Rudy Thomas Stefancik, age 89, of Greenville, TX passed away Tuesday, March 10 in his home, surrounded by loved ones. He was born November 27, 1930, in Linton, IN, the fifth child (of eleven) of John and Anna Stefancik.
Rudy grew up on a working farm in Southwest Indiana where, as he often said, “If we didn’t grow it, we didn’t eat it.” He learned the value of hard work at an early age and developed a strong sense of family and community. His Catholic faith was an integral part of his upbringing and shaped his years of dedicated community service.
After graduating from Linton-Stockton High School in 1948, he moved to Corpus Christi, TX to be with two of his sisters. He joined the U.S. Navy in 1952, where he was stationed in the Pacific and was standing onboard a naval ship, observing, as the first H-bomb was detonated on Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands. He served as a radio technician until his honorable discharge in 1954.
On November 27, 1954, Rudy married Daphyne Starr at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Breckenridge, TX.
He obtained his B.S. in Electrical Engineering with Magna Cum Laude honors from the University of Houston in Houston, TX where his first two sons were born. He worked as an engineer at Sylvania Electronics while earning his M.S. in Applied Math from San Jose State University, San Jose, CA. where his third son was born.
He installed Atlas missiles in Abilene, TX and tested missiles at White Sands Proving Grounds near El Paso, TX before moving to Greenville to be a Systems Engineer at LTV Electrosystems in Greenville, TX, where his daughter was born. Rudy worked on several classified programs involving reconnaissance aircraft, including black P3C planes, Navy Lockheed Constellation recon aircraft, and the recon ship U.S.S. Pueblo, which was captured by North Korea, causing an international incident.
In 1973, he moved his family briefly to Huntsville, AL where he worked at Kentron, Inc. to install and support radars which detected and tracked test Minuteman missiles launched from California. In 1974, the family moved to Deer Park, TX where he helped develop the rendezvous system for the space shuttle program at NASA.
He returned to Greenville, TX in 1977 to work at E-Systems (formerly LTV Electrosystems, currently L3Harris) until his retirement in 1993. The programs he worked on were classified and mostly involved in reconnaissance aircraft for Israel, Germany, and Korea. From 1977-80 he worked on the Sinai Field Mission project and was able to travel to Jerusalem and the Great Pyramids.
Rudy managed boys’ YMCA baseball teams and refereed YMCA football games. He brought from El Paso to the Greenville YMCA the Indian Guides and the Indian Princesses with the Motto “Pals forever with our Dad.” He embraced the Boy Scouts and used part of his vacation to make sure that the St. William’s BSA 369 troop could go to Summer Camp. Later, he taught 7th grade religious education classes at St. William’s Catholic Church in Greenville.
Rudy was an active member of the Knights of Columbus Council 7438 in Greenville, TX and was involved in every aspect of building and managing the current K of C hall there. He could often be found grilling Friday night dinners or managing the kitchen during Oktoberfest.
He loved the outdoors, taking his family to national parks on annual camping and fishing trips. Rudy spent many early mornings and late evenings fishing on Lake Tawakoni with his children and grandchildren. He was a devoted and adoring grandpa, often getting on the floor to be the “bucking bronco” well into his 70’s. He loved most of all to be with his family.
Rudy is survived by his wife Daphyne; sons Rudy Wallis Stefancik (wife Sue), Robert Michael Stefancik (wife Mary Ann), Gary Kevin Stefancik (wife Brenda); daughter Sherilyn Jan Fox (husband Corey); seven grandchildren (John Robert Stefancik, Sara Stefancik, Hannah Stefancik, Rachel Stefancik, Peter Stefancik, Abigail Stefancik, Nadia Fox); two brothers Steve Stefancik (Slidell, LA), Frank Stefancik (Linton, IN); two sisters Dorothy Duncan (Mid West City, OK), Veronica Weaver (Mooresburg, TN), and 27 nieces and nephews.
His parents, (John and Anna Stefancik), three brothers (John Stefancik, Alfred Stefancik, Tom Stefancik), three sisters (Mary Hasara, Juliana Stefancik, Theresa Rose Frabutt), niece (Theresa Ann Hasara), and his sister-in-law and brother-in-law (Bobbie and Warren Beene) preceded him in death.
A rosary will be held at Coker-Mathews Funeral Home at 6pm, Tuesday, March 17 followed by visitation from 6:30-8pm. A funeral mass will be held at 12 pm, Wednesday, March 18 at St. William’s Catholic Church, 4300 Stuart St., Greenville, TX followed by burial at Memoryland Memorial Cemetery and a reception at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 2705 Sunset Strip, Greenville, TX 75402. Memorial donations may be made to Knights of Columbus Council 7438 Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 9198, Greenville, TX 75404.
