Elizabeth Haskey Vacek

Elizabeth Ann Vacek, 86, of Muldoon, TX, passed away on Thursday, July 25, 2024, at 7:11 a.m. at Ascension Seton Medical Center in Austin, TX. Elizabeth (Betty) was born on June 29, 1938, in Brooklyn, New York to John and Genevieve Haskey.

Betty was the youngest of 7 children in an Irish Catholic family and grew up in an apartment above a storefront in Brooklyn. Her father passed when she was 10 years old, and her mother died when she had just turned 16. She then moved with her oldest brother, Ray, his wife Pearl and their children to England where he was stationed in the U.S. Air Force. After spending 2 years in England, they were transferred to Fairfield, CA where she graduated from Armijo Union High School. In July of 1957 at the age of 19, she moved with one of her good friends to Houston, TX and worked as a bookkeeper for Great Southern Life Insurance Company.

In 1960, Betty met the love of her life, Daniel Victor Vacek, at a church picnic in Cistern, TX. They married on November 17, 1962, in Cistern and then resided in Irving, TX where they raised their four sons – Daniel, Jr., David, Dale and Duane. Betty was a homemaker and when the boys were older, she was an Assistant Principal’s Secretary at MacArthur High School. They also spent a lot of weekends on their farm near Kovar, TX which was adjacent to the Vacek family farm Daniel grew up on. She was a devout Catholic and member of the Holy Family of Nazareth Parish. Amazingly, Betty lived in the same home in Irving for nearly 60 years.

Betty was an avid reader, loved telling stories, watching TV crime shows, traveling with her best friends from Irving, playing cards and chicken foot. She seldom missed watching a Texas Longhorns or Dallas Cowboys football game. She enjoyed the Vacek family reunions and making her infamous “Aunt Betty’s” banana pudding for all the gatherings. Most of all, she was a loving Nana to her grandchildren and was so proud of their accomplishments.

After overcoming an illness in the summer of 2022, she moved to Worthington Manor in Conroe, TX for a short time and then to her farmhouse near Kovar. In her last year of life, she was very happy to live at the farm and enjoyed visiting with many Vacek family members while watching the abundance of wildlife outside.

Betty is survived by her four sons: Dan Vacek, Jr. of Katy, TX, David (Michelle) Vacek of Muldoon, TX, Dale Vacek of Conroe, TX and Duane (Jayne) Vacek of Katy, TX; and 10 grandchildren: Austin, Bailee, Ashley, Blake, Danielle, Brandon, Hanna, Delaney, Allison and Emerson.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Daniel, her parents and siblings Raymond, John (Jackie), Frank (Chubby), Dorothy (Dotty), Genevieve and Audrey.

Visitation will be at Marrs-Jones Funeral Home from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm on Wednesday, July 31, 2024, followed by the recitation of the Holy Rosary. The funeral home is located at 110 American Legion Rd. in Smithville.

The funeral mass and burial will be at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, August 1, 2024. The church is located at 310 Stolle Lane in Kovar.

The family invites you to join them for food and fellowship at the Kovar SPJST Hall immediately following the services.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in loving memory of Elizabeth Vacek, please reference Sts. Peter and Paul Kovar.

 www.stpaulssmithville.org