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From Daily News delivery to the Good News

He is: Father Fred C. Pesek, pastor, St. Ann Parish, Lansing. After a year and a half at Niles College Seminary he stepped back to discern his vocation. Got his bachelor’s degree in sociology at St. Xavier University, with a minor in philosophy. Went on to Mundelein Seminary. Ordained 1989.

Siblings: “I have three sisters, one younger. I wasn’t spoiled. I call myself the ‘middle child.’ OK, I may have been spoiled a little.” His dad is the only one who didn’t attend St. Nicholas of Tolentine School. “Dad became Catholic at 16 when his brothers returned from WWII. They all converted and were baptized.”

Work ethic: “My dad worked for Sears fixing refrigerators, air conditioners and freezers. A ‘service man.’ Mom worked at Talman’s, 55th & Kedzie. She was at the information desk. Very outgoing, she was perfect for the job.”

What kind of kid? “I liked fishing, biking, sledding and other outdoor activities. I was involved in YMCA’s swim team and Boy Scouts. Dad used to take us to Marquette Park on the sled right over the frozen lagoon. We spent a ton of time in that park.” He became an Eagle Scout in 1980, while a junior at Quigley South.

First job: “Delivering the Chicago Daily News starting in seventh grade. When that folded, I worked in the office answering phones on weekends. I was the complaint desk. If you didn’t receive your paper, or if it was torn, I’d go out and drop off a new copy.”As he learned to drive, when the driver was on vacation “I’d take the van and deliver the Sun-Times & Trib to newspaper boys’ homes at 2:30 in the morning. I did that from grammar school into college.”

What he learned: “The husband and wife news agency taught me how to run a small business. They treated customers with respect and fairly. If a customer wasn’t satisfied, ‘say you’re sorry and get them back as a customer.’ A bit of my pastoring comes from that experience.”

Quigley attraction: “It was the Olympic size pool that first impressed me. I love to swim.” As a Scout he got an award in longdistance swimming.

First car: “A ’64 Ford Fairlane. It was second-year college, about 1983. It had been my great Uncle Eddy’s and I still have it. My nephew will get it and keep it in the family.”

Road to priesthood: “At Quigley we had Fathers Jack Daley, Dom Grassi, Ed Mikolajczyk, Marc Pasciak and others. They were energetic and on fire with the love of the church and where the church was in the ’70s and ’80s. They were excited about life and ministry — it was contagious.

Multitasker: For a time he was invited to be associate pastor to four parishes in Lemont. “It was good experience and a learning opportunity. All the pastors and I got along really well. It was different. I didn’t mind bouncing around.”

What’s the role of a priest? “The more I think about it, it’s to acknowledge the goodness of people around us and call it forth. That’s the best service we can offer. Be positive and hopeful and show them that the pieces of life can fit together with the gift of faith. Offer hope.”

Kids know he’s there: He tries to spend time in the school. “I stop in each classroom, and ask if they have any questions.” Once or twice a month besides Masses or reconciliation, he walks through lunch or gym-in-the-hall (they don’t have a gym).

Camaraderie: “I’ve connected with some priests in the Gary diocese because I’m right on the border. They haven’t treated me like I was the Chicago guy. I fell a year ago and broke some bones and they were there for me, front and center. Without an associate at the time, I did two funerals in a wheelchair. The priests from the Gary diocese were spectacular.”

Time off: “I like to garden or read. Right now it’s Matthew Kelly’s ‘The Best Version of Yourself.’ I really want to get to the Trappist Monastery at Gethsemane for a retreat this fall. Looking forward to it.”