Wrobleski

Maxine Martha Wrobleski was born Oct. 13, 1928, the middle child of Rudolph and Clara Minarcik on a farm in Fayetteville. She went to be with our Lord on Dec. 19, 2018 in Pasadena. Maxine passed peacefully surrounded by her loving husband of 69 years, a son and her daughter. While on the farm, Maxine and the family were up at the crack of dawn and worked until sunset milking cows, feeding chickens, harvesting corn, picking cotton and all of the other farm duties. Maxine used to talk about leaving the fields and walking home to prepare lunch for the family. During the school year, chores were performed before school started, and then she walked four miles to school. As a teenager, Maxine enjoyed playing softball on a local team that competed with teams from other towns in the area. After graduating from high school at 16, Maxine worked as a secretary at SPJST Lodge #1 in Fayetteville. In 1947 her brother brought a coworker from Sheffield Steel, Alex Wrobleski, to the family farm. Maxine loved to dance and taught Alex how to dance. Their love blossomed, and they were married at St. Marys Catholic Church on Hostyn Hill in Fayetteville on Nov. 6, 1949. Alex and Maxine rented a house in Greens Bayou near the Sheffield Steel plant (later to become Armco Steel) where Alex worked. They purchased a house in Galena Park in 1950 where they have remained and raised their four children. When the children were young, Maxine was primarily a homemaker but still volunteered in the kitchen at the Catholic school, spent hours selling church bazaar tickets and working at the church bazaars and was a den mother in Cub Scouts. She instilled the importance of hard work in her children and the value of an education. She spent many hours helping her children with homework, school projects and teaching common sense. Maxine made sure her children did not miss Mass or holy days of obligation. Maxine was a talented seamstress and, among other things, made all of her daughter’s clothes and a lot of her sons’ shirts and sports jackets. Family was very important to Maxine. When her parents and in-laws were elderly and in frail health, she was there to provide care to make their lives better. There were many weekend get-togethers with siblings, cousins and friends. She was known for her delicious dewberry pies, coconut cream pies, angel food cakes and German chocolate cakes. Maxine never passed up an opportunity to play dominoes and cards with family and friends. And Maxine and Alex never lost their love of dancing, especially to polka music. Alex and Maxine had three children when Armco Steel workers went on strike in the early 1960s, and Alex became a stay-at-home dad. Maxine, always willing to work in hard times, went to work as a car hop at Prince’s Hamburgers. When the kids got older, Maxine, who was a great sales person, went to work at Weiners Department Store for ten years. After Weiners, she went to work as a secretary in the Galena Park Independent School District for fifteen years, and retired when she was seventy. In her retirement, Maxine’s greatest joys were being with Alex and watching their family grow. She loved attending family functions where she could visit with the children, grandchildren and great grandchildren (and play dominoes and cards). Maxine was preceded in death by her parents, Rudolph and Clara Minarcik, and in-laws Alex and Mary Wrobleski. She was also preceded in death by her brother, Rudy Minarcik, and sister, Pearl Isley. Maxine is survived by her loving husband, Alex, her children, Mark, Nina Mullin (husband Mike), Jeff (wife Sarah) and Chris (wife Dayna), nine grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren. Also survived by brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews. The family would like to thank the CNAs and nurses at Paramount Senior Care Center and Bobbye at Amed Hospice who have cared for Mom over the last three and one-half years. A funeral mass was held at St. Pius V Catholic Church on Friday, Dec. 28 at 11:30 a.m. followed by a reception. Graveside services were held at the Forest Park East Cemetery located at 21620 Gulf Freeway in Webster at 3:15 p.m. In lieu of flowers, please make donations in memory of Maxine Wrobleski to either St Pius Catholic School at 824 Main Street, Pasadena, TX 77506 or to Cure Alzheimer’s Fund, 34 Washington Street, Suite 310, Wellesley, MA 02481. Mom, your family loves you very much and the world is a better place because you were here!