SUN CITY — Edward Synek was such a friendly bus driver that Sun City folks used to ride along just to talk with him. His wife, Joyce, joined in the social fun by bringing cookies from her oven and tomatoes from her garden to the riders.
Edward Synek. (Photo provided)
He didn’t just transport riders from point A to B; he entertained and encouraged them with a creative flair that made him one of the most popular people in the lives of many Sun Citians.
For the last several years of his life, Synek drove a senior bus for Grafton Township that provided transportation to many Sun City residents that couldn’t drive themselves. He shuttled them to doctor visits, shopping on Randall Road, trips to the food pantry, and to the hairdressers until his health began to fail about two years ago. He died from the effects of ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) on July 31.
Funeral services were held in early August for the 70-year-old businessman-driver at the Davenport Funeral Home, Crystal Lake.
For 30 years, Synek owned and operated his own company, SignX, out of Cary. The company provided custom design, fabrication, and installation of distinctive commercial signs, along with vehicle lettering and outdoor lighting maintenance services.
Synek began driving a bus at his wife Joyce’s suggestion a few years ago. She felt it would give him some relief from the worries and challenges of running a business.
“He drove the bus on Mondays and Fridays,” Joyce said. “He said it was the best thing he ever did. He would greet riders enthusiastically and engage them in friendly conversations about their lives and interests. Riders often stayed on the bus past their intended stops just to keep talking with him. Some just rode along with no intended destination just to be with him. He was the ultimate friendly bus driver.”
Joyce added that after a while, she started riding along and distributing Christmas cookies to riders along with tomatoes. “I had several family members helping me with the cookies, and we’d get on the bus and hand them out to riders,” she said. “We were known as the cookie bus.”
Synek grew up in Cicero and lived in Woodstock after he started his business in 1982. In addition to Joyce, he is survived by four sons and four grandchildren.
