Adolph Charles Sevcik, 95, of Hallettsville died July 1, 2010. He was born October 14, 1914 to Frank Sr. and Anna Styskala Sevcik in Lavaca County. He married Anastasia (Stasie) Svetlik on November 16, 1937. He was a member of the Vsetin Czech Moravian Brethren Church.

Adolph is survived by four daughters: Charlene Norris and husband Wade of Victoria, Ailene Blaylock and husband Carlton of Conroe, Alice Hainline and husband Bill of Munfordville, Kentucky, and Patsy Weiser and husband Mickey of Hallettsville; grandchildren: Dana Gleinser and husband Steve, Randy Grones and wife Emily, Amy Snelgrove and husband Todd, Leah Trahan and husband Kevin, Jamie Bass, Cody Weiser, Collin Weiser, and Denver Weiser; great grandchildren: Rachel and Abbey Gleinser, Jenna, Leah and Allie Snelgrove, Laken Trahan, Sarah and Alex Bass, Augustus and Olivia Weiser, and Ella Grones; sisters-in-law: Dorothy Svetlik and Ann Birkner; Godchild: Shirley Sevcik Conniff and husband Frank; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Adolph was preceded in death by his parents, his wife Stasie, brother Frank A. Sevcik, son-in-law Dan Grones and great-grandchild Lauren Trahan.


Memories of our Dad

Dad loved to deer hunt. In fact he hunted until he was 93 years old. He did not like it as much once the new law went into effect that required bucks to have at least a 13 inch antler spread. He was worried that he could not guess it off and shoot an illegal deer. Many years ago when he was heading to the woods for one of his late afternoon hunts, he turned around to face the porch with us "non-hunters" at the time and said, "Good luck to your mama's husband"! Later we heard a shot, and he had one of the best bucks that he ever got. When we were too young to hunt on our own, he would take us to the deer stand with him. It was exciting to be with him when he got a deer. In addition to deer hunting, he hunted for squirrels. As he got older, he would sit on a stool under one of the trees by the house and wait for the squirrels to come to him.

The farm was his life - being born there and living there all the years to follow. He loved horses, and the wilder the better! He worked cattle with them and helped take care of the ones for his brother, Frank, who lived on a farm about a mile away. He introduced us to horse riding as early as we can remember, and he taught us to saddle them ourselves to ride to the creek and around the farm.

He used a hand-cranked Farmall Cub tractor
and implements for most of the heavy work. In the early years, we loaded hay on a trailer with pitch forks. It was pulled by the tractor to the haystack area and then stacked on cedar post platforms around a l5-foot pole. He could build haystacks so well that seven out of eight made it through Hurricane Carla. That was amazing because many huge trees, fences, and some buildings were destroyed but not those haystacks.

Having no sons, he taught us girls how to do many things on the farm to help him and mom. We were taught how to use the tractor for plowing, cutting hay, hauling hay, building hay stacks, sawing wood for the wood stove and heater, helping in fence building, and the list goes on.

Homemade molasses was made each year by growing and cutting cane stalks, hauling them to the cane press mill. A mule named Pete would be hitched up to the press and he would go around and around in a circle pulling the handle of the press so that it could squeeze juice out of the cane. (Later the mule was replaced by the tractor.) The juice went into a huge cooking pan and cooked long enough to make the perfect molasses.

Dad always was interested in gardening and had a garden even when the doctor told him that he shouldn't be chopping and doing stuff like that. He looked for new types of seeds to try. Besides gardening he loved Christmas and Easter cactus. These he kept on the porch and cared for them lovingly. Petunias were one of his favorite flowers, especially the variegated kind. They came up volunteer in the yard and garden. He would put a metal peg next to the ones in the yard and we were warned not to run over them with the lawn mower.

He enjoyed grafting fruit and nut trees. You would see him with his grafting kit meticulously cutting, wrapping, and waxing the grafts. Not too often did the grafts not take for him. He taught this art to his sons-in-law and grandsons.

He was very creative and fascinated with building or making things for the farm which would help make life easier. For instance he made a lawn mower and a shredder for the tractor. The shredder did not have a cover and although it worked very well it ate up more than one hat. When using it, your hat better be a tight-fitter! He didn't see the need to go out and buy something if he could make it. He was good at everything, really and always had some project going. One of his favorite sayings was that "he just has too many irons in the fire." He had lots of tools and accessories for working on things and they were always kept oiled and stored in a perfectly organized manner. He could walk into any of his sheds and find anything he needed from among hundreds of cigar boxes and containers, even in the dark.

He was a man who lived by the clock, which was necessary in farming. Everything was done at the same time every day. He never abandoned that belief of "early to bed, early to rise" until he could no longer tell time. After our mother's death, he soon forgot the clock routine.

He was the chief disciplinarian of the family and was a man who spoke one time. We didn't want what would follow if he had to speak twice. He never spanked any of us in public or among family, but it was common knowledge that if he saw any misbehaving or lack of respect at any time, you did NOT want to go home. We were fast learners so he did not have to spank us often. Usually "that look" or tone of voice were enough to straighten out any problem.

He was known for his humor and being a "cut up" when being with family and friends. He loved teasing, especially some of his nephews and close family members. One of our favorite ways to get back at him was on April Fool's Day. Plans were made many days before to really "get him good" and it always worked. He always had to laugh, but he didn't much like being "gotten". He had been too busy to remember what date it was.

Besides farming, Dad had several other jobs during his lifetime. He grew tomatoes for sale and worked at the tomato processing plant, he drove a dump truck for Lavaca County, and he built furniture at Meyer Manufacturing in Hallettsville.

Some of his favorite things in life were: his family, especially the great grand-babies, playing dominoes (42 or Moon), playing a card game called "Stick", eating icecream, kolaches and really all kinds of sweets, pigs feet with shishkee and saurkraut, his feather bed, the infamous blue Chevy II, and his gray felt dress hat.

Although he lived a simple, quiet life - he left a legacy that we will always cherish.

Funeral Service: 2 pm, Tuesday, July 6, 2010, at Czech Moravian Brethren Church in Vsetin, Texas. Visitation: 4 pm, Monday at Kubena Funeral Home. Prayer Service: 7 pm, Monday at Kubena Funeral Home. Officiate: Rev. Mark Labaj. Pallbearers: Randy Grones, Cody Weiser, Collin Weiser, Denver Weiser, Steve Gleinser, Kevin Trahan, and Todd Snelgrove. Honorary Pallbearers: Alex Bass and Augustus Weiser. Burial: Vsetin Cemetery. Memorials: Vsetin Czech Moravian Brethren Church or Hospice of South Texas.

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