RUDY RAYMOND CHLASTAK 1913 - 1990

By Mary Owens Little on

August 8, 2022

Today my maternal grandfather, Rudy Raymond Chlastak, would have been 109 years old.

Before I start with my timeline for my grandfather I would just like to mention what an influence he was in my life. My sister and I spent almost every weekend with Grandma and Papa. We lived 15 minutes away so we saw them a lot. My grandfather had a good sense of humor. On summer nights we would sit out in the backyard and look up at the stars. He would share with me about Astronomy and would give me pointers in my softball pitching in that same backyard. He loved baseball and I recall him listening to the Astros' game on the radio at night. I also remember that he liked to cook gumbo and always told me to study computers as they were going to be important in the future.

I wished he would have told me more about his childhood growing up in Shiner, about his parents and his time in the military. I only have recollection of going to Shiner once and him showing us where he lived but of course I can’t remember where that was now. 


I sure miss all of the family that has passed and the stories I’ll never know.


8 AUG 1913 - Born in Shiner, Lavaca, TX to Rudolph “Rudy” Frank Chlastak who was 20 and Emelie “Millie” F. Jilek Chlastak who was 18. He was the oldest of two children. 


Homes: 

Ave B., Shiner, Lavaca, TX.

1306 Travis St., Houston, Harris, TX.

608 Walker, Houston, Harris, TX.

402 Merrill, Houston, Harris, TX.

1824 Fairview, Houston, Harris, TX

7602 Moss Rose, Houston, Harris, TX


Military: 

Enlisted in the Army 17 AUG 1942, Served in WWII, 719th Railway Operating Battalion, U.S. Army in North Africa and Italy.


Jobs:

Draftsman for the Southern Pacific Railroad




Rudy Raymond Chlastak as a baby.


24 NOV 1914 - Birth of sister, Lorraine Georgia [Shiner, Lavaca, TX].


Rudy with the curls and his sister Lorraine.


Back of Rudy's head showing his curls.


Rudy and Lorraine.


1920 - Residence - Shiner, Lavaca Co, TX.



Rudy and his sister, Lorraine.


31 AUG 1928 - Baptized




I believe this is taken inside the Palace of Sweets, an establishment my great-grandfather ran. My great-grandmother, Mille, is behind the counter and that is my grandfather, Rudy sitting at a table. I’m not sure who the young girl is. It doesn’t look like my great aunt Lorraine.


Rudy is on the right. Not sure who is on the left. Perhaps a cousin.


I believe this is Lorraine and Rudy.


1930 - Residence - Houston, Harris, TX.



1932- Residence - 402 Merrill, Houston, Harris, TX.



1935 - Residence - 1617 Chenevert, Apt. 4, Houston, Harris, TX.




1940 - Residence - Houston, Harris, TX.




I’m assuming my grandparents met in their neighborhood since they lived behind each other. The map shows where they lived. My grandfather’s house was where the blue marker is and my grandmother’s house is where the pink marker is.





25 JAN 1942 - Married Mary Emma Kinser [Houston, Harris TX].



17 AUG 1942 - Enlisted in the Army.


This looks like it was taken in Italy but it doesn’t say where.


25 NOV 1943 - Birth of son, Rudy Raymond, Jr. [Houston, Harris TX].



My grandmother was in the newspaper. Top left corner.



Card sent to my grandmother from Italy.



Letter to my grandmother during World War II.


Returned home on the U.S.S. Cody Victory


Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Fort Worth, Texas

30 Aug 1945, Thu  •  Page 8


6 SEP 1945 - Honorable Discharge



Not sure when this photo was taken or who all is in this picture besides Mary Kinser Chlastak and Rudy Raymond Chlastak Sr. Perhaps Millie Jilek Chlastak is next to Rudy and his sister Lorraine Chlastak.


22 SEP 1946 - Birth of daughter, Patricia Rudene [Houston, Harris TX].



1950 - Residence - Houston, Harris, TX.


On the job as an engineer for Southern Pacific Railroad.


Between 1954 and 1956 he was involved with The Dixie Little League. 



1955 - He was an officer of The Dixie Little League.



1956 - He was the President of the Dixie American Little League.



When I was a kid I always thought my grandfather looked like Henry Kissinger, who seemed to be on the news a lot.


2 MAY 1962 - Father-in-law, John Chester Kinser Sr., passed away from generalized peritonitis and adenocarcinoma of rectum at the age of 70 [Houston, Harris TX].


2 MAR 1963 - Father, Rudolph Frank Chlastak, passed away from dissecting aneurysm of the aorta and atherosclerosis of the aorta at the age of 71 [Houston, Harris TX].


8 AUG 1964 - Son, Rudy, married Jean Lea Child [Houston, Harris TX].



14 JUN 1965 - Mother, Emelie (Millie) Jilek Chlastak, passed away from Uremia; cirrhosis of the liver with ascites. Secondary anemia. Arteriosclerotic heart disease. Malnutrition. Probable metastatic disease at the age of 70 [Houston, Harris TX].


