Evelyn Bessie Hanak

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Evelyn Bessie Bezdek Hanak, age 95, passed away on Friday, December 30, 2022 in Mansfield, TX.

A rosary will be recited and Mass of Christian Burial celebrated at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, January 7, 2023 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church of the Assumption, with Father John Boiko as celebrant. Burial will follow at St. Mary’s Cemetery in West. Visitation will be Friday from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Aderhold Funeral Home in West.

Evelyn was born on July 29, 1927 near West, TX to Joseph and Mary Bezdek. She attended the Alligator School, Treadwell School, and Abbott schools.

In 1944 when she was 16 years old, she met her future husband, Ben Hanak, at a dance at the Cottonwood Hall. They were married in June of 1945 at the old St. Mary’s Church in West. Over the years, they welcomed their children Shirley, Bennie, Ruby and Debbie.

Evelyn worked as a nanny in Waco in about 1944 and then as a seamstress at a Waco sewing factory. In the 1960’s, she ran a childcare business out of the family home in Arlington and then later worked for Kmart, and then at Arlington Daycare, and then her final job was at American Airlines which she retired from in 1997 at the age of 70. Evelyn was a longtime resident of Arlington and West, and later, Mansfield.

Evelyn was a devout Christian who enjoyed baking kolaches and buchta. She was proud of her Czech heritage and could speak Czech fluently. She was a hardworking farmgirl who grew up to travel the world. She is loved beyond words and will be missed beyond measure.

Evelyn was preceded in death by her first love, Benjamin Hanak; a premature infant son; her son, Benjamin Charles Hanak; her daughter, Ruby Douglass; her grandson, Johnnie Hanak;  her great-granddaughter, Everlee Crowell; her sons-in-law, Bob Wood, Ken Douglass, and Brad Nelson; her daughter-in-law, Teresa Hanak; her siblings Jerry, Joe and Daniel Bezdek; her sisters Mary Dudik, Josephine Makovy, and Irene James; and her dear friends, Rosie Salyards, Dr. Joe Chiarello, and August Sulak.

Evelyn is survived by her daughters, Shirley Wood and Deborah Lackey and husband Daniel; her grandchildren, Lisa Wood, Scott Nelson and wife Ioney, Lauren Keck and husband Dan, Meredith Keck, Diana Crowell and husband Jesse, Collin, Calista and Alec Lackey; her great-grandchildren, Aidan, Taylor & Oliver Keck; Tyson Al-Zoubaidy, Sage & Sadie Nelson; and Addison & Jackson Crowell; her sister, Dorothy Dyer; many nieces and nephews; family friends, Nancy Sonka, and Julie Jensen.

Active pallbearers are Collin Lackey, Alec Lackey, Jesse Crowell, Dan Keck, Aidan Keck, and Scott Nelson. Honorary pallbearers are Dan Lackey, Diana Crowell, Calista Lackey, Lauren Keck, Taylor Keck, Meredith Keck, Oliver Keck, Lisa Wood, Otto Hanak III, Richard Hykel, Michael Bezdek, Larry Bezdek, Larry Matus, and Marvin Matus.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the charity of your choice.