Dorothy Marie (Grafe) Bujnoch

Dorothy Marie (Grafe) Bujnoch, 93, of Hallettsville, Texas, passed away on April 28, 2026, surrounded by the love of her family.

Dorothy leaves us with a legacy of love that resides in the hearts of all those she touched and inspired. However, the extent of her legacy might surprise many, even those who know her well. Dorothy believed that our histories are important, and she worked throughout her life to tell the histories of the German and Swiss branches of her family, as well as the Czech branch that she joined when she married George Bujnoch. But her natural curiosity and her passion for research eventually extended far beyond her families and into the histories of Hallettsville and Lavaca County, Sacred Heart Church and School, and Czech and German immigration into the area. She authored many publications that can be found in libraries and museums throughout the United States and in Europe.

Dorothy was born on September 11, 1932, to Victor and Lena (Grahmann) Grafe in Hallettsville, Texas. She was the first of six children. She attended Sacred Heart School and graduated in 1949. She married George Bujnoch on November 24, 1952, at Sacred Heart Church and they moved to Houston, Texas. They had two children - daughter Kathleen born in 1953, and son Kenneth born in 1957.

Before her marriage Dorothy worked for Peoples Abstract Company in Hallettsville where she learned to research county records and to draw maps. In Houston she worked as a geophysical and pipeline draftsman for The Texas Company, Humble Oil and Refining, Claude B. Hamill, Trunkline Gas Company, Gaylord Stickle and others.

These jobs gave Dorothy skills which she made the most of when in the 1970s, she discovered her new passion - researching and documenting family history. In some ways, when she embarked on this project, she was carrying forward her father’s love of family history. Her first project centered on the history of her Czech family by marriage - the Bujnochs, because so little of that history was known at the time. Perhaps only one living person at that time knew the name of the Czech village where the Bujnochs originated. Fortunately, she sought him out and wrote down the name “Fryčovice”. Once she identified the town where the Bujnochs emigrated from, she began writing letters to Czechoslovakia and eventually found descendants of George’s relatives still living there. In 1979, George and Dorothy made their first trip to the Czech Republic thereby connecting the Texas and Czech relatives for the first time in 107 years. Over the years they made 6 more trips to visit Czech relatives.

As Dorothy gathered information on the Bujnoch family her drafting experience gave her a unique way to present that information - she made a “map”. In 1976, she completed a 3-foot by 15-foot family tree of the Bujnoch family covering seven generations, beginning with the earliest known ancestor born in the mid 1700’s. This chart was meticulously hand-drawn, lettered and illustrated on mylar film with India ink, and was first displayed at the 1976 Bujnoch reunion. The chart has been updated and displayed at every Bujnoch family reunion since then.

As Dorothy saw the enthusiasm that the Bujnochs had in seeing so clearly how they were related to other family members, she turned immediately to making a family chart for the Grafe side of the family and the 4-foot by 8-foot Grafe family chart was first displayed at the 1977, Grafe reunion. Again, she updated it for every reunion until her cousins Nick Grahmann and John Sedlar took over the keeping and updating of the family tree. Her historical research quickly expanded. With the encouragement of historian Albert Blaha Dorothy, together with friend Anne Rhodes, she completed two Czech genealogy resource books: “Czech Footprints across Lavaca County - Volume 1 Census records 1860-1900” and “Czech Footprints across Lavaca County - Volume 2 Naturalization Records and Marriages 1860-1900”. Hundreds of copies of these two books have been sold to genealogists and libraries throughout the United States and in the Czech Republic. She also helped on similar publications for Fayette County and contributed to the book “Perilous Voyages: Czech and English Immigrants to Texas in the 1870s”. Much of her research involved poring over microfilm and archive records, sending off letters, and talking to people before the days of internet and email.

In 1984, Dorothy got her first Apple computer and quickly put it to good use - publishing the 322-page hardback book “The Bujnoch Family - Our Czech American Heritage”. She later produced smaller histories of the Leopold and Miculek families plus created a body of research which is used in various histories of the Grafe and Grahmann families.

Dorothy and George were charter members of the Czech Heritage Society of Texas and of the Lavaca County chapter. She spoke frequently at genealogical conferences and received numerous awards for her contributions to, and promotion of, Czech Texas history. She was always eager to help anyone researching their family history.

In 1980, after George and Dorothy built a home on the farm where George was raised, they moved back to Hallettsville, and Dorothy began working more broadly on local history projects.

