Age 92 February 14, 1925 – July 29, 2017 Francis was born in Uniondale, Pennsylvania to Jacob and Mary Cavage Chesnick. He entered the Army at age 18. He was assigned to Company A, 395 Regiment of the 99th Division, 5th Corps First Army. He saw battle in the Siegfried Line, the Ardennes (Bulge) Rochirath-Krinkeht area, Elsenborn Ridge, Rhineland, Remagen Bridgehead and Southern Germany. In September 1945 he was transferred to Brussels where he served on Staff at a POW camp. He was discharged the rank of Technical Sergeant in 1946. He was awarded three major battle stars, the Bronze Star, the European Victory Medal and classed as Expert with the M-1 rifle. With the benefits of the GI loan, he earned a Bachelor's in Agricultural Economics at Penn State. In 1950 he began his career at Dairylea until retirement in 1990. The Chesnick brothers had baseball in their blood - several letters from Fran’s war correspondence with a high school friend were filled with “Can you play ball where you are?” At Penn State he was their all-star pitcher. This led to being scouted by the Yankees and two years of semi-pro pitching. He had refused offers when young to coach baseball at Penn State and in retirement to work in developing SUNY Marcy. Dad had a strong respect for farmers and in his later years would always proudly describe his job as being one of helping farmers. He married Forest City girl June Paye in 1954, who passed away in 2007. In 1969 they moved to the old farmhouse in Deerfield. He became known as “ Farmer Fran” due to his gardening skills. He was loved and respected by all the neighbors and developed a special friendship with Donna, Jim and Lois. He never forgot the land of Belgium and how he helped them during World War II. This led to several trips and many friendships in Belgium via the Mathilde and Marchel Schmetz’s WWII Remembrance Museum. Enough cannot be said how deep in the hearts of the Chesnicks are the Belgian friends, including the unforgettable George his “friend from Thimister”. Fran was one of fourteen children, of whom survive are Pauline Nadzak and Alphie (Joy) Chesnick. Other family members are his daughters Karen (Andy) Frosch in Delaware, Susan (Chip) Lorraine in Utica, Christine (Joe) Chesnick in Endwell; families of grandchildren Jacob Lorraine, Daniel Vennero and Kristin Dinelle; many much loved nieces and nephews. Sincere thanks to the Elm wing of the Presbyterian Home for their humor and care for Dad in past few months. Donations in Francis’s memory may be made to the Forest City Historical Society, 305 Martin Street, Forest City, PA 18421. Mr. Chesnick's funeral will be held on Wednesday August 2, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Mark's Church, 440 Keyes Rd., N. Utica where his Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated. Calling hours for family and friends are Tuesday from 4:00-7:00 p.m. at the Heintz Funeral Home, 408 Herkimer Rd. N. Utica. Burial will be at Saratoga Veterans Cemetery on Thursday, August 3, 2017 at 12:00. American Legion Utica Post 229 will meet at the funeral home Tuesday evening at 6:45 p.m. online guestbook and messages of sympathy at heintzfuneralservice.net