Memorials › Rudolph August "Rudy" Klecka
Rudolph August "Rudy" Klecka
10 May 1919 – 20 Nov 2011
| Birth | 10 May 1919 |
| Death | 20 Nov 2011 |
| Cemetery | Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery East Bernard , Wharton County , Texas , USA |
| Added by | Joel Farringer on 17 Dec 2011 |
| FaG | https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/80827468 |
Bio
Rudolph "Rudy" August Klecka of East Bernard, Texas passed away peacefully on November 20, 2011. He was born to John and Karolina Toman Klecka in East Bernard, Texas on May 10, 1919 and lived his entire life in East Bernard. He was an active member of Holy Cross Catholic Church faith community, a member of the Knights of Columbus Council #2500, and a member of the American Legion, Post 226 in East Bernard. On November 28, 1941, he married his high school sweetheart, Henrietta Urbish. In 1946 they opened their small business, Klecka's Dry Goods and Cleaners on Leveridge Street, where they also sold Czech crystal, jewelry and other items brought from the Czech Republic. Rudy served in the U. S. Army from 1941 until the end of World War II in 1945. While stationed in England, he met several Czech aviators serving in the R. A. F., which proved to be lifelong friendships. From 1969 through 2004, Rudy and Henrietta led tours as Klub Kontinental, primarily to the Czech Republic, and kept up with these aviators and their families. Thousands of Czech and American Moravians found their relatives and at the same time, maintained the ties between a free USA and a Communist ancestral home, keeping alive the hope for freedom. After the 1989 Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia, Rudy and Henrietta joined several Czech American and Czech émigré physicians in the Houston area as Founding Board Members of The Texas-Czech Physician Exchange Program, hosting Czech doctors for three-month exchange study tours at the Houston Medical Center. Rudy and his wife were also Board Members of the Czech Cultural Center in Houston, Texas. In 2005, the Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the United States awarded the Czernin Palace Bronze Memorial Medal to Rudy, for significant contributions made to fostering, promoting, and preserving relations between the Czech Republic and the United States of America. Rudy is survived by three sons: Rudolph Nathan, James Michael (Patricia), Edward Henry (Angelita), eight grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren and a brother, August Klecka of East Bernard, Texas. He was preceded in death by his parents, eight siblings, and his wife Henrietta. Visitation will be on Friday, November 25 from 9:00 to 10:00 AM, followed by the Funeral Liturgy at 10:00 AM, Holy Cross Church, 839 Church Street, East Bernard, Texas. The pallbearers are Johnnie Klecka, Patrick Klecka, Kim Klecka, Joshua Klecka, James Dusek and John Murrile. Memorial donations may be sent to Holy Cross Church, PO Box 1325, East Bernard, Texas 77435; the Texas-Czech Physician Exchange Program or the Czech Cultural Center in Houston. Condolences may be left for the Klecka family at www.davisgreenlawnfh.com. Davis-Greenlawn Funeral Home
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Family
Parents
Spouse
Siblings
- Felix Klecka 1905–1912
- William Klecka 1907–1959
- Vlasta Marie "Lessie" Klecka Lavendusky 1909–1979
- Frank Klecka 1911–1998
- Lillian Klecka Preisler 1913–1990
- Ann Klecka Meuser 1915–1994
- Johnnie Rudolph Klecka Sr 1916–1996
- August Walter Klecka 1922–2012
- Evelyn Marie Klecka Lueck 1926–2010
Children
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