Obituary of Antone F. "Tony" Reznicek, Marion County, KSGenWeb Digital Library

MARION COUNTY RECORD, 26 April 2000

Obituary of ANTONE F. "TONY" REZNICEK

Antone "Tony" F. Reznicek, 90, Los Altos, Calif., died April 8, 2000, at El Camino Hospital in Mountain Home, Calif.

The son of Thomas and Antonia (Pallas) Reznicek, he was born Oct. 10, 1909, at Bolivar, Mo. The family moved to Marshall County, Kansas, where he attended Antioch rural school and Irving High School.

After moving to a farm west of Lost Springs he graduated from Lost Springs High School in the class of 1924. He attended St. Procopious College, Lyle, Ill., and graduated from the University of Kansas with degrees in chemical and civil engineering.

It was in the midst of the depression, and he had difficulty finding employment.
He eventually went to work for Cook Paint and Varnish Co., Kansas City, Mo.
Later, he worked for the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, then for Gates Rubber Co., was chief chemist for Firestone in Long Beach, Calif., and was then with Voight.

During World War II he helped develop synthetic rubber to replace natural rubber, when supplies were cut off. After the war he went to Washington, D.C., to direct a government program to return rubber plants to civilian use.

In the 1950s he became a consultant, changing his focus to plastics. He worked with many projects, including developing the space vehicle components with Lockheed at Palo Alton, Calif.

He was married to Dorothea Stevenson of Boulder, Colo., a graduate of the University of Colorado, in 1940. He retired at the age of 75.

Survivors include his wife, Dorothea; son, Larry, of Wanatchee, Wash.; two grandchildren; brothers Cyril of Marion, John of Lost Springs, and Paul of Littleton, Colo.; sisters, Anne Steiner of Marion and Rose Gleason of Wichita.

He was preceded in death by his parents; brothers Frank, Tom, and Joe; sisters, Christine Svoboda, Mary Meysing, and Emily Morden.

He will be remembered May 28 at Mass at Holy Family Catholic Church, Pilsen.

Transcribed and Contributed by Janice Reading