5 MAR 1966 - Daughter, Pat, married Wendell Dale Owens [Houston, Harris TX].


7 OCT 1966 - Birth of first granddaughter, Adora Marie Chlastak [Houston, Harris TX].


5 NOV 1966 - Birth of second granddaughter, Mary Kathryne Owens [Houston, Harris TX].


12 OCT 1967 - Birth of third granddaughter, Jeanna Ruth Chlastak [Houston, Harris TX].


29 DEC 1970 - Birth of fourth granddaughter, Melanie Elizabeth Owens [Houston, Harris TX].


Early 70’s - Retired from Southern Pacific Railroad after 43 years. I can’t find the documents right now that have the exact date but I did locate some pictures.





24 MAY 1972 - Rudy Jr. and Jean divorced [Houston, Harris TX].


13 JUL 1977 - Mother-in-law, Anna Rose Meineke Kinser, passed away from adenocarcinoma of colon/obstruction and cecal perforation and adenocarcinoma of colon at the age of 83 [Houston, Harris TX].


27 AUG 1983 - Son-in-law, Wendell Dale Owens, passed away at home from a heart attack at the age of 41 [Richmond, Fort Bend, TX].


27 MAY 1989 - Son, Rudy Raymond Chlastak, Jr, passed away from cancer at the age of 45 [Houston, Harris TX].



16 APR 1990 - Passed away at the age of 76 [Houston, Harris TX].



Burial - Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery, Houston, Harris Co, TX.



I don’t have a picture of his tombstone. I need to go to Houston to visit the cemetery as there are not many photos from relatives that are buried there.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Travel Blog - 0123 Woodville, TX

By Mary Owens Little on
Image
Woodville Woodville is where the Hicks family held a reunion for many years. Located about an hour from Lufkin, it is located deep in the Piney Woods of East Texas at the crossroads of three U.S. highways: U.S. Highway 69, U.S. Highway 190, and U.S. 287. It is the Dogwood Capital of Texas. Centrally located in Tyler County, Woodville's population in 2020 according to the United States census, there were 2,403 people, 1,084 households, and 724 families residing in the town. Woodville was established in 1846, when Tyler County was separated from Menard District. The town was laid out on 200 acres in the forks of Turkey Creek that was donated to the county by Dr. Josiah Wheat. The site was selected as the county seat by election and the town was named in honor of George T. Wood, who introduced the bill to establish the county and served as the second governor of Texas. Woodville was incorporated in 1856. The voters elected S. Hough mayor and N.A. Penland, P.A. Work, B.F. Ross and S.B...
Read more

SUSAN TAYLOR DEFRIESE WATT 1821 - 1890

By Mary Owens Little on
Image
On January 8th, my paternal 3rd great-grandmother, Susan Taylor DeFriese Watt(s) Owens , would have been 202 years old. She has been a little difficult to research as her maiden name is spelled several different ways like Dumfriese, Defrice and DeFrees. Also there is some discrepancy on whether her first husband’s last name was Watt or Watts. I recently received information from Roberta Mahr Drews , who is my 1st cousin 1x removed. Her mother, Ruth Owens Mahr , my grandaunt, received some of this information and some of it came from Carl Owens , who was my granduncle. He had written to some relatives and got some information. I’ve included scanned documents that Roberta has shared with me at the end of the post. 8 JAN 1821 - Born in Rhea, TN, to Hiram “Abiff” Abeth Paul DeFriese , who was 30 and Margaret Ann Lowery , who was 23. She was the fourth of nine children. Her older siblings were Elizabeth “Jane,” Mary McGee , and Isabella Lowery . 15 DEC 1822 - Birth of sister, Sarah Ade...
Read more

KATHRYNE VIOLA SMITH OWENS 1914 - 2000

By Mary Owens Little on
Image
October 30, 2022 Happy 108th birthday to my paternal grandmother, Kathryne Viola Smith Owens . My middle name is Kathryne in her honor. It is a interesting spelling. I rarely see it spelled this way. 30 OCT 1914 - Born in Bagwell, Red River, TX to Randolph Dee Smith and Margaret Lorene Windell Smith , who were both 22. She was the first of three children. Homes :  1920 - Justice Precinct 3, Red River, TX Near Fulbright and Detroit Road 1930 - Precinct 2, Swisher, TX 1940 - Rural, Swisher, TX 1943 -1944? Near Southwest City, MO 1967 - Hartley Rt. Box 58-A, Dumas, Moore, TX 324 Beard, Dumas, Moore, TX Jobs: Homemaker 3 MAY 1916 - Birth of brother, Guy Austin [Red River County, TX]. 28 OCT 1918 - Birth of brother, Raymond Lynn [Detroit, Red River, TX]. 1920 - Residence - Precinct 3, Red River, TX. 27 DEC 1921 - Death of mother, Margaret Lorene Windell Smith [Deport, Lamar, TX] at the age of 29. 5 DEC 1924 - Father married Winnie Flippo in Red River, TX. 1 APR 1926 - Birth of ha...
Read more