Nazareth Academy Teacher's Body Found in Lake

Students and fellow staff at in La Grange Park have been waiting for days for the bad news they've expected to arrive.

The body of John Michalek, 62, of Berwyn, was recovered Monday at 10:45 a.m. from West Loon Lake in suburban Antioch, according to John Nixon, fire chief at the Antioch Fire Department.

"Our search resumed at 7 a.m. this morning and we made a recovery at about 10:45 a.m.," Nixon said.

Michalek has been with his brother. Police in Antioch received a 911 call at about 2:13 p.m. that day from a man on a pontoon boat who said he could not locate his brother.

The two men had taken a pontoon boat out for the day and decided to go for a swim, said Chief Wayne Hunter of the Lake County Sheriff's Department. After being in the water, Michalek began having trouble, the nature of which is still unclear. His brother said he attempted to find Michalek but was unable to locate him and had to get help from another passing boat.

Divers were called to the lake and continued the search through the weekend. .

Michalek was a social studies teacher at Nazareth Academy in La Grange Park for 35 years, according to Principal Deb Tracy. The school has received many calls from students on Friday, Tracy said, asking about memorial services.

Tracy told Patch Monday that the school was waiting for more information from the family before planning any services, but the school will hold something in the future.

Michalek owned a lake house on West Loon Lake, according to Tracy. He loved the lake and boating, she said, and was planning to move to a part-time position at the start of the school year in the fall.

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