Obituary of John Kveton

John Edward Kveton was born on the family farm near Abernathy, Texas on November 15, 1930. He was the fifth of six children of Fred and Mary Kveton, who emigrated to Texas from Moravia (Czech Republic) in the early years of the twentieth century. He died peacefully surrounded by family and other loved ones on May 29, 2015. John graduated as valedictorian of the New Deal High School class of 1948. He and Mr. Faubion ran the school. He enlisted in the army in 1950 and was stationed in El Paso, Texas. He married the love of his life, Jean Kitten, on January 26, 1954. He spent one semester at Texas Tech studying physics but then decided to follow his father and older brothers and become a farmer. John and Jean were founding members of Saint Isidore Catholic Church in Abernathy, Texas. Farmer John was Superman. His family believed that he was the strongest, smartest, hardest-working, best farmer on the South Plains. He traveled the world with Mama Jean. And before that, he brought the world to his farm. He and Mama Jean raised a brood of overachievers, helped put 23 kids through college, fed countless people, made folks laugh every day, and accumulated an amazingly diverse tribe of an extended family over the decades. In 2008, John Kveton was named Father of the Year by the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. John was preceded by his beloved wife Jean Kveton; son John Edward Kveton Jr. and infant daughter Grace Kveton; sister Mary Ann Jackson and brother Henry Kveton; and extended family members Lan Ho Do and Josalin Reinitz. He is survived by brother George Kveton (Lucille), sisters Angelina Provine and Rose Krupala (George); sisters-in-law Audrey Kitten and Margaret Kitten; children Kit Linton (Ben), Ann Kveton (Scott Capps), Julia Apodaca (Dani), Sandra Kveton, Jane Dever (James); grandchildren April and Rachel Linton and Alyssa Austin; and by extended family members Barbara Jackson, Gery Henderson (Ben Aqua), Hue Handy (Brent) Hoa Ho (John), Ninh Ho, Thanh Ho (Carol), Hong Hoang (Ngoc), Mai Ho (Ron), and Long Ho—as well as all their kids and grandkids. John and Jean also hosted and mentored many students and young families, including Josephine Lock (Hong Kong), Carolina Montes (Mexico), Martin Hagen (Germany), Julie Rohan (dec., Australia), Catherine Therby (France), Teodros Filigesalam (dec., Ethiopia), Saif Khan (Pakistan), Kaesinee Chinanuvat (Thailand), Roz Lizan (Malaysia), Turker Unsalin (Turkey), David Cahill (New York), Dani Rizal (Indonesia), Sophie (dec.) and Waly Faye (Senegal), Alex Dvorak (Czech Republic), Baiyer (Mongolia) and Frank Liu (China), Jesse Yeh (dec., Taiwan) and Cheng-Chih Hsieh (Bolivia), Han Do (Vietnam) and Maggie Do (New Orleans). Many of them and their spouses and kids and grandkids, as well as others, remain a part of the clan to this day. John Kveton was a citizen of the world, and he left many friends all over the world. The family extends heartfelt thanks to all the caregivers as well as Accolade Hospice and the many people who visited and assisted him during his end days. Rosary will be recited at 7:30 p.m. June 5 in St. Isidore Catholic Church, Abernathy, Texas. Funeral Mass will be at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, June 6, in St. Isidore, followed by interment at Abernathy Cemetery. Services are under the direction of Abell Funeral Home & Flower Shop of Abernathy. Viewing will be held Friday from 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. with the family receiving friends from 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. Contributions in memory of John E. Kveton can be made to Catholic Charities, Diocese of Lubbock, http://www.cclubbock.org/.