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March 10, 2001ObituariesTRAVERSE CITY - Jack W. Wiesler, 81, died on Thursday at Munson Medical Center. Formerly of Hawaii, he had been a resident of the Traverse City area for the past 40 years. He was born on Dec. 6, 1919 in Pontiac, the son of William and Mabel (Boyer) Wiesler. On Sept. 14, 1946, in Corpus Christi, Texas, he married the former Edith J. Malec, who survives. Jack served in the U.S. Navy for 20 years, retiring in 1971 as chief aviation mechanic; during his service time he flew in the Berlin Airlift. He also spent 10 years in the Navy Reserve. In Traverse City for many years he worked as a bookkeeper for Ken's Pickup Service, retiring in 1982. He was a member of St. Francis Catholic Church, the American Legion and the V.F.W. He is also survived by four daughters, Rhea (Robert) Thorne of Baton Rouge, La., Peggy Haines of Traverse City, Phyllis Lewis of Florence, Texas and Angela (Ken) Day of Traverse City; two sisters, Rhea Sivek of Traverse City and Ida (Mark) Coonan of Saginaw. He is also survived by five granddaughters; three grandsons and two great-grandsons; and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; two sisters, Janet Vidro and Donna Flickinger and infant brother, Robert. A memorial service will be celebrated at a later date. Burial will take place in the Oakwood Catholic Diocesan Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be directed to the Father Fred Foundation, the American Heart Association or Charity of Choice. Arrangements have been handled by the Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home. TRAVERSE CITY - Hedwidge Elaine Kratochvil, 79, a lifelong resident of Traverse City, died on Sunday morning, Feb. 25, 2001, at Munson Medical Center. Miss Kratochvil was born in Traverse City on March 21, 1921, the daughter of Charles M. and Margaret (Forton) Kratochvil. She attended St. Francis School and began the study of piano at the age of six with the Dominican Sisters. Miss Kratochvil continued private lessons with master teachers, including advanced study with concert pianist and teacher, Percy Grainger. In high school she began the study of voice, and later studied "voice teaching technique" with the late Dr. Kenneth N. Westerman in Ann Arbor. As a student-teacher, Miss Kratochvil began giving lessons to both children and adults. It was always her unique practice to "make house calls", giving lessons to her pupils in their homes. In more than 30 years as a private teacher of piano and voice she had over 200 students, including beginners through artist level. They ranged in age from 5 years old to a 74-year-old businessman. At any given time there were several families where 3 to 5 students were given individual lessons each week. This necessitated going into many of the same homes continuously over a period of 10 to 14 years. From 1940 to 1946, Miss Kratochvil was music instructor in the Orthopedic School Room at Munson Medical Center in Traverse City, teaching physically handicapped children. Because of her deep interest and study of the psychological aspects of music, she was invited to do research in Music Therapy at Traverse City State Hospital in 1949. Doing special research in individual lesson therapy, she devised "The Individual Music Therapy Rating Scale" for the purpose of scoring a patient's response to Individual Music Lesson Therapy. An abstract of the "Rating Scale" was published in the Bulletin of the National Association for Music Therapy in May 1954. The musical history of the Kratochvil family goes back to the early 1800s in Czechoslovakia, where the family originated. The Kratochvil family pioneered in the Traverse City area in 1855. She was a member of St. Francis Catholic Church in Traverse City. She is survived by several cousins. Ms. Kratochvil was preceded in death by her parents, Charles Matthew Kratochvil in 1977, Margaret Kratochvil in 1926; and two brother in infancy. A Rosary will be prayed at 7 p.m. on Monday, March 19, 2001, at the Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home, where friends may call from 4 to 7 p.m. A funeral Mass will be offered at St. Francis Catholic Church on March 20, 2001, at 11 a.m. with the Rev. William Lipscomb officiating. Burial will be in the Oakwood Catholic Diocesan Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be directed to Mass Intentions or to the Charity of Choice. |