IN MEMORIAM
EXPANDED EULOGIES
Joseph Sklenar
Joseph J Sklenar was born Oct. 4, 1935, to Joseph and Della Sklenar of Pilsen, Kansas.
Joe grew up in the Pilsen and the St. John Nepomucene Church Community and graduated from Marion High School in 1954.
After graduation, Joe enlisted in the United States Air Force where he proudly served as an airplane mechanic. He was stationed in Fairbanks, Alaska, then Abilene, Texas, where he met and married Edith Rozelle Hatton of Ranger, Texas, in 1960.
Their daughter, Janice, was born at Dyess Air Force Base in 1961, and their son, Joseph Matthew, was born in 1962 while they were stationed in Austin, Texas, at Bergstrom AFB.
After an honorable discharge from the Air Force, Joe and Rozelle moved their family to Arlington, Texas, where Joe was employed by General Motors.
In 1967, Joe accepted a job with American Airlines in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he was employed for 29 years as a jet engine mechanic before retiring in 1996.
Joe and Rozelle lived and raised their family in Owasso, Oklahoma, and the parish of St Henry’s until 2000. In 2000, Joe built Rozelle her dream home at the Marion County Lake.
Joe continued living in Marion, Kansas, after Rozelle passed away in 2004.
In 2014, Joe moved to Tulsa to be near family.
After a long illness, Joe passed away peacefully on Dec. 11, 2018, at The Gardens of Sapulpa under the care of Rose Rock Hospice.
Joe is survived by his brother, Lloyd Sklenar of Pilsen; daughter Janice Wiles Thomas of Cincinnati, Ohio; and son Joseph Matthew and his wife Regina of Bixby, Oklahoma.
He is also survived by four grandchildren: Jessica Fischbach and husband AJ, and Jacob Wiles and his wife Lexi, both of Cincinnati, Ohio; Jill Sklenar and Sara Roach of Tulsa; great-grandson Landen Beartusk; and by Joe’s faithful companion, his cat, Dutch.
Joe is preceded in death by his wife, Rozelle; brother, Donald Sklenar; and grandsons, Jordan Thomas Wiles and Adam Blake Sklenar.
Joe loved to travel, hunt, fish, eat BBQ, listen to polka music, and work with his hands, but most of all loved celebrating with family and friends.
We would like to thank his caregivers, family, and friends who loved and supported him through these last difficult months.
Joe was very proud of growing up on a farm in Pilsen and loved the beautiful St. John Nepomucene Church. He often shared with his children stories of Fr. Emil Kapaun, so we ask that in lieu of flowers, donations be sent to the Fr. Kapaun Legacy Fund, c/o Zeiner Funeral Home, 205 Elm Street Marion, KS 66861.
Joe will rest in peace next to Rozelle at the Pilsen Cemetery following a Rosary 10 a.m., and Mass of Christian burial at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 21, 2018, at St. John Nepomucene Catholic Church, intersection of Remington Rd. and 275 St., Pilsen, KS 66861.