Gary M. Piwonka - Hawley Cemetery, Blessing, TX - Homemade Tombstones on Waymarking.com

I've been in at least 300 cemeteries, waymarking various types of headstones. I have seen monuments that probably cost over $100,000 and I have seen markers that were no more than concrete poured on the ground with a name hand written in the uncured concrete.

It wasn't the wooden cross with Mr. Piwonka's name flanked by two solar lanterns or the names of the loved ones he left behind listed on the stone.

It was the date. December 27th. It was the anneversary of his death, just three years prior, the exact day I was taking the photographs that now become this waymark.

The wooden cross reads Gary M. Piwonka, horizontally, Vertically, using the letter "I" in his last name; it spells out RIP.

Below an etched stone reads:

In Loving Memory Of
Gary M. Piwonka

Husband to Paula; father to Mikey, Alyssa, Michele, Danielle, and Garrett, Grandfather to many.

You are missed. Never forgotten. "Vacation King"

July 15, 1952 - December 27, 2014


Obituary Notice from the Victoria Advocate:

AUSTIN - Gary Michael Piwonka Sr. passed away on December 27, 2014 in Austin, TX at the age of 62.

Gary is survived by his mother, Emma Jean Piwonka, of Blessing, TX; wife Paula Rene Piwonka; children, Gary Michael 'Mike' Piwonka II, Alyssa Cae Piwonka, Zana Michele Piwonka, Danielle Rene Piwonka, and Garrett Wayne Piwonka; nine siblings, and sixteen grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his father Clarence Michael 'Red' Piwonka.

Gary was born on July 16 1952, in El Campo, TX to Clarence Michael & Emma Jean Piwonka. He graduated from The Court Reporting Institute of Texas with a degree in stenotype court reporting. He married Paula Rene Ellis in 1980.

Gary was accomplished at planning and executing grand family vacations, and was also known for his remarkably good luck. He was a man with an impressive sense of humor, and was always the first to have a good laugh at his own expense.

A visitation is scheduled for Friday, January 2, 2014 at Beck Funeral Home & Crematory 15709 Ranch Road 620 N., Austin, TX 78717. There will be a burial and a reception; details will be announced via Facebook, but you can also contact the immediate family.

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Date of Birth: July 15, 1952 Date of Death: December 27, 2014 Material: Wood Web Site: Not listed

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