William Frederick Mischen Jr.

William “Bill” F. Mischen, Jr., 95, born in Braddock, PA to William F. Mischen, Sr. and Mary Hubaly (Maria Übal – name changed at Ellis Island) Mischen. Attending Latin mass in PA allowed him to transition and acquire the Spanish language when his father’s health declined and the family moved to Ysleta, TX (El Paso) when he was in middle school. Bill was a proud 1948 graduate of Ysleta (HS), a graduate of Texas Western College, he also enlisted in the USMC during the Korean Conflict era. He retired from Civil Service under DoD.

Bill loved his trains almost as much as he loved his wife Marilyn, who learned to cook traditional European recipes from her mother-in-law, such as haluski, golabki, pierogi and baklava. They were married 57 years before her passing. “He was broken-hearted and missed her so much, he wanted to give her, her Valentine roses directly this year,” as one of his children stated.

When Bill met Marilyn, they merged their families and had additional children. Bill would always boast about his 7 children. During the early years of their marriage, they traveled with the children to over 30 states. Their favorite spot in their later years was Ouray, CO where they loved to spend the 4th of July after their children had “flown the nest.”

After retirement, Bill carried Marilyn through her 9 months of chemo and recovery of colon cancer, as he had battled cancer himself. Once Marilyn was in remission, they moved and resided in Livingston, TX for 11 years and Meadowlakes, TX for 4 years. While residing in Meadowlakes, the “girl of his dreams,” as he called Marilyn succumbed to her second bout of cancer. He returned to his beloved community of El Paso and enjoyed visiting his “regulars,” including Dominguez Restaurant and Marina’s bakery.

Bill’s love of trains grew from childhood, and he was an avid collector, he and Marilyn had their own toy store at one point where he had a wonderful train layout. Bill built a train layout at the back of their lower valley home and was featured in the local El Paso paper; that room later became the playroom for the Mischen grandchildren. A few of his grandchildren have also picked up his love of woodworking when they saw him building dollhouses.

Bill also made the paper when he was in college through his fraternity Lambda Chi Alpha, he and his frat brothers were climbing up a fire escape to the girl’s dormitory, and a photo was taken. Bill always said, “if I ever find Henry Sosa (photographer) I’m going to…

Bill was always the jokester and enjoyed having good clean fun, his German born father was not happy. He started a trend in the U.S. colleges.

Bill participated in various civic activities and was a member of the Model Railroad Club, the Lions Club, Ysleta Alumni Association and the UTEP Alumni Association, as well as many others. Bill and Marilyn were also very active in El Politics, running for different offices to serve their community and assisting those, like his good friend Don Henderson+, running for political office.

Last but not least, Bill loved his church, Our Lady of the Valley and participated in lay ministries with the charismatic Fr. “Buzz” Hall. Bill was a devout catholic and always attended 8 a.m. mass with his wife and children, sitting in the front row. He was so happy to be back at his church, the one his parents and his brothers helped build.

Bill is survived by his 7 children, 18 grandchildren and even more great-grandchildren. Preceded in death by his wife, Marilyn; his parents, William Sr and Mary; his in-laws, Donald and Cecelia, and his 2 brothers.

Visitation/rosary and funeral mass are still pending a specific date during the week of March 23rd, with burial at Ft. Bliss National Cemetery.