Arthur Kislack
28 July 1934 - 18 October 2014
Joyce Kislack
22 June 1934 -
Van
Alstyne, Texas -- Arthur Kislack of Van
Alstyne, Texas passed away
October 18, 2014 from complications of
Alzheimer's disease. Art was
born July 28, 1934 in New York, NY to Isabel
and Michael Kislack.
He was preceded in death by his parents and
sister, Elizabeth Schroeder
Croskey. Art is survived by his wife
of 57 years, Joyce
Buche Kislack; sisters: Dorothy Morris,
Loretta Schroeder and Eleanor
Hirchak; children Michael Kislack and his
wife Wanda, Stephen Kislack,
and Susan Kislack Torma and her husband
Michael; grandchildren: Shane
Kislack, Chris Murphy, Ashley Murphy,
Chris Torma and Matt Torma;
and 4 great grandchildren.
Art
dropped out of high school at the age of 17
and joined the U.S. Navy.
While in the Navy he completed his GED. He
then went on to earn a B.S.
in Electrical Engineering from Purde
University and a Masters
of Science in Electrical Engineering
from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate
School. Art served in the Navy
for 22 years and was a veteran of the
Vietnam War. He was assigned to the
U.S.S. Intrepid where he
was
part of the recovery of the first manned
space shuttle, Gemini 3.
After retiring from the Navy, Art moved to
Texas and worked for Texas
Instruments for 17 years, he then began his
own engineering consulting
business, Coyote Consulting.
Art
and Joyce met while Art was in the Navy and
married six months
later. Together they raised three
children, completed a demanding
Naval career, built three barns and a house
with their own hands and
enjoyed many years together. The couple
moved to Van Alstyne, Texas in
1980 and made this community their
home. While out in the
country, the former New Yorker tended to
fields, fences, horses, dogs,
sheep, cats, a goat and thoroughly enjoyed
his role as Gentleman Pig
Farmer.
After his retirement
from TI, Art began a life of service to his
home community, Van Alstyne, Texas.
He was Treasurer for the Ministerial
Alliance for many years and helped with
planning and execution
of
numerous community projects. Art spent
countless hours organizing
and building projects for the Great Days of
Service.
Many
Van Alstyne graduates will remember Mr.
Kislack as their high school
math tutor. Art was a founding member
of the Holy Family Catholic
Church where he was also a lector. Art
spent many years
volunteering with local Senior Center,
continuing to help in the
kitchen even when his disease prevented him
from continuing his other
community service.
Art
received the following recognitions: Van
Alstyne High School Volunteer
of the Year in 2003, Outstanding Achievement
for Community Service by
the South Grayson County Republican Club and
special recognition from
the Ministerial Alliance for Community
Service.
Visitation
will be 6:00 p.m. Tuesday October, 21 at
Scoggins Funeral Home, Van
Alstyne, Texas, with a rosary beginning at
7:00 p.m. A funeral
mass will be held at Holy Family Catholic
Church, Van Alstyne, Texas,
Wednesday, October 22 at 10:00 a.m.
In
lieu of flowers the family requests
donations be made to the
Alzheimer's Association. The family
thanks the staff of
Stoneybrook Memory Care in McKinney, Texas
for the outstanding care,
tenderness and love they shared with Art and
his entire family.
Funeral services are
under the direction of Scoggins Funeral
Home, 637 West Van Alstyne Parkway,
Van Alstyne Texas 75495, 903-482-5225.
Joyce Kislack passed
away peacefully March 11, 2019 in Shreveport,
Louisiana. Born June 22, 1934 in Winona, Minnesota,
daughter of Ruth and John Buche, Joyce was preceded in death by her
parents and her husband of 57 years, Art
Kislack.
Joyce is survived by
her brother, John Buche and wife, Helen;
children, Michael Kislack and wife, Wanda; Stephen
Kislack and partner, Joseph Liu; and Susan
Kislack Torma
and husband, Michael; grandchildren, Shane
Kislack; Chris Murphy; Ashley Murphy; Chris Torma and
Matt Torma; 4 great-grandchildren; nieces and
nephews.
She was especially
close to Carol, Karen and Karl Buche.
Joyce attended business
school in Rochester, New Mexico and accepted
her first position
in downtown Rochester.
At the instance
encouragement of her brother, John, Joyce
moved to Lafayette, Indiana where John, a member of
the U.S. Navy, was attending Purdue
University. It was there she met Art, also in the
Navy and a student at Purdue. Six months
later, Joyce and Art
were married. Together they raised 3
children, built 3 barns and a house with their own hands and
enjoyed 57 years together. The couple
moved to Van Alstyne, Texas in 1980 and made this community
their home.
While her children were
young, Joyce was an active volunteer in their
schools and extracurricular
activities. She was a room mother, Den
Mother, library assistant, 4-H leader, camp
chaperone, show horse chauffeur, and always
ready to lend a helping hand. Later, Joyce went back to
work for a small petroleum company in Dallas
and worked there
until her retirement.
After retiring, Joyce,
a lifelong seamstress, knitter, and
embroiderer, began quilting. Applying the same
exacting precision to her quilting that she
did to her other
handwork, Joyce quickly became a master
quilter. She created numerous pieces of
art that are
treasured by family and friends. Joyce
and Roxanne Rentzel opened and ran The Carriage House
Quilt Shoppe in downtown Van Alstyne for
several years. Joyce remained active in the
Grayson County Quilters Guild until her move
to Louisiana.
In Van Alstyne Joyce
was active in Holy Family Catholic Church,
President of Footlighters
Community Theater Group, on the board of the
Van Alstyne Senior Center, shelved books at the
public library, volunteered at the Van Alstyne
public museum, and
supported many other community activities.
A funeral mass was held
Thursday morning, March 21, 2019 at the Holy
Family Catholic Church,
Van Alstyne, Texas. Rev. Stephen W.
Bierschenk officiated.
In lieu of flowers, the
family requests donations be made to the
Wounded Warrior Project,
www.woundedwarriorproject.org.
Funeral services were
under the direction of Scoggins Funeral Home,
Van Alstyne, Texas.
|