CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Nine years after his death, relatives said he would not have believed the success of the ministry that bears his name.
"He just would shake his head," said Sr. Judith Zonsius, niece of Pete Zonsius.
He was the longtime custodian at St. John Brebeuf Parish in Niles. Zonsius died in 2012 at the age of 90. Generations of students would call Zonsius by his nickname.
"So all the kids in the school came to know him as Uncle Pete," Sr. Zonsius said.
Pete Zonsius was involved in Catholic Charities and the St. Vincent DePaul Society. He would find ways to connect surplus supplies with people who were in need. Over time, Sr. Zonsius said, people would ask how they could help.
He would ask volunteers to fill two brown paper bags with sandwiches, hard boiled eggs, potato chips, a candy bar, and a juice box.
"People would come and bring their bags and he would deliver them to places on the Sest Side," Sr. Zonsius said.
Uncle Pete's Sack Lunch Ministries was born.
"And then the parish, St. John Brebeuf picked it up, and so they got organized," Sr. Zonsius said.
Uncle Pete's Sack Lunch Ministries now delivers thousands of meals to the hungry.
"In 2012 we made 4,100 sacks. Made and delivered 4,100 sacks. Last year, even with COVID, we made and delivered 33,200 sacks," Sr. Zonsius said.
The sack lunch program is a service project for grade school students, Scout troops, and other organizations. Zonsius said Uncle Pete would have been surprised and humbled by its success.
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