John Vincent Staszak was born on December 14, 1925, in Cudahy, Wisconsin, the third youngest of the fourteen children of John Vincent Staszak and Anna Stowkowski. Soon thereafter the family located in Pulaski, Wisconsin, where he attended St. Mary's Parochial School and Pulaski High School. Following his graduation from high school he saw military service in the U.S. Navy (1944-1946), serving on a mine- sweeper in the Sea of Japan. Upon his return to civilian life he entered college, spending a year at the University of Wisconsin (Green Bay) and

then transferring to Marquette University in Milwaukee.

On September 12, 1948, he entered the novitiate of the Dominicans, Province of St. Albert the Great, at St. Thomas Aquinas Priory, River Forest, Illinois. He completed his novitiate year at St. Peter Martyr Priory, Winona, Minnesota, and made his first profession of vows there on September 29, 1949. He was then sent to the Dominican House of Studies, River Forest, Illinois, where he did his philosophical studies (1949-52). Theological studies followed at the Dominican House of Studies, Dubuque, Iowa, and he was ordained there on May 19, 1955, by Bishop Loras T. Lane, auxiliary of the Archdiocese of Dubuque.

In 1956 Father Staszak was given his first assignment as associate pastor of St. Pius V Parish, Chicago, Illinois, which was to become the scene of his priestly ministry for most of his life. At the time his ability to speak Polish was a great asset to the parish staff. As Spanish speaking parishioners moved into the area "Father David", as he was known to all in the neighborhood, learned Spanish. His ministry in the Pilsen area of Chicago was interrupted by a six-year term as pastor of Holy Rosary Parish, Minneapolis, Minnesota (1972- 78). There his compassion for the poor, especially for Native Americans, became widely recognized. During this time he served as treasurer of the Priests' Senate of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. In 1979 he returned to St. Pius V Parish as associate pastor.

Recognizing the need for a shelter for the homeless, in 1981 he founded the San Jose Obrero Mission for men and continued as its Director until August of 1997. In 1987 he left the staff of St. Pius V Parish to devote himself full-time to the work of the Mission. He became involved in the Pilsen -Little Village Habitat for Humanity and for a time served as its chairman. Also in 1987 he founded the San Jose Obrero Family Mission, a shelter for women and children. His work for the poor and needy in the Pilsen area became known throughout the Chicago area and among his many awards on May 9, 1997, he received the Pride of Pilsen Award from the Pilsen Chamber of Commerce. In the summer of 1997, more than forty years after he began his priestly ministry at St. Pius V Parish, Father David turned the direction of the two Missions over to others and in the spring of 1998 joined a fellow Dominican in Watertown, Wisconsin, where he looked forward to green trees and fishing which he loved. Even there the Spanish-speaking of the area sought him out.

On Sunday, August 30, 1998, he complained of chest pains and was taken to the hospital in Watertown. Tests showed he had suffered a heart attack and on the next day, when his condition worsened, he was rushed to the hospital at Waukesha, Wisconsin. Efforts to revive him were futile. On September 4, 1998, the Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at his beloved St. Pius V Church in the heart of the Pilsen area. Following the Mass, he was buried in the Dominican plot at All Saints Cemetery, Des Plaines, Illinois.