Doris Lucile Stork Wukasch

DORIS LUCILE STORK WUKASCH 1924-2005 Doris Lucile Stork Wukasch passed peacefully on March 17 after a full and varied life. She was born in Somerville Texas in 1924 to Clara and Dr. Edwin W. Stork, medical doctor for the Missouri Pacific Railroad and staunch defender of human rights in Burleson County against the Klu Klux Klan. Her father’s sudden death at the age of 9 (after which the family moved to Austin) was a defining event for her and her family, as was her life-long desire to serve others, including a secret longing to serve in foreign mission efforts. Valedictorian of her Austin High School class of 1941, Doris graduated Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Texas (Austin) in 1944 with a BA, where she was president of the women’s premedical fraternity Tau Delta Alpha and a member of Iota Sigma Pi. Doris worked during World War II as a chemist before and after marrying Eugene Wukasch on July 7, 1945. While editing the Comet yearbook at Austin High her senior year, Doris had met Gene, whose photographic skills complemented her journalistic ability. She served faithfully as wife and mother, creating the symbolic themes that were used to enrich a number of his architectural creations, including Gethsemane Lutheran Church’s chancel wall of glass, which can now be seen from Highway 183 North as “a light set on a hill.” A number of brochures on religious symbolism in architecture were produced during this time of her life while she was also active with the Women’s Architectural Guild, of which she was president in 1964. Simultaneously, she mothered four children, in whom she nurtured learning, art and music. Her steadfast chauffeuring for nineteen years to tri-weekly music lessons at the University of Texas-Junior String Project helped foster her children’s string quartet. She also loved children’s games, singing, and playing the piano, and later enjoyed sharing these with grandchildren. As a Barnabas encourager of others, the church always provided a backdrop for participation, service, and meaning throughout Doris’ life, at St. Martin’s, Trinity, and later Lord of Life Lutheran Churches in Austin. She was a Sunday School teacher and neighborhood/community pioneer, starting a special education program at Trinity in the 1960’s. As an outgrowth of her faith, German cultural heritage and sponsoring foreign visitors and university students also were important to her. Doris always supported the idea of the living church and its flourishing in house church activities. She was also active in various formal church womens’ groups, later becoming one of the first Stephen Ministers in the Austin Area. In 1995 she was a founding member of Lord of Life Church and was enthusiastic about her community’s building program. A published poet, Doris loved words, the beauty of the English Language, and passing the torch of literacy to the next generation. She earned an M. Ed., writing on “Creativity: The Unknown Force in the Rehabilitation Process” and became a certified rehabilitation counselor in 1969. She taught English and special education within the AISD system for many years at Allen, Lanier, and Crockett High School. Earlier she found time to volunteer and work at the Austin State School and Mary Lee School. After her retirement from AISD, her commitment to the preservation of the word at last culminated in going to Papua New Guinea were she taught English to the Wycliffe Bible Translators’ children. Doris was also an active member of the Kwill Club and shared her poetry, both published and unpublished, with friends and family, including her annual Christmas poem. She was also featured in the “World Who’s Who of Women” and granted other related honors. Her sister Mae Cox and Eugene Wukasch, to whom she was married for 26 years, preceded Doris in death. She is survived by her four children and their families, which include 6 grandchildren: Dr. Linda Wukasch Thiering and her husband Rev.Dr.Barry Thiering, and their children Christine and Joshua; Susan Wukasch and her husband Dr. Gary Richter and their daughter Molly; Jean Wukasch Mihalik and her husband Col. Richard Mihalik of Wright Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio, and their children Julie Mihalik Calfee and her husband John Calfee; and Michael Mihalik—both of Ft. Worth; and Jonathan Wukasch and his wife Joy Lenoch Wukasch and their son Nathan. Esther Knape of Austin also survives her sister’s passing. Memorial services will be held at Lord of Life Lutheran Church, 12400 Amherst Drive, on Palm Sunday afternoon, March 20 at 2:00, to be followed at the church with a community celebration of Doris’ life. Memorial contributions may be made in Doris’ memory to the Junior String Project of the University of Texas at Austin, which trains young musicians; Lord of Life Lutheran Church; Wycliffe Bible Translators; or the Salvation Army. H.M.S. Millennium 2 Like tattered sails flapping in a dying breeze Splintered plans and half-furled dreams Await renewal, recommissioning on future seas. While anxious hands attempt repairs of mangled spinnaker or spar, The mast itself remains intact, It’s compass safely locked upon a star. Doris Stork Wukasch, December 1999 Memorials and guestbook online at wcfish.com