Emil Joseph Hynek was born April 22, 1925, in Wilber, Nebraska, to Joe and Nettie Hynek. He passed away on January 1, 2016, in Lincoln, Nebraska. He attended District #4 school for 1st through 8th grades in a one-room school house. In 1940 Emil moved along with his parents and sister Grace from their farm to the town of Wilber. He started driving trucks at age 14 for Wilber Transfer and worked several other part time jobs including his hardest and dirtiest job, unloading railcars of coal and cement.
Emil joined the United States Navy at the end of 11th grade and served honorably for 3 ½ years during WWII. He attended boot camp and Machinist and Boiler Steam School in Great Lakes Illinois. Next, he was transferred to Deep Sea Diving School and then to Navy Net detail. Emil was subsequently deployed overseas to Scotland and England. After the invasion of France, he returned to San Francisco California, as a diesel engineer on a tug boat in the Bay area. He was then transferred to the USS Oakland, a light cruiser, in the Pacific. He was honorably discharged from the Bremerton Washington Navy Yard in San Diego, California, in 1946. After hitchhiking back to Wilber, he completed his high school education, graduating from Wilber High School in 1944.
While working at Altman’s Garage as an automobile mechanic, Emil met Laura Hruza at the dance at Sunset Dance Hall. Emil and Laura were married in 1948, and enjoyed married life for the next 67 years. To this union, 2 children were born: Robert (“Bob”) and Diane. Emile worked for Duteau Chevrolet from 1948-1958 and was also employed by Studebaker for several months. He then took a job with the Federal Aviation Agency which required substantial training in several different disciplines. After 27 years with the Aviation Agency, Emil retired at age 60.
Emil was very proud of his children and attended many softball and basketball games, swim meets, and music recitals. Never one to sit still for long, Emil purchased, remodeled, and sold many real estate rental units. Emil represented Nebraska in several cooking contests, including the National Beef Cook Off and the National Chicken Contest. Emil and Laura proudly celebrated their Czech heritage and especially loved polka dancing. They also delighted in travelling across the country with friends and family. Even in his later years, Emil planted a bountiful garden and was a dedicated deliverer of Tabitha Meals on Wheels. At age 8, Emil travelled to the World War II Memorial in Washington D.C., as part of Nebraska’s Honor Flights. Perhaps most importantly, he passed along his strong work ethic to his family and provided a shining example of positivity to all he encountered.
Emil is survived by wife; Laura, son; Bob (Deb) Hynek, daughter; Diane (Keith) Dietze, grandchildren; Karla (Mike) Swan, Ben (Ramzi) Hynek, Rick (Camille)Dietze, Amy (Jamie) Hix, and seven greatgrandchildren; all of Lincoln.He is also survived by sister Grace Lundberg of Apopka, Florida. Emil was preceded in death by his parents.