Memorials › Josef Vaclav “Joe V.” Smesny
Josef Vaclav “Joe V.” Smesny
28 Jun 1899 – 28 Apr 1981
| Birth | 28 Jun 1899 |
| Death | 28 Apr 1981 |
| Cemetery | Saint Annes Cemetery Eastgate , Liberty County , Texas , USA |
| Added by | Daniel Bode on 25 Sep 2014 |
| FaG | https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/62806839 |
Bio
Son of Anton Smesny and wife Aloise Dudik. He married Aloise Sodolak Nov 16, 1920 in Austin County. She died with their child after only eight and a half months of marriage. Josef married Mary Barbara Rachunek Aug 1,1922. Joe V. Smesny was born in Kostelec u Stipia, in the Czech land of Moravia, which at that time was part of Empire of Austria-Hungary. In 1912, Joe V. Smesny immigrated to Texas with his widowed mother and other family members. Joe V. would tell his family years later how excited he and his younger brother, Ludvik, were as the RMS TITANIC passed within a quarter of a mile of their steamship in the Atlantic Ocean. The Smesny's ship, SS HANNOVER, docked in Galveston, Texas, on April 26, 1912, and the family made their way to Frydek, in Austin County, Texas. Joe V. Smesny married Aloisie Sodolak on November 16, 1920, in Sealy, Texas, but his young wife died just months after their marriage. Joe V. Smesny married Mary Barbara Rachunek on August 1, 1922, and they would become the parents of four sons and three daughters. Joe V. and Mary would celebrate their Golden Wedding Anniversary shortly before Mary's death. Joe V. Smesny became a U.S. citizen on June 12, 1926, in Bellville, Texas, and shortly afterwards, Joe V. and Mary Smesny moved their family to the Eastgate Community, west of Dayton, in Liberty County, Texas, at the urging of his sister Frances Smesny Peska. Joe V. Smesny purchased a 160-acre farm in Eastgate on January 23, 1939. ********************************************************************************** OBITUARY FROM THE LIBERTY VINDICATOR: JOE "PAPA JOE" SMESNY DAYTON--Joe V. "Papa Joe" Smesny, 81, died Tuesday, April 28 at his home in Dayton. A resident of Dayton for 54 years, he was a member of St. Anne's Catholic Church and the KJT. He is survived by four sons: Joe F. Smesny and Louis J. Smesny of Eastgate, Jerry A. Smesny and Emil S. Smesny of Dayton; three daughters, Lillian Kulak and Eleanor Leibham of Crosby and Molly Hanel of Eastgate; one brother, Ludvik Smesny of Sealy; one sister, Louise Hradil of Sealy; 29 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. A Rosary Service was celebrated by Rev. Msgr. Paul Fee April 29 in the Sterling Funeral Chapel, Dayton. Mass was celebrated Thursday at St. Anne's Catholic Church, Eastgate with Rev. Msgr. Paul Fee and Father Henry Rachunek officiating and burial at Eastgate Catholic Cemetery under direction of Sterling Funeral Home. Grandsons acted as pallbearers. ****************************************************************************** Joe V. Smesny was preceded in death by his parents, Anton and Aloisie Dudik Smesny; his first wife, Aloisie Sodolak Smesny in 1921; his second wife, Mary Rachunek Smesny in 1973; his brothers, Frank Smesny and Teodor Smesny; his sisters, Filomena Smesny Jalowy and Frances Smesny Peska; and a granddaugher, Connie Hanel.
Photos
Family
Parents
Spouse
Siblings
- Filomena Smesny Jalowy 1882–1964 FaG
- Aloisie Smesny Hradil 1884–1984 FaG
- Frances A Smesny Peska 1886–1978 FaG
- Frank Smesny 1888–1965
- Teodor Smesny 1895–1977 FaG
- Ludvik Smesny 1902–1989
Children
- Joe Frank "Joe F." Smesny 1923–2006 FaG
- Jerry Albert "Pontiac Jerry" Smesny 1924–2010 FaG
- Louis Joe Smesny 1927–1992 FaG
- Emil Stephen Smesny 1929–2019 FaG
- Lillian Frances Smesny Kulak 1931–2022 FaG
- Eleanor Mary Smesny Leibham 1934–2015 FaG
- Molly Louise Smesny Hanel 1935–1994 FaG
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