Benjamin "Ben" F. Prokop

Benjamin Frank Prokop (Ben) passed away at the age of 88 on April 18, 2021, in his home in Kingwood, Texas. Ben was preceded in death by his parents, Frank and Agnes Prokop, his wife of 57 years, Hedwig (Hedy) Zezula, and his son, Andrew Prokop, and daughter, Patricia Cooper.

He is survived by his sons, Chris Prokop and wife Cindy, Patrick Prokop and wife Carol, and daughter Carol Poston and husband David. He also leaves behind twelve grandchildren: Michael, Elizabeth, Samantha, Rachel, Charles, Benjamin, Jason, Nicholas, Bailey, Trenton, Samuel, and Emma. He is also survived by his brother Richard and his wife Annette.

Ben was born September 27, 1932, in East Bernard, Texas, and raised on a farm where hard work was the norm. His first language was Czech and towards his final weeks, he would sometimes utilize a mix of both Spanish and Czech, “Spzech” as you will. He was raised with a strong Catholic upbringing, was the oldest of four brothers, and grew up on products of the farm like warm kolaches and hot cornbread.

Ben graduated from East Bernard High School in 1949 and was a two-year letterman on the football team. He then attended and later graduated from Sam Houston Teacher’s College (Sam Houston State University) in 1953 with a BS in Mathematics. Soon after college, he was drafted into the Army National Reserves during the Korean War and served as a target track radar operator for 3 years.

Ben met his wife, Hedy, through the Catholic Rosarians organization in Houston and was married on July 5, 1958. Soon after, they started their family. Ben was a petroleum geophysicist and started his career with Texaco where he honed his skills for over 20 years. After Texaco, Ben started his own geophysical company, Prokop Exploration, and ran that successful business for several decades.

He was an active member of the civic and church community. He and Hedy were members of St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Houston for decades. Ben enjoyed bowling, dominos, baking, watching sports, and fishing. He loved traveling with his wife, easily going on 30+ cruises. Ben and Hedy retired in Trinity, TX in 1998 where you could easily find him taking a ride in his “carta” (golf cart) with his dogs.

Ben was known for his warm personality and laughter. He never once met a stranger, only a friend to be made. He was known for his overused and frankly corny jokes; the man had a lot of catchphrases! But, everyone always knew that Ben was a great man that will be sorely missed.

Family and friends are invited to a visitation on Sunday, April 25th at 5:00 pm at Earthman Resthaven Funeral Home and Cemetery at 13102 North Frwy, Houston Texas. Visitation will be followed by a rosary and eulogy at 6:30 pm. The funeral mass will be Monday, April 26th at 11 am at St. Martha Catholic Church at 4301 Woodridge Pkwy, Porter, Texas. A private burial with military honors will conclude for the family members.

Finally, Ben’s surviving family would like to offer a heartfelt thank you to Ben’s loving and compassionate caretakers at both The Auberge and Watercrest at Kingwood and Devotion Hospice.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Wreaths Across America - Houston, waahouston.com, General Donation.