Emil Fridel

Emil J. "Sonny" Fridel, age 98, of West, passed away early Tuesday morning, July 21, 2020 at West Rest Haven in West. Graveside services will be held 1:00 p.m. Friday at St. Mary's Cemetery in West, with Rev. Ed Karasek officiating. LIVE STREAM of the service will be provided. Mr. Fridel will lie-in-state from Noon until 6:00 p.m. Thursday at Aderhold Funeral Home. Emil was born June 28, 1922 in Mart, the son of Joe and Ella (Mladenka) Fridel. He attended Axtell and LaVega schools before graduating from Reisel High School in 1939. He played football, baseball, ran track, and excelled in typing. Emil joined the United States Army in 1940 and was first stationed at Kelly Field in San Antonio. He attended officer's candidate school in Cheyenne, Wyoming and Baltimore, Maryland. He went on to Fort Bragg, North Carolina where he served with the 876th Ordnance Heavy Automotive Maintenance Company. During WWII, Emil served in the Persian Gulf Command in Iran for 2 years as a company shop officer repairing all vehicles in charge of the command for hauling supplies and other U. S. transportation uses. He served as a liaison officer between the British and Russian military forces, for which he later received a medal of recognition. He was then transferred to France. After the war, he served for several years in the Army Reserve, eventually retiring with the rank of Captain. He traveled the world on troop ships and told his family many stories about his time in the service. Emil returned to the states and on May 12, 1947 he was united in marriage to Pearl Deiterman in West. He would say he “met a pretty girl” at the Lone Star Dance Hall in West. They fell in love and she became his wife of 64 years. Pearl preceded him in death on September 21, 2011. Emil also worked as a Supervisor at General Tire & Rubber Company in Waco for a short time. He then worked for the United States Postal Service in West for 31 years. He enjoyed helping people as a postal clerk at the West Post Office and retired as Supervisor of Postal Operations in 1978. Emil was a Little League coach for the VFW baseball team. He liked to attend West Trojan football games where he worked in the press box and called in the scores to the Waco newspaper. Emil also worked at the City Elections. After retirement from the Post Office, he worked at the Knights of Columbus Club and for Aderhold Funeral Home in West. He and his wife attended Doll conventions and Art Shows and he delighted in showing off his wife’s art work. Emil enjoyed playing dominoes, reading, and visiting with his friends at the local bakeries and other businesses in West. Emil was a member of the St Mary’s Catholic Church of the Assumption in West. He was a member of the VFW Post #4819, Knights of Columbus Council #2305, American Legion Post #478, and SPJST Lodge #35 in Elk. Emil loved to visit with his Lodge friends and attended SPJST meetings at Cottonwood Lodge #6 and SPJST Lodge #54 in West. Emil is also preceded in death by his parents and a sister and her spouse, Mildred Fridel Scruggs and Donald Scruggs. Survivors include his daughter, Mary Ann Kubacak and husband Virgil of Round Rock; a grandson, Aaron Kubacak; a nephew, Ed Havel and wife Linda; nieces, Carol Havel Hernandez and husband Reuban, Lori Scruggs Zeiders and husband Rob, Donna Scruggs Cox and husband Gene Cohen, and Stacy Scruggs; and many other relatives and friends. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Mary's School Endownment Fund, West VFW Post #4819 or West Ministerial Alliance.