Joliet Catholic Academy inducts 5 alumni into its business hall of fame

Joliet Catholic Academy inducted five alumni into its 2023 Hall of Champions: Business & Industry on Feb. 10 at the Jacob Henry Mansion in Joliet.

The inductees are Lee Crowther Class of 1956, Scott Czerkies ’94, Phyllis Olsta ‘51, Dr. Anita (Kraus) Lane ‘83 and the Hon. Judge Richard C. Schoenstedt ‘74, according to a news release from Joliet Catholic Academy.

Hall of Champions: Business & Industry honors graduates of Joliet Catholic Academy, as well as the former students from St. Francis Academy and Joliet Catholic High School, for their accomplishments in their professional careers, according to the release.

The inductees are:

Lee Crowther ‘56

• Served two years in the Army, including 1 1/2 active duty in the Korean War, then joined his father in the family roofing business in Joliet.

• Built a Crowther Roofing baseball stadium on company property for 12″ slow-pitch softball leagues. The stadium had stands, lights, a press box and concession stands.

• Crowther and his brother Scott started LJ Crowther Inc. Roofing company, currently in Romeoville.

• Moved to Fort Myers, Florida, in 1974, and started Crowther Roofing and Sheet Metal of Florida Inc. He added locations in Sarasota and Jupiter.

• Added a commercial division, a residential roofing and HVAC division, a lightweight concrete substrate division and a truss framing division.

• Received charred roofing slate from the Pentagon in return for financial support provided as a charter member of the National Roofing Contractors Association. The support aided in the rebuilding the Pentagon complex’s roof systems after American Airlines flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon on 9/11.

• Awarded an honorary bachelor’s degree in life success and community service in December 2022 from the Florida Gulf Coast University

• Currently serves as Crowther Roofing & Sheet Metal of Florida Inc. board chairman.

• According to JCA, Crowther’s company is “consistently ranked” in the top 10 commercial roofing contracting companies in the U.S., has revenues in excess of $100,000,000 and employs more than 700 people.

Scott Czerkies ’94

Earned a Bachelor of Science in architectural studies and a Master of Architecture and Master of Science in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

• Interned for Thomas Buchar’s Joliet architectural firm.

• Worked for Legat Architects as an associate architect and project manager and was on the project team for the Tinley Park Metra Station, which was named one of the 150 Great Places in Illinois by the American Institute of Architects.

• Became a licensed architect in 2006 and founded Czerkies Design LLC in 2007, which later designed JCA’s Warning Innovation Research Center.

• Czerkies and his older brothers, Craig, JCHS ‘88, and David, JCHS ‘90, own and manage several agricultural, commercial and industrial properties in Illinois.

• Board member of former Our Lady of Angels Retirement Home. Served on Holy Family School board as member and president as well as on building committee during the 2020 HFS expansion.

• Coached YMCA basketball, Joliet Park District soccer, and Holy Family cross country, volleyball and basketball.

• Served as Will County Habitat for Humanity board member and designs and details many homes built by the chapter.

Phyllis Olsta ‘51

• Earned Associate of Arts from Joliet Junior College

• Worked as a clerk stenographer at U.S. Rubber Company at Joliet Arsenal.

• Performed with traveling Ice Varieties Skating Show and was hostess on Transcontinental California Zephyr for Burlington Railroad in the late 1950s and early 1960s

• Worked at state of Illinois pavilion at 1964 New York World’s Fair alongside Walt Disney.

• Longtime cruise directress for Matson Lines Monterey and Mariposa South Pacific

• Worked for the Catholic Church in Fairbanks, Alaska, helping to establish the Monroe Foundation to raise funds for the first Catholic schools in Alaska.

• Helped establish a volunteer recreation program for senior citizens in Juno, Alaska in 1982 and worked on the Alaska marine highway system.

• Worked for the Golden Bear Travel Service and on the Princess and Holland America cruise lines.

• Established the Phyllis Olsta Endowed Scholarship Fund for JCA students.

Dr. Anita (Kraus) Lane ‘83

• Inspired to go into medicine from Robert Cambic, who taught her science for five years at two former Joliet Catholic schools: St. Joseph Catholic School and St. Francis Academy.

• Attended Northwestern University and earned medical degree from the University of Illinois and completed internal medicine residency back at Northwestern.

• Worked for a large medical group in Colorado for 18 years before she and a colleague started Touchstone Internal Medicine, a direct-pay practice. Became sole owner in 2023.

• Bought an old bank building 500 steps from her home in 2017, renovated it, moved her practice there and rented to other businesses.

• Performed in musical theater productions and climbed many of Colorado’s 14,000-foot mountains.

Richard C. Schoenstedt ‘74

• Earned Bachelor of Arts from Marquette University in 1978 and Juris Doctor from DePaul University School of Law in 1981.

• General practice partner in several law firms in Joliet from 1981 to 2001, the year he was appointed associate judge in Will County, followed by his election in 2002 as a circuit court judge and his election in 2012 as chief judge.

• Former member of the Illinois Conference of Chief Judges, Will County Bar Association board of directors, Joliet Catholic Academy school board, Crisis Line of Will County board of directors, St. Mary Immaculate school board

• Received the Will County Bar Association’s Lawyer of the Year Award in 2020.