Roll Call Tribute

Leonard Rudolph Stanislav
FEBRUARY 11, 1929 – MAY 13, 2021

Leonard R. Stanislav quietly passed away early Thursday morning, May 13, 2021 at his residence in Parker, Texas after a short battle with cancer. He was 92 years young.

Leonard was born on February 11, 1929 in West, Texas to Rudolph Stanislav and Agnes Cernosek Stanislav. He attended school in West until going off to college at Southwest Texas State for one year before graduating from Texas A & M University with a degree in agronomy in 1950. He followed this with a masters in microbiology from the University of Texas. Despite this, Leonard was a lifelong Aggie. Education was always important to Leonard and in his belief for continued education, he attended classes at Midwestern State and pursued a doctorate at SMU.

He joined the United States Air Force in 1950 and achieved the rank of Tech Sergeant during the Korean War.

His work career took him from Texas to Panama to Minnesota to Nashville as a food technologist. During the span of his career, he was employed by the State of Texas, Green Giant where he was a pioneer in frozen food research, Anderson Clayton, and Mike Rose Foods. One of his most memorable personal achievement was his creation of the Green Goddess Salad Dressing for the Seven Seas Salad Dressing Company. He was involved in his community and was once a Parker City Council Member.

In 1954, he met his first love, Anita Nitschke on a blind date set up by his brother, Rudy. They were married December 31, 1954 in Waco, Texas by Father Deering. He is survived by his sons Terry ‘78 and wife Debra, Mark ‘80 and wife Annette, Paul, Chad and wife Lucinda, and daughter Monica Orr and husband David, eight grandchildren including Derec ’11 and Mikalea ‘15/’19, and four great grandchildren, his brother Norbert Stanislav and wife Barbara and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his twin sisters Mary Jane Stanislav Lawley and Joannie Stanislav Rapkock, and brother, Rudy Stanislav ‘53. Upon Anita’s passing after 53 years of marriage, he later reconnected with Betty Gerik, from Aquilla,Texas. They were married on June 7, 2008 in Waco,Texas in a ceremony also officiated by Father Deering.

Leonard enjoyed working on his five acres, planting trees and flowers and feeding the coyotes down at the creek. He had a green thumb the size of Texas. When asked where he wanted to go on vacation, he said, “Why would I want to go anywhere else, this is my vacation.”

He and his family were part of the initial parishioners during the founding of St. Mark’s Catholic Church in Plano, Texas and was in the Knights of Columbus. Visitation will be held at 5 to 7 p.m. on Monday, May 16 at Ted Dickey Funeral Home in Plano, Texas. A Funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m. on Monday, May 17 at St. Mark’s Catholic Church in Plano, Texas. Burial will follow at St. Mary’s Cemetery near West. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations to be made to the Knights of Columbus Charities 1 Columbus Plaza New Haven, CT 06510 or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital 501 St. Jude Place Memphis, TN 38105.