Gloria Tydlacka Kubeczka

Gloria Ann Schoppe Tydlacka Kubeczka, age 92 of the Birch community, passed away peacefully on Sunday, February 19, 2023.  Funeral services will be held on Thursday, February 23, 2023 at 10:00 am. at Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Frenstat.  Burial will follow in the church cemetery.  Visitation will be on Wednesday, February 22, 2023 at Strickland Funeral Home in Caldwell from 8:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m., with the family present from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m.  The Rosary will be recited at 7:00 p.m.

Gloria was born on July 10, 1930 to Olga Dujka Schoppe and Julius O. Schoppe at their home in Birch, Texas.  One of five siblings, she grew up on the family farm that her grandfather Fred Schoppe had homesteaded on Birch Creek soon after fighting for the south in the Civil War.  There, Gloria developed the work ethic that would carry her through life, and which she would pass on to her children and grandchildren.  Faith, family, education, and the feeling of accomplishment were instilled in her as a child, as she did her part to help the family survive and prosper during the post-depression and World War II years.

Gloria and her sister and brothers walked over two miles a day, to and from the Birch rural school.  Gloria attended Birch School through the 8th grade, and finished her education in Caldwell, graduating with the class of 1947.  She met Frank John Tydlacka, from Dime Box, at a dance at Deanville Hall soon after graduation, and they were married on August 11, 1948 at Holy Rosary Church in Frenstat.  Soon after marriage, Frank and Gloria purchased the Birch Store, along with the adjoining house and land.  There they operated the country store, and raised their four children.  On the grounds where Kovasovic’s Meat Market now stands was the general store, a small feed mill, and the community “beef club” building.  Birch Store was the center of the community and the gathering place for all who lived in the area.  A room was added to the store for socializing, dominoes, and listening to the juke box while shooting a game of pool.  Gloria was always a “people person” and truly enjoyed serving and visiting with the friends and neighbors that came in.  She was always a gracious host.

Gloria was a true country homemaker!  She would serve three big meals a day, “svatchena” in the afternoon, wash the clothes, butcher chickens, ramrod the hog butchering two or three Saturdays in the winter, sew clothes for the kids to wear to school,  plant and maintain a huge garden, and make sure that the animals were tended to.  Gloria made her own homemade lye soap that she used to wash clothes.  She baked kolaches, cookies, cakes, dewberry pies, and cinnamon rolls.  She canned all the vegetables and fruits that the Lord provided, made her own jelly, and in her “spare time” she sewed and pieced together homemade quilts.  Gloria wanted all of her children and grandchildren to have a quilt that she had made, and she was able to complete the task.

Along with helping operate the store, running the family farm, and raising the children, Gloria was active in Church and enjoyed being a “room mother” for each of her four children during their years at Somerville Elementary.  She was always willing and able to help her family, friends, and neighbors in any way she could.  Gloria was a lifelong member of Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Frenstat and was baptized, confirmed, and married twice there.  She was also a member and officer of KJZT Society #28, Holy Rosary Altar Society, and the VFW Ladies Auxiliary of Caldwell.

After her husband Frank passed away in 1979 and the children had gone on their own, Gloria worked as a clerk and receptionist in the Doctor’s office in Caldwell for a short time.  She then built the Birch Beer Barn (which is now Kovasovic’s store) where the original Birch Store had been, and had recently been destroyed by a fire.  It was important to Gloria that the Birch community have a gathering place, so she built it mainly for that reason.  She was co-owner and operator for four years.  In 1984 Gloria married Alphonse Kubeczka and for the next 19 years, she lived five days a week in Brenham and two days a week at the “Birch house”.  After Alphonse passed away in 2003, Gloria moved back to Birch and spent most of her waking hours in the yard and flower beds.  She often said “there’s not much time for reading or sewing—there’s too much digging to be done”.  In 2017, with the onset of dementia, Gloria became a resident of Burleson St. Joseph Manor.

Gloria is preceded in death by her parents, both husbands, brothers and sisters-in-law Alfonse and Marie Marek Schoppe, R.J. and Alca Friedrich Schoppe, her sister Alice Wisniewski, brothers-in-law Marvin Massey and Bennie Wisniewski, daughter-in-law Betty Tydlacka, and stepson and stepdaughter-in-law Mark and Dana Kubeczka.

Gloria is survived by her son Adrian and wife Ofelia Tydlacka of Louisville, Kentucky, daughter Shirley and husband Bill Rush of Houston, son Glenn Tydlacka of Birch, son Frank Jr. and wife Missy Tydlacka of Belton, and her brother Julius and wife Linda Newell Schoppe of Texas City.   Gloria is also survived by eight grandchildren:  Suzanne and husband Tony Garcia of Boyds, Maryland, Wade and wife Kara Tydlacka and Ryan and wife Michelle Tydlacka, all of Louisville, Kentucky, Brittney and husband Dustin Knesek of Frenstat, Tami and husband Jason Gomez and Kristi and husband Phillip Jennings, all of Belton, Kevin and wife Brittany Tydlacka of Argyle, Texas, and Thomas Tydlacka of Clear Lake, Texas.  Also 16 great-grandchildren:  Andres Garcia, Hunter and Case Knesek, Jaiden, Felix, and Nico Gomez, Jett and Judah Jennings, and Adrian III, Reagan, Walker, Mila, Jackson, Chandler, Willow, and Thea Tydlacka. Gloria is also survived by numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews.

Gloria wished for the Honorary Pallbearers to be her God children, which are Clifford Massey, Patrick Massey, Joey Schoppe  (deceased), Tommy Schoppe, Joanie Sukup (deceased), and Paul Kubeczka.  Serving as Pallbearers are her grandsons and grandsons-in-law, Wade Tydlacka, Ryan Tydlacka, Kevin Tydlacka, Thomas Tydlacka, Tony Garcia, Dustin Knesek, Jason Gomez, and Philip Jennings.

Arrangements are entrusted to Strickland Funeral Home in Caldwell.  Memorials may be made to the Holy Rosary Altar Society, Holy Rosary Cemetery Fund, or Hospice Brazos Valley.