Wife's stealthy plans gives husband a surprise he won't soon forget

If you've ever planned a surprise birthday party for someone, you know it isn't exactly, well, a piece of cake. It's especially difficult when the celebration is for someone close to you. Someone who lives with you.

Rolling Meadows resident Lorraine Doroba discovered that while working to make husband Frank's 80th birthday extra special. She would invite their 10 children, each one's spouse, the grandchildren and many friends for a total of 110 people to an unforgettable bash.

But it would have to be kept secret.

"It wasn't easy," she said. "We're always together." Frank has been retired for 22 years, and the two usually are home all day. Lorraine enlisted the help of her children -- but she still lost plenty of sleep fretting.

Friends would call about the party when her husband was within earshot, and she'd have to tell them, "I think you have the wrong number," she recalls.

The result of her diligence? "He was completely surprised," she says.

Frank marks his 80th birthday today, but the surprise party was held Aug. 5 to accommodate schedules before the school year started. All 10 children attended, including the four who live out of state. Twenty-two grandchildren also were there.

The Dorobas met 57 years ago in high school in Chicago. They attended Lane Tech's prom together for their first date. After their wedding, they bought one of the first homes built in Rolling Meadows, then moved to Des Plaines for several years. They've been back in town on Adams Street for 15 years and plan to live out their lives here.

The party was a good excuse to get the family together, Lorraine says. The last time that had happened was a few years ago for Lorraine's 70th birthday. For Frank's celebration, they rented a park district room, hired a caterer, played music from the '40s and '50s and even put together a multimedia show of old photos..

The highlight came when the family presented Franks' gift -- a 5-foot garden statue of St. Francis of Assisi carved from a tree trunk. The piece was commissioned by the family, and St. Francis was chosen because the patron saint of animals and the environment shares Frank's name.

(But Frank hasn't always been comfortable with his given name, his wife confides. "Nuns called him Francis in school and he wouldn't answer because there was a girl in the class with the same name," she laughs.)

Frank's celebration was one the whole family will remember, Lorraine says. "He just loved it. He was overwhelmed by everything."

Happy 80th to you, Frank Doroba!