Mary Ann Krenek

Mary Ann Krenek was born in Hillje, Texas to Victor and Martha Marek on January 15, 1941. She was a graduate of Louise High School with honors for Best Athlete in basketball, softball, and volleyball. She married Edward A. Krenek on October 29, 1960. She worked as a telephone operator for Southwestern Bell upon graduation and later worked as a legal secretary for a prominent Wharton attorney. Her most important role began in 1963 when she entered motherhood. She was actively involved in Holy Family Catholic Church for many years as a religious education teacher, and more recently, as a devoted lay Eucharistic Minister to her parish and area nursing homes. She was a member and Regent of Catholic Daughters of the Americas. She was an avid gardener, domino player, baker, square dancer, a San Antonio Spurs fan, and beloved grandmother. Mary Ann was is preceded in death by her parents Martha and Victor Marek, and her siblings Clement and Louis Marek. She was preceded in death by her first spouse Edward Krenek in 2004. She is survived by her siblings Virginia Krobot, Theodore Marek, Lillian Bartek, Benjamin Marek, and Cynthia Hackbarth. She is survived by her eldest daughter Caryn Hernandez, her son-in-law Brandan Hernandez, and grandsons Rian and Aidan Hernandez. She is survived by her middle daughter Monica Travis, her son-in-law Tim Travis, and grandson Wyatt Travis. She is survived by her youngest daughter Linda Carpenter, her son-in-law Allen Carpenter, and granddaughter Caroline Carpenter. In 2017 she married Irvin Ullmann and embraced a new family. She is survived by Irvin and his children: Eldest daughter Joan McElveen, her spouse Les McElveen, and granddaughters Raime and Jacey McElveen; middle son Stephen Ullmann, his spouse Lacey Ullmann, and grandchildren Tanner and Hattie Ullmann; and youngest daughter Lauren Mican, and her spouse Braden, and grandchildren Tyson and Reagan. She is survived by multiple nieces and nephews from both the Marek and Krenek families. Public Visitation will be held at the Chapel of Wharton Funeral Home on Friday November 20th from 5:00PM to 8:00PM. The family requests that all attendees wear a mask, practice social distancing, and limit their visit to 15 minutes. All Saturday services to include the Rosary, Funeral Mass and Rite of Burial will remain private. The family appreciates your understanding during this pandemic. Pallbearers: Allen Carpenter, son-in-law, Brandan Hernandez, son-in-law, Rian Hernandez, grandson, Aidan Hernandez, grandson, Bennie Marek, brother, Rocky Brandes, nephew. Honorary Pallbearers: Tim Travis, son-in-law, Wyatt Travis, grandson.Ted Marek, brother. There will be a livestream link available to anyone in the public wishing to view the Rosary and Funeral Mass. The link will be available on the Wharton Funeral Home website. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVByTyxCoJg&feature=youtu.be Memorial monetary donations can be sent to: Catholic Daughters of the Americas, Our Lady Queen of the Clergy, Court #1990, P.O. Box 415, Wharton, Texas 77488. Floral donations may be sent to Wharton Funeral Home. The family of Mary Ann Krenek wishes to express their sincere gratitude to the medical staff of Houston Methodist Sugar Land and APEC Hospice. Funeral services are under the direction of Wharton Funeral Home. Condolences may be left at whartonfuneralhome.com. Eulogy By Aidan Hernandez, Grandson of Mary Ann Krenek There are three main words that I describe my grandmother with: loving, selfless, and devoted. Her love to everybody that she knew was tremendous. From the moment that any of us came into this world she loved every one of us until she left it. Momo was incredibly selfless; she would always put others before herself. She would take care of you if you were sick and even if she would get sick herself. Considering others’ needs before her own was second nature for her and she loved to do it for others. She was devoted to God and her family. She was always going to church and donating money and gifts to the church to make other people's lives better. She was devoted in a way that she would come to our sporting events and support us. She cared about everything that we did and made sure she kept up with what we were doing. When I was younger whenever my parents told me that we were going to Momo’s for Christmas or Thanksgiving, whatever it was, I was always so excited and happy that I would get to go there. I would cry when I would have to leave because I loved being there so much. When I was 4 or 5 years old, Momo had a black dog named Dutchess. She always would get into Momo’s flowerbed to dig some holes, and Momo would always tell her to get out. One time we walked out of the garage and there was Dutchess digging a hole. Momo happened to have a can of whipped cream in her hand and she gave Duchess a big squirt on her bottom. She knew just how to make us laugh in almost any situation. We would always take us on a ride back of her Dodge to look for marbles in the fields around the farm. We would sit in the bed of the truck, and once we would get back to the house, we would call her a crazy driver. My cousins and I would always call Momo a crazy driver. She would just laugh and say “no.” When I was at her wedding with her husband Irvin, I danced with her at the reception and she was truly happy. She had just found a new purpose in life, and she looked so happy about it. I also recall when we were at her house for a holiday or just to visit, she took us to buy feed for the cows, and while there we convinced her to get us chickens, and she did. I personally was so excited, and I am guessing she recognized that when we saw the chickens it made us happy which therefore made her happy. The last time that I saw Momo in person was when