John Janicik believed his work was to help people reach Heaven. His community carries that mission forward—together.

Some people leave behind memories. John Janicik (May 1957–August 2019) left behind a way of showing up.

You can still hear it in the stories—told softly, almost with reverence. You can feel it in the smile that spreads when someone mentions golf and shakes their head: he loved it so much … even when the golf course didn’t love him back. And you can see it clearly in what happened after he was gone: people didn’t just miss John. They kept the mission he lived moving.

John was clear—his ultimate goal was to get himself and everyone he knew into Heaven. Not through pressure. Not through performance. Through faithful consistency. Through giving his three children a strong academic foundation rooted in faith, formation, and community. Through a moral compass so steady that “right and just” wasn’t just a phrase—it was instinct. And through fairness he practiced deliberately, even at home, because he believed love—real love—doesn’t play favorites.

After John passed, his family wanted to do something in his honor. They weren’t the only ones. Friends, fellow parishioners, and the Notre Dame Parish Men’s Club asked the same question: How do we honor a man like this?

The answer was very “John”—practical, faithful, and focused on forming souls: the John A. Janicik Memorial Fund began.

In 2021, John’s family, his colleagues at Mayer Brown, and the Men’s Club helped launch the Fund, with the Men’s Club hosting the first golf outing—a gathering of people ready to take action in his memory. In August 2022, the Fund was formally established to provide scholarship support—including tuition and fees—for students at Notre Dame School and to strengthen the school community.

But the story is not about when the Fund began; it's about why the Fund fits the mission.

John was well regarded for his steady presence as a mentor and leader in the parish and community. That leadership led him to chair the Diocese of Joliet’s Educational Task Force, focused on strengthening Catholic schools—ensuring sound financial foundations and supporting schools that needed it most. Catholic education wasn’t an idea he admired from a distance; it was something he believed in, protected, and poured himself into. It was one of his final and most rewarding projects.

The Fund makes sense on paper because it reflects what John cared about. And, it makes even more sense in spirit.

That spirit will gather again for the John Janicik Memorial Golf Outing on May 18, 2026, at the Ruth Lake Country Club in Hinsdale, Illinois. The event is expected to sell out—over 100 golfers—with additional guests welcome for dinner. It’s a scramble format, which feels right: no one carries the day alone. And it typically begins with a prayer—reminding everyone, before the first drive, that this isn’t just golf.

And the impact is already real.

The Fund has awarded scholarships to four students—two in 2024–25 and two in 2025–26. Recipients remain anonymous, but the impact is easy to see: they are still here, learning and growing at Notre Dame. When Empower Illinois’s Invest in Kids program ended in 2023, some families lost tuition support they had counted on. With tuition at $6,865 per student, the Fund helps keep a child in a faith-filled classroom and a family stay rooted.

The Fund is one expression of Notre Dame School’s broader commitment to make Catholic education affordable, made possible through its community and Notre Dame Parish.

Today, two of John’s grandchildren attend Notre Dame, learning alongside the students the Fund supports—different families, same hallways, and a shared hope that begins with faith and ends where John always pointed: Heaven.

And that’s exactly how he would have wanted it.

John was clear—his ultimate goal was to get himself and everyone he knew into Heaven.