JAMES EDWARD "BUBBA" KOLAR

Aug. 27, 1930 - Dec. 11, 2010
"How lucky we are… to have had something so special that now makes saying goodbye so hard."

   MOULTON - James Edward "Bubba" Kolar of Moulton died Saturday, Dec. 11, 2010, with complications from prostrate cancer, surrounded by daughter Missy and sons Mark and Mike, and comforted by the love of many friends and extended family.
   Funeral services will be held at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Moulton on Wednesday, Dec. 15, with the rosary at 2 p.m. and Mass at 2:30 p.m. A visitation will be held at Thiele-Cooper Funeral Home in Yoakum on Tuesday night, Dec. 14, from 4-7 p.m.
   On Aug. 28, 2010, Bubba celebrated his 80th birthday at a party given by his children. At the event, his grandchildren fondly recalled a few of the reasons why loving Popo had come so easy and will last forever:
    - perhaps no one has fixed more things with black electrical tape.
    - on a cold winter's day, he was known to make coffee, read the paper, fry bacon and listen to an Aggie football game, all in his deer stand.
    - he believed that there was little in life more satisfying than hard work.
    - and fortunately for us all, he passed on the gene that allows tears to flow easily - tears that let us know what is truly important in life.
   His life was a part of the American dream for so many who call Central Texas home. His namesake grandparents met on a small ship bound for Galveston in the later part of the 1800's. Once processed through immigration and allowed on United States soil, they married on Galveston Island before boarding one of the trains that brought German and Czech immigrants to Schulenburg. There, they took their few possessions and walked to an unsettled hill near Praha to build a home and a new life.
   Bubba's parents were E. E. Kolar and Lillie Krueger, and he had an older brother Kenward. In 1948, he graduated from Moulton High School, then Texas A&M University in 1952. Serving in the U.S. Air Force, he married Margaret Anita Schmidt of Yoakum. When Bubba's father died a short time later, he began managing Moulton Oil Mill for what would be more than 50 years.
   Over that time, he won as a write-in candidate for mayor of Moulton. He worked for various civic groups, and his loves included hunting, fishing, golf and Texas A&M. He loved to play with two of Moulton's Catholic priests, Father Michael O'Shaughnessy (now of Victoria) and the departed Father Robert Schmidt. And for many years of golf and in life, his close friendship with Dr. David Watson was one of the strongest. When the honorable Yoakum physician was named "2009 Rural Doctor of the Year" for the United States, Bubba could not have been more proud.
   Pride for Bubba could be seen in the tears that flowed so easily whenever he was moved by something truly loved. His love of Texas A&M was carried by his two sons, his daughter and his daughter-in-law. Recently, his granddaughter Haley received her senior Aggie Ring at ceremonies in College Station. With Bubba leading the 'tears', there were simply not enough handkerchiefs for everyone in the crowd.
   The family wants to thank the many friends who came to Bubba's aid over the past several years. The friendship of people like James Freytag, Quinton Raab, Deralee Pohler, Francis Fisbeck and so many others stood the test of life's difficulties. Richard Stavinoha and Rhonda Braeuer's assistance and care were invaluable. The family wants to thank the talented people at the Yoakum Community Hospital, Lavaca Medical Center, Hospice of South Texas and the staff at K & K Bridal Rail - as well as the comfort and strength of caregivers Wanda Broussard, Glenda Nevlud, Lisa Hamman and Marie Jackson.
   The family also wishes sainthood upon the grace offered by his best friend, Marie Jo Knippa and her extended family. M.J.'s life is a great gift to all who know her, and the world is a much better place thanks to the kindness of people like her.
   Bubba was preceded in death by his parents and brother, Kenward.
   He is survived by three children and four grandchildren: daughter, Melissa Helweg and husband Tod; grandchildren, Tanner and Haley Helweg of Seguin; son, Mark Kolar and partner Donna Stirling of Austin; and son, Mike and wife Rhonda of Austin; granddaughter, Keely and husband Rustan Schaefer of Austin, and grandson, Kye Kolar of Washington, D.C.
   Pallbearers will be James Freytag, Quinton Raab, Tod Helweg, Tanner Helweg, Kye Kolar, Sam Morrison, Darnell Knippa, Richard Stavinoha, Dr. David Watson, Greg Claeys, John Louis Beran and Francis Fisbeck.
   In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the James E. Kolar Texas A&M Endowed Scholarship - (c/o Moulton Community Bank, Box H, Moulton, Texas 77975) or Hospice of South Texas.
   Online guest book may be signed at thielecooper.com.
   Arrangements by Thiele-Cooper Funeral Home in Yoakum, 361-293-5656.