Adrian M. Oleck M.D.

Adrian M. Oleck, M.D. 73, of Carmel, passed away May 25, 2022. He was born September 17, 1948, in Oak Park, Illinois, the son of the late Adrian Robert and Anita Marie (Richlowski) Oleck.  He married Leslie Hornecker on May 31, 1975.

Adrian graduated as valedictorian from Notre Dame High School in Niles, IL, and was very active in the chorus, debate club, and enjoyed being in school plays such as “Oklahoma”, “Guys and Dolls”, and “Wonderful Town”. Upon graduating high school, he attended Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa honor society, and served as President of the Sigma Nu fraternity. His younger sister, Carla, who he adored, also attended Northwestern and he loved being in the audience as she starred in numerous productions on campus. He then attended Washington University Medical School in St. Louis, MO where he met the love of his life, Leslie, and pursued a career in general internal medicine, completing his internship and residency at Indiana University Medical School.

He always admired the relationships that his father, Dr. Adrian R. Oleck, had with his patients and wanted to pursue primary care in order to have the most direct impact on those he served. During the early years of MetroHealth, he not only did primary care but also catalyzed the system’s development of outpatient mental health care which is now the Department of Behavioral Health for the IU network. In 1986, Adrian transitioned out of his full-time patient care role into a partly administrative role in order to spend more time with his family, later moving fully into administration with Medicare DMERC. He stated that it was “the second-best decision of my life…the first, of course, was marrying Leslie”. In that role, he received two national recognition awards from Medicare for helping beneficiaries and was twice named “One of the 10 Most Influential People” in the country in the Home Medical Equipment industry.

Although he worked hard and achieved countless accolades, he was a family man first. The most cherished part of his life was anything done with and for his family.  His beloved children, Jenny and Jeff, were the light of his life. As they grew up, he attended countless sporting events and performances of theirs with a video camera in one hand and a program in the other so as to never miss a moment. As adults, he gave them sound advice and marveled at the people they had grown up to be with families of their own while focusing on continuing the strong bond with each of them which he cherished.

Adrian traveled the world growing up and gave that gift to Leslie and the kids; visiting places such as Egypt, Cuba, England, Mexico, France, Italy, Africa, Israel, Greece, and Ireland…to name a few. His most fulfilling and enjoyable destination, however, was the annual family trip to Hilton Head where he would be able to relax, read, cook his famous “Shrimp Boil”, and make memories with his kids and grandkids.

Quality time with Leslie filled his heart to the top – they enjoyed over 25 years of ballroom dancing, gardened side by side, and loved curling up on the couch to watch their favorite shows. In 2012 he became “Bop” when his first grandson, Quincy, was born, and as Grady, Sonny, and Jamison followed he became known to them as the designated baby food feeder, the Polar Express Conductor at Christmas time, the sandcastle assistant, and the chef of all their favorite meals.

Adrian sang in a barbershop chorus for several years, was a Lay Minister at his church, St Pius X, when they joined, and served on the Board of Family Services Association for several years. He was an avid reader, a fan of live theater and Broadway, and cook—most recently perfecting the process of baking bread which satisfied both his love for the kitchen and his methodical, scientific brain. He had a genuine curiosity about the world around him, a keen understanding of current and historical events, and an unwavering dedication to the lives of others. To say he was generous is an understatement. He was always quick to offer a helping hand or a useful suggestion to anyone who asked, even to some who didn’t.

He is survived by his loving wife of 47 years, Leslie Oleck; their two children, Jenny (Matt) Boling and Jeff (Alex) Oleck; sister, Carla Oleck (Paul) Skiba; and four grandsons, Quincy, Grady, Sonny, and Jamison.

Visitation will be from 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. Thursday, June 2, 2022, with prayers recited at 7:30 p.m. at Flanner Buchanan – Broad Ripple, 1305 East Broad Ripple Avenue. Funeral Mass will be at 11:00 a.m. Friday, June 3, 2022, at St. Pius X Catholic Church, 7200 Sarto Drive. There will also be one hour of visitation prior to the Mass at the church on Friday.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be directed to the Oley Foundation, Firefly Indiana (f.k.a. Families First Indiana), and/or Notre Dame College Prep – all of which are organizations that were near and dear to Adrian’s heart.