Llano County Journal - George Sladczyk, Jr. March 28, 1930

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George Sladczyk, Jr. March 28, 1930 - Dec. 20, 2012

December 14, 2012, 9:09 am by Staff Reports

George Sladczyk, Jr., 82, passed away with his daughters by his side on Thursday, Dec. 20 in Horseshoe Bay. Sladczyk was born in Port Arthur, Texas on March 28, 1930 the first child to Mary Cleo Claycomb and Dr. George Sladczyk, Sr. He graduated in 1947 from Thomas Jefferson High School, where he proudly served as Captain of the Yellowjacket Varsity Basketball team, during his senior year. He was elected All-District, All-State, Most Valuable Player in the District and accepted a basketball scholarship to The University of Texas at Austin. He enjoyed his initial years at The University and his affiliation with the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity there. In 1951, Sladczyk joined the Air Force and was commissioned as a First Lieutenant.
Upon completion of his active duty service to our country, he returned to The University to complete his undergraduate studies and attend law school. While attending The University of Texas School of Law, George served on the Texas Law Review and played on the famed "Legal Eagles” intramural football team, coached by the late Professor Charles Alan Wright. He received his undergraduate BBA in 1955 and his Juris Doctorate degree with honors in 1956.
After accepting a job with the esteemed law firm of Orgain, Bell & Tucker LLP in Beaumont that same year, Sladczyk returned to Southeast Texas and began his lengthy legal career. In 1959, he opened and maintained his own practice in Mid-county for many years and was sworn in to be heard and practice before The Supreme Court of the United States of America in 1968. In 1985, he joined the Beaumont office of Moore, Landry, Garth and Jones, L.L.P. and later retired from there in 1993, after 37 years of private practice. Sladczyk was a member of the State Bar of Texas and in 2006, proudly accepted an award from them for the completion of 50 years of licensed practice and dedication to the bar.
Upon retirement, he made his home in the beautiful Texas Hill Country, on Lake LBJ at Horseshoe Bay, amidst many golf courses he regularly frequented with good friends. Despite his official "retirement” status, Sladczyk continued to do mediation and arbitration work, served as a mock trial and moot court judge for The Board of Advocates at The University of Texas School of Law, (an organization which his daughter, Amy, was active in while she attended law school there, as well), maintained his law and real estate licenses and continued to diligently serve as the sole financial trustee of some estate trusts, until the day he passed.
Not only was Sladczyk an avid and skilled golfer for over 50 years, he also enjoyed Texas Longhorn (and other) sporting events, water sports, traveling with friends, flying and was a voracious reader who loved to socialize and tell stories to anyone/everyone who would listen on a multitude of topics ranging from the latest good book he had read, to some of his past legal "war stories.”
Sladczyk was an incredibly charming and affable gentleman who was active in religious, social and civic organizations throughout his entire life. In his later years, he thoroughly enjoyed his affiliation with Trinity Episcopal Church, the volunteer initiatives he was involved in on its behalf, the studies he undertook there and "the loveliest people who befriended him and became his true friends” from that parish.
He was preceded in death by his parents and his first wife, Eleanor McIlwain Stevens, of Beaumont.
He leaves behind to cherish his memory his beloved family: daughter Amy Sladczyk Hancock and son-in-law Joshua Kelly Hancock of Houston, Texas; daughter Kay Sladczyk of Horseshoe Bay, Texas, sister Mary Ellen Sladczyk Sadler of Sugar Land; niece Karen Sadler Cooksey of Houston, and her children, his grand nieces and nephews.
Memorial Services for Sladczyk will be held on Saturday, Jan. 5, 2013 at 11 a.m. in the sanctuary of Trinity Episcopal Church, 909 Ave. D in Marble Falls with the Reverend David Sugeno, Rector, officiating. Immediately following the ceremony there will be a gathering of friends and family at the church hosted by The Daughters of the King and his interment will be at Trinity’s Memorial Garden.
The family wishes to express gratitude to their father’s dear friend, Judy Speers of Meadowlakes and the other wonderful parishioners and close friends from Trinity Episcopal Church, who along with George’s extended Horseshoe Bay community of neighbors and friends, provided great support, companionship and care as his health declined over the last several years.
In lieu of customary remembrances for those so desiring, contributions in memory of Sladczyk may be directed to Trinity Episcopal Church PO Box 580, Marble Falls, TX 78654 or The University of Texas at Austin/The University Development Office, Attn: Catherine Ott Griffith, Special Gifts Officer, P.O. Box 7458 Austin, TX 78713 Campus Mail: DEV A3000.