With Anne Rhodes and others, Dorothy collected historical data on the city of Hallettsville for the Hallettsville Chamber of Commerce. Together they published the 20-page booklet “Hallettsville Past and Present - A Historical Tour” and assisted in placing historical plaques on local businesses and other significant sites. She donated her large body of research of downtown Hallettsville to the Friench Simpson Memorial Library. She was a member of the Lavaca County Historical Commission, Chamber of Commerce, Catholic Daughters of Americas, Christian Mothers Society, American Legion Auxiliary, Garden Club and served as secretary of the Lavaca County Historical Museum.

Also, while back in Hallettsville, Dorothy became active in Sacred Heart School and Church. She served on the Sacred Heart Parish Council and Sacred Heart School Committee and was an Associate of the Incarnate Word. She was Co-Chairman of the Sacred Heart Centennial Celebration in 1982. She helped with the publications of “Sacred Heart Parish, Hallettsville, Texas 1882-1892” and “Sacred Heart Church and School 125th Anniversary 1882-2007” and “St. Mary’s Church History” which included biographies of numerous pioneer Czech families.

Dorothy very much loved her work with “The Press Gang” aka The Lavaca County Records Retention Group where she and a group of dedicated volunteers cleaned, repaired and rehoused Lavaca County historical records. And yet, she still found time to enjoy life to its fullest. She and George loved to bring family and friends together. Their home at Mont welcomed everyone throughout the year for parties, holiday celebrations, Marriage Encounter meetings, or a lively game of dominoes with their siblings.

Dorothy started playing tennis in the 1960s, and it was an activity that Dorothy and George and their children enjoyed together throughout their lives. She loved her flowers and garden. She also enjoyed painting. Her paintings of the Grafe homestead where she grew up and of Ankum, Germany where her Grafe ancestors originated are family treasures.

George and Dorothy loved to travel. They visited at least 39 states in the US and traveled to more than 35 countries on 5 continents. After George’s death, she continued to travel, visiting the Holy Land with her sister, cruising through the Panama Canal and the Caribbean with a friend, and visiting her daughter and son-in-law in France. In 2013, she took her children and their spouses to visit their European relatives in Switzerland, Germany and the Czech Republic.

Dorothy will always be remembered for her love of family, church and community. She lived her life with a grace and an enthusiasm which touched all who knew her. She loved to be a “connecter” and to bring people together.

Dorothy and George both lived their lives with courage, acceptance and humility in facing life’s difficulties. They didn’t preach - they taught by example and they listened to those who turned to them with love and without judgment. This made them wonderful parents and good friends to their children. Yet the ripples extend far beyond family. Especially at this time, so many are sharing the very personal ways that she was a mentor and an inspiration to them. She counseled her children that gratitude was the key through life’s difficulties. It is this gratitude for her life so well lived that we call upon now as she is called to heaven.

Dorothy is survived by; her daughter Kathleen Bujnoch Parsons, son Kenneth G. Bujnoch & wife Margaret, her sister Sister Emiliana Grafe, her brother David Grafe & wife Pam, her sister-in-law Diane (Polasek) Grafe and many beloved godchildren, nieces and nephews.

Dorothy was preceded in death by; her husband George, her parents Victor and Lena Grafe, her brothers Ervin Grafe and Anthony (Tony) Grafe, her sister Elizabeth Grafe who died in childhood and her son-in-law Roger Watson.

In recent years as Dorothy’s health declined, she was lovingly cared for by Patricia Olivarez and her group of sitters all of whom we referred to as her angels. The family gratefully acknowledges their care by appointing them honorary pallbearers (see below). The family would also like to thank the staff of Hallettsville Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and Crown Hospice of Victoria.

Funeral Mass Service: 11am, Saturday, May 9, 2026, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church of Hallettsville. Visitation: 5pm, Friday at Sacred Heart Catholic Church with Rosary at 7pm. Pallbearers: Ken Barth, Tim Bujnoch, Dennis Dornak, Greg Dornak, Tom Dornak, Michael Grafe, Dennis Murphy and Eric Woodring. Alternate Pallbearers: Justin Faske, Kevin Faske, Russell Faske, Lucas Grafe, Dale Halata, David Halata, Jordan Janak, Vincent Pernot. Honorary pallbearers: Patricia Olivarez, Tamra Bedford, Bobbie Burley, Rose Carroll, Elrose Ehler, Tywanna Flores, Gerardette Haas, Sharon Herring, Suzanne Long, Tiffany McAfee, Lee Ann Mizera and Sandy Wilson. Memorials: Sacred Heart Catholic Church/School or Victor Grafe Scholarship Fund at Sacred Heart School. Officiate: Rev. Greg Nevlud. Burial: Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery. Reception: Sacred Heart Family Center.