Obituaries from the Monday, April 18, 2016 edition.
Loye Alvarado
1955-2016
Loye Carrillo Alvarado, 61, of Snyder, died Monday, April 18, 2016 in Snyder
Funeral arrangements are pending at Bell-Cypert-Seale Funeral Home.
Wendell Barrett
1933-2016
Wendell Barrett, 82, of Hermleigh, died Sunday, April 17, 2016 in Abilene.
Funeral arrangements are pending at Bell-Cypert-Seale Funeral Home.
Irene Lacik
1922-2016
Grace Margaret Irene Fleming Lacik passed away on the afternoon of April 15, 2016 in the Snyder home she lived in for the past 40 years. She ended her 93 years on this earth surrounded by her family and friends.
Irene’s journey started on approximately Nov. 5, 1922 when she was born on a 10,000-acre cattle ranch in the Cypress Hills outside of Maple Creek, Saskatchewan. The approximation of the date is based on the fact of it being winter and the ranch being 17 kilometers, or 10.5 miles, from the town of Maple Creek. Her family didn’t go to town often and by the time her father, Irvine, got to town, he couldn’t quite remember the actual birthdate or what they had finally decided for their first born daughter’s name. As a result, Irvine chose Nov. 5 and named her Grace Margaret Irene Fleming to be sure he had covered all the names they discussed.
Irene had two sisters, Donna, who passed away at the age of six when Irene was 15 years old, and Shirley Merle, who was born three years before Donna’s passing. Without any brothers, Irene was expected to help with the chores and became quite the cowhand as she helped her father working with the livestock on the large ranch. This time led to Irene’s great love of horses as she participated in equestrian events and used them as her primary mode of transportation to make the three-mile journey to the local farm school in the Cypress Hills.
When Irene started approaching her teens, the farm school had closed, so she had to go into the town of Maple Creek to attend middle school. Because of the 17-kilometer (10.5-mile) distance between the ranch and Maple Creek, Irene lived with friends during the school week and came home on the weekends to work on the ranch with her father. This schedule remained for Irene until 1939, when at the age of 16 she completed her studies at the Jasper Creek School in Maple Creek. Soon after, Irene packed up and went to college in the city of Calgary, attending the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, where she studied fashion design and graduated in 1943.
Irene spent a few years in the fashion industry and in July 1949 she visited a good friend in Casper Wyo., who set her up on blind date that would change her life forever. That blind date was with a young petroleum engineer from Lubbock named Harold Lacik.
Harold was late for this first date because he was playing golf and only made it because his mother told him to get going because this could be the one. Harold’s mother was right and after only one date, Harold proposed to Irene in July 1949. Harold and Irene met for just a couple of days in July, got engaged and didn’t see each other again until the day before their Oct. 29 nuptials in Medicine Hat, Alberta. After the wedding, she went with Harold to the many oilfields of the U.S. until they settled in Abilene with their one-year-old son, John Irvine, in 1952. In 1955, the family moved to Snyder with John and added Barbara Ann soon after they arrived.
Irene never met a stranger and made friends quickly in Snyder and all over. She found a job being a substitute rural mail carrier to fill her time when she wasn’t taking care of John and Barbara. In order to be a mail carrier and work for the government, Irene had to become a U.S. citizen. In 1962 in Lubbock, Grace Margaret Irene Fleming Lacik denounced her Canadian citizenship and became a U.S. citizen who served as a rural U.S. mail carrier for the next 25 years. This job fit Irene perfectly as she was described as curious bordering on nosey, but was appreciated by her mail recipients since she could always alert them of any important pieces that might need their attention.
Harold was a successful man and Irene was his support system until the end. She was the caregiver for Harold until his death in November 2013 after 64 years of marriage. Like most great love stories, Irene was never quite the same after Harold’s passing and she had long outlived her many great friends. Nevertheless, she spent the next couple of years being as sharp, nosey and curious as ever with her continued dedication to the farm and its many cats. She looked forward to getting outside and feeding them every day. In the last few weeks of her life, Irene got to see Barbara, John, all of her grandkids and great-grandkids. She seemed to say her goodbyes and found comfort in her family’s legacy before starting her journey to be with Harold.
Irene was preceded in death by her husband, Harold Lacik; her father; Irving Fleming; her mother, Tootsie Fleming; her sister; Donna Fleming; and her grandson, Kevin Lacik.
She is survived by her sister, Shirley Merle of Maple Creek, Saskatchewan; one daughter and son-in-law, Barbara and Gordon Gray of Snyder; one son, John Lacik of Fort Worth; one daughter-in-law, Cindy Lacik of Snyder; two granddaughters, Kelli Griffin and her husband, Jim, along with her great-grandsons, Graham and Gage, all of Plano, and Kaylee Lacik along with her great-grandson, Ryker, both of Abilene; and two grandsons, Stafford Gray and his wife, Megan, along with her great-granddaughter, Caroline, all of Little Rock, Ark. and Alan Gray and his wife, Jerica, and a soon to arrive great-granddaughter, all of Snyder.
Graveside service for Mrs. Lacik was held at 2 p.m. Sunday at Hillside Memorial Gardens with the Rev. Dana Mayfield officiating. The service was under the direction of Bell-Cypert-Seale Funeral Home.
The family wishes to thank Emerald Villanueva, Lulu Martinez, Renee Logston and Kindred at Home Hospice for their compassionate care.
Memorial donations may be made to the Kevin Lacik Memorial Scholarship Fund, c/o Western Texas College, 6200 South College Ave. Snyder, TX 79549.
Online condolences may be posted at www.bellcypertseale.com.
Vajyaben Patel
1937-2016
Vajyaben Patel, 78, of Snyder, died Sunday, April 17, 2016 in Snyder.
Funeral service for Mrs. Patel will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Bell-Cypert-Seale Funeral Home.
A prayer service will be held from 6-7 p.m. Monday at the funeral home.
Online condolences may be posted at www.bellcypertseale.com.
Billie Robinson
1931-2016
Billie Jean (Sterling) Robinson, 84, died Sunday, April 17, 2016 in Denton.
Funeral arrangements are pending at Bell-Cypert-Seale Funeral Home.