Paul Charles Vancura

PAUL CHARLES VANCURA, age 91, of Little Rock, Ark., entered paradise on June 30, surrounded by his family. Born in Pittsburg, Pa., on Dec. 5, 1918, he grew up in Prague, Czechoslovakia, the son of Vaclav and Martha Vancura. He left Prague at the time of the Nazi occupation and came to the United States to enroll in Lambeth College in Jackson, Tenn. There he met Mary Evelyn Elder, and they eloped and were married May 17, 1941 in Corinth, Miss. The young couple moved to Chicago where Paul learned his trade as a sheet metal worker building airplanes for the war effort. He subsequently volunteered and served in the Army Air Force in Texas until the end of the war. After the war, the family moved to Little Rock where he worked as a metal smith and built his own business, the Vancura Company. Paul was never still; he raised four children, built his own lake house on Lake Hamilton, fixed anything he could lay hands on, sang, traveled extensively and returned regularly to Prague, played competitive table tennis, and swam every morning for exercise. He was a long-time member of the choir and Newton Bible Class at Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church. He was preceded in death by his wife of 58 years, Mary Evelyn; his siblings George, John, and Olga; and his dear friend, Donna Rae Schmelzer. He leaves behind four children: Mary Vancura; Donna Trieschmann; John Vancura; and Jan Henry, all of Little Rock. He was an amazing "Grandpoppy" to 10 grandchildren: Martha Lauster; Jan Green Harrison; Martha Trieschmann McGraw; Catherine Trieschmann Miller; Jimmy Trieschmann; David Vancura; Jenny Vancura Dillard; Robert Henry; Greg Henry; and Andrew Henry. Thirteen great-grandchildren will grow up with memories and stories of their colorful, incredible, utterly unique, Czech great-grandfather. A short prayer service will be held at the columbary at Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church for Paul's friends and family on Monday, 16 Aug. 2010, at 5 p.m.