Tributes

Mom & dad’s love story picks up where it left off in May of 2014. This 5 years apart has been the hardest time for Shirley and Edward. Mom has missed daddy terribly, and we know daddy hasn't danced once in heaven, until Friday, August 02, 2019 when mom joined him. Her granddaughter - Megan - asked her about daddy: “When did you realize you were in love with grandpa?” Mom’s answer was “Oh, I always knew I loved him - from the moment I saw him, I always had a crush on him”. Shirley was born on January 27, 1936 in Panna Maria, TX; the 6th of 10 children of Clem and Teresa (Lyssy) Pollok. Shirley married Edward Albert Moczygemba on September 21, 1954 in Panna Maria, TX, then moved to San Antonio, TX where she spent the next 65 years living large. Shirley’s first job was at H-E-B (now a Central Market) on Broadway, she was the chief architect of the homestead her and daddy built in 1968, raised 7 children and an uncounted number of dogs and cats, served as a Eucharistic Minister, a Lector, and a member of the Altar Society for St. Benedict’s Catholic Church, provided nursing home and in-home communion for over 20 years, ran the “plant booth” at the annual church picnic and transformed it from a one-person operation to folks scheduling their garden planting around the picnic, was a pastry chef for SAISD for over 20 years, provided in-home day care services, and ran an unofficial animal rescue center in the back yard for whatever dog or cat found their way there, or were brought home by her children. And then there were holidays - Christmas in particular. On the holidays, Mom would unleash herself in the kitchen and fill the table with food leaving barely enough room for plates and silverware. On Christmas, she transformed the house into a winter wonderland - and made the anticipation of Santa Claus arriving positively nerve wracking for her kids. We will always remember Christmas Eve. She would prepare a feast, then have Daddy drive us around for a few hours while she “cleaned up the kitchen.” Then, when we got back - lo and behold - Santa Claus had come. How, and where she managed to hide that many gifts perplexes us to this day. Shirley was preceded in death by her husband Edward, her daughter Peggy Scheffler, and her granddaughter Jennifer Moczygemba. She is survived by her children: Debbie Moczygemba and her husband Richard Gonzales, Sharon Dillard and her husband Bob, Eddie Moczygemba and his husband W. Michael McGrail Jr., Christopher Moczygemba and his wife Marsha, Mary Kline and her husband Richard, and Matthew Moczygemba and his wife Angela; her 14 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren; her brother Fabian, and her four sisters Emily Gorzell, Florence Lyssy, Ruth Kirkland, and Terry Little. Visitation will be held on Wednesday, August 7, 2019 from 5 PM to 7 PM at St. Benedict’s Catholic Church, San Antonio, TX followed by the recitation of the rosary. A Funeral mass will be held on Thursday, August 8, 2019 at 10:00 AM at Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church, Panna Maria, TX, with interment immediately following at the Panna Maria Cemetery. In honor of Mom’s greatest joy, her children invite you to join us at the Panna Maria Hall for a Mom-sized lunch. A full-service, catered buffet will be provided by the RK Group of San Antonio, TX from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm. Even if you just want to come have lunch and enjoy sharing stories of our mother, you would be most welcome. You won’t want to miss this.

Tributes

Shirley Ann Moczygemba

January 27, 1936 - August 2, 2019