I came to her house with my family to visit with her and pick up my grandpa’s old Dodge truck. Even though she was sick at the time, she still lit up as soon as we walked into the living room because the people she loved were there. To close, Mary Ann Krenek or better known to me as Momo will be dearly missed. No one attending in person or through zoom will ever really be ready for her to leave us. She was such a selfless and loving person that loved us unconditionally, just how we loved her. Good Morning, I am Caryn Hernandez, Mary Ann’s eldest daughter. I am honored to voice a few facts and treasured memories of my mother which were collectively gathered from my immediate family. My mother was a very influential force in my life. She was a natural teacher and had loads of patience when interacting with others. She instilled a few characteristics in her daughters and grandchildren that we will be forever blessed to carry as her legacy. I call these characteristics Mom’s Lessons. Mom’s Lessons When I recall all the lessons we learned from mom, I distinctly remember that we were to attain completion in the following arenas: Autonomy, Responsibility, A Task Well Done, Charity/Stewardship, Enjoyment, Respect, and Faith. She always led us by example in any lesson we were to learn. Autonomy I have a distinct memory of mom driving me to my first swim lesson when I was four. I was petrified. I had both hands curled around the outer car door handle and my mom patiently pulling my hands off the handle, marching me to the swimming instructor with me crying unconsolably. Her parting statement, “You are going to love swimming Caryn, stop crying.” And…. She was right. Responsibility All three of us girls had 4-H County Fair projects where we were required to complete every aspect of the project. Feeding and watering the chickens, cleaning the chicken’s coop, and then coming home from school to see the huge black kettle steaming; this meant we were plucking and dressing out at least 10 chickens every day until all the chickens were processed and in the freezer. None of us wanted to eat chicken for the summer break. A Task Well Done All of us learned how to drive the farm trucks so we could then become Dad’s gophers bringing tools from the shop to the field for him. We were all capable of hooking up cotton trailers, tromping cotton, picking the cotton ends, and placing tarps on the trailers. We were all excellent with hoeing cotton. Mom was right there as an encouraging supervisor while we performed these tasks. I remember watching her stay up late to sew new dresses for our school concerts and create customized Halloween costumes. She was a wonderful seamstress and a stern task masker. All three of us girls often heard “the seam is crooked, rip it out and start over” and she displayed such patience with each of us. Charity & Stewardship We were required to help serve in the kitchen for Wednesday Bingo nights when we were parishioners at St. John’s Catholic Church. The Fall bazaar had us working either the Cake Walk Booth or the Go Fish Booth. We were helpers whether sweeping the hall or cleaning the church when it was her turn to fulfill these parish duties. Enjoyment She always treated us to the simple joys of life. That often meant stopping at Macha’s Store after she picked us up from the bus stop and buying a 10cent ice cream cone. Eating fresh picked dewberries after being scratched by the canes. Roller skating on Saturday afternoons in the winter and swimming in the summer “after 4:00 pm” to prevent a sunburn and prevent risk for skin cancer; we lived our childhood years in the time before sunscreen was available. She surely taught us how to tell time because we would anxiously watch the clock looking for that magical hour. Going outside to play with whichever cousins were over at the time. Playing hide-n-seek and sticky bear until dark. Learning the art of listening and telling a good story. She skillfully entertained her grandkids. They would huddle in bed with her anxiously anticipating an impromptu story they had never heard. Always having the radio on, either with country western or polka music when we were completing chores or cooking in the kitchen. Teaching us how to bait your hook and take the fish off your hook; yet she was always willing to do it for us. Eating more “posipka” than placing onto the kolaches we were baking. Making our special animal birthday cakes in custom shapes such as butterflies, elephants, and lions. Breakfast pancakes, homemade beignets or cornbread muffins with sausage on school days. Playing a game called Andy Over with her grandkids. Giving 4-wheeler rides to her grandkids. She enjoyed feeding her cows with her grandkids. Shooting water moccasins on the lake with her trusty 410 gun. Allen my brother-in-law nicknamed her “Deadeye Krenek”. A pickup basketball game on her driveway with the grandkids with them having to admit she was the one with the better basketball moves. Respect She was respectful to all people and taught us to revere our elders and to treat others as we would want to be treated. Faith Mom taught us all our children’s prayers; we went to mass as a family. We attended religious education classes from elementary through high school. As the years passed, she developed a deeper faith. She was willing to discuss her spiritual beliefs with anyone. She had strong convictions, and she modeled to all in her actions and deeds. In closing, I will say that our mother will remain in our hearts and minds because it is through her life example that she was such a blessing to us and anyone who knew her. We will have that gift to keep us strong in our sorrow in the upcoming days… until we, too, will one day be reunited with our mother in receiving God’s promise of eternal life. Amen.