulos and family, Taylor, T.J. and Ashley Koutropoulos; Barbara Gaal and son Josh Gaal; Richard (Michele) Polak and family, Hunter, Dylan and Autumn Polak; Karen (JaJa Hawkins) Polak and family, Arianna, Sorrell, Mikayla, Kelvin, Jakobi, Cameron, Israel and Dahliya Hawkins and Sarah Polak and sons, Joel, Julius, Jayden and Jace Torres; dearest brother of Cyril(late Pat, late Sue)  Polak and the late Ann (late Andy) Peters, Mary (late Paul) Kosenka, Eleanor (late John) Mayernik, John (late Millie) Polak and Paul (late Shirley) Polak; dear brother-in-law of Julius (late Helen) Ginther; proud uncle to many nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, January 25, 2017 at 9:30am at the Baran Funeral Home, 1235-119th St., Whiting; a Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 10:00am at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Whiting with the Rev. Stanley J. Dominik, officiating; interment, Calumet Park Cemetery, Merrillville; visitation at the funeral home on Tuesday from 2:00 to 8:00pm.

Jim Polak was born on March 5, 1937 in Whiting, Indiana to Paul and Mary Polak. He was a lifelong resident and a graduate of Whiting High School, Class of 1954. Jim was a member of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church , Whiting and the Slovak Catholic Sokol, Wreath 81. He was a retiree of the LTV Steel Company, East Chicago with a service of 30 years and the School City of Whiting with a service of 13 years. Jim loved the great outdoors and enjoyed hunting and fishing with family and friends. He was a former member of Ducks Unlimited. A devoted husband, father and grandpa, Jim will be sadly missed by all who knew and loved him. 

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