Frank Holub

Frank Holub never made a ton of money, but he is one of those salt of the earth kind of guys. If you were moving, he showed up with his pickup. Horseshoes in the backyard with friends on Thursdays. He showed up every day for work and worked for his pay. For more than 25 years Frank worked for a residential/commercial/industrial painting contractor, doing painting work, supervising crews, reading blueprints, operating lifts, preparing estimates and more. Whether working alone or as part of a crew, Frank’s focus was on satisfying the customer while adhering to the agreed-upon work schedule and scope. Over the years he worked effectively with architects, engineers, general contractors, customers and other trades. During that time he worked on every kind of application imaginable, from high-end residential to churches, banks, schools and even historical buildings.

The diagnosis was made via an open lung biopsy while undergoing triple bypass surgery. Frank has been recommended for a lung transplant, but due to his heart issues that is unlikely. Frank and Kathy have two daughters, age 11 and 20. The 20-year-old daughter however has severe disabilities – she is both non-ambulatory and nonverbal. She has been diagnosed with chromosome 8P deletion and inverted duplication syndrome, which is a rare genetic defect. In 2011 Frank and Kathy purchased a wheelchair accessible Honda Odyssey for Michaela when she was 14 so they could more easily transport her. They financed the vehicle with a 10 year loan. In 2016 the state of New York provided assistance to help Frank and Kathy turn their family room into a bedroom and handicapped bathroom, which will help the Holub’s keep Michaela at home as Frank declines. Kathy then sought to improve the air quality in their 1960s era house in order to help Frank. She found our foundation through an Internet search, and requested duct cleaning and a highperformance air cleaner.

Joe sought the assistance of longtime acquaintance Tony Cava, District Manager for the Lennox Industries Boston branch. Tony recommended several area Lennox Premier dealers, one of whom had previous service experience with the Holub’s. Joe reached out to Paul Lancaster of Mohawk Heating and asked him to survey the Holub’s home, including taking a look at their aging furnace. Once Joe had the results, he again contacted Tony to see if Lennox would consider donating a furnace. The foundation pledged that any money saved from such a donation, at minimum, would be utilized to help pay off the Holub’s 2011 wheelchair van. Tony and Lennox graciously agreed to donate a top of the line model SLO185V oil furnace, part of the Dave Lennox signature collection of products. The furnace features a variable speed, ECM motor and a limited lifetime heat exchanger warranty.

The foundation provided for installation of the furnace, duct cleaning and a Pure Air system, which consists of a Merv 16 filter, UV lamps and a catalytic mesh filter. In essence, this system cleans the air in a home better than any other single system available. As part of its pledge, the foundation included a $6500 payment on the Holub’s outstanding van loan as well as a two year maintenance agreement on both the furnace and air cleaning system. After the furnace was installed, Kathy sent a note which said, “The new furnace heats up the house so much faster than the old one and runs for a much shorter cycle. In addition, Maddie’s room, which is at the end of a duct run, is noticeably warmer. It should be in the 30s later this week here so the timing is perfect! I can’t thank you enough for everything.”