Estelle and Tony Nakroshis Pay It Forward with Filipiak House Gift
Parents of children with disabilities are always seeking services that provide the fullest and happiest life for their loved one. They also worry and wonder who will look after their child when they are no longer able to do so. As longtime donors to United Cerebral Palsy Seguin of Greater Chicago (UCP Seguin), Estelle and Tony Nakroshis have helped to answer that question for themselves and other parents.
The Nakroshises are the parents of Tony Joe, who is deaf, blind and on the autism spectrum. He has been in UCP Seguin residential care and community day services since 1987. “The staff at UCP Seguin have done wonders for Tony Joe,” said Estelle Nakroshis. “They saved us from drowning when we didn’t know how to best help our son. Now one of our life missions is to give back to them after all they’ve done for our family.”
To pay it forward, Estelle and Tony generously decided to donate funds for a home in Wheaton for residents with disabilities. The house is now named the Filipiak House, after Estelle’s late father, Dr. Marion Joseph Filipiak, a community doctor who always went the extra mile for his patients.
Dr. Filipiak was a surgeon on the staff at the German Evangelical Deaconess Hospital until Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn was built in 1960. He joined the staff at Christ Hospital and was there until his retirement. He also had offices at 37th and Paulina as well as 50th and Loomis in Chicago. Though he didn’t need to, Dr. Filipiak often made house calls to his patients and charged only $5.00 for a visit. There were times when patients were unable to pay cash, and he accepted payments of food or baked goods in place of money.
Dr. Filipiak valued the relationships he had with his patients, just as he did with his grandson. He cared deeply for Tony Joe and ensured his unique needs were met, that he would be cared for with compassion and that he would be treated with dignity. His dedication to his grandson and serving his community are the reasons the Nakroshises chose to dedicate this UCP Seguin home in Dr. Filipiak’s name and continue his legacy.
“My dad was one of the first caretakers of our Tony Joe,” said Estelle Nakroshis. “If he were alive today, he’d be tickled pink to know that the Filipiak House is giving those in need a real loving and supportive home where they can thrive.”
For the past year, what is now the Filipiak House has been home to four young men with intellectual and developmental disabilities who receive around-the-clock support from staff to live their daily lives. Living at the home gives the men the assistance they need with meal planning and preparation, laundry, and other life skills, while also enabling them to live as independently as they can.
Through this new resource, UCP Seguin is upholding its mission that all people, regardless of ability, advance their independence and act as full members of the community. With support from the UCP Seguin employment and day services program, all four young men living in the Filipiak House have paid jobs and continue to access social, recreational and shopping venues within their community.
Due to the generosity of the Nakroshises, UCP Seguin will continue to help all those we serve live full and productive lives, with both independence and dignity.
