Verlin "Buck" Goertz

Verlin Benedict "Buck" Goertz, age 87, of Bastrop, Texas, passed away peacefully on June 29, 2024, surrounded by family.  He stayed steadfast in the short home stretch of his life's journey when his health declined rapidly, just as he had stayed steadfast on the long blessed run preceding it.

Buck was the eighth child of nine born to Pius and Sadie (Grohman) Goertz on June 18, 1937, at the family homestead in Bastrop County, Texas.

From a young age, Buck learned from hard work and adversity, and was graced and guided from within by the seed planted by his creator and from all around by the beauty and strength of a large loving family, knowing right from wrong, deep rooting in good community, and unwavering faith.

On October 10, 1959, Buck married Rose Mae Hilbig.

Both Buck and Rose were born and raised in Rockne, as the unincorporated area has been known since 1931, a small Texas community settled by German immigrants.  Buck is a great-grandchild of Philip Goertz, who with his first wife emigrated to Rockne in 1856, becoming its first settlers.  Rose is a great-grandchild of Anton and Caroline (Herford) Hilbig, who with their young children emigrated to Rockne in 1871.

The immigrants, along with their skills and work ethic, brought a determined profound Catholic faith, with Rockne having produced more than 20 religious sisters and 8 priests.  The Goertz and Hilbig families were active members of Sacred Heart Parish.  Buck and Rose completed grades 1-12 at Sacred Heart Catholic School, where their teachers were mostly Benedictine Sisters.  Both tended their Catholic sacraments, including marriage, at Sacred Heart – cultivating fidelity to what Jesus role modeled and taught, to community, and to faith.

After marrying, Buck and Rose made their home in the small town of nearby Bastrop.  They raised their four children in Bastrop, with frequent family excursions to the "country" for fellowship with family and friends, and work and play.  In Bastrop, Buck and Rose and their children were active members of Ascension Parish, where they benefitted especially from the influence of Edward Dokupil, the priest and later monsignor who led the parish from 1972 until his death in 2008, individually befriending the members of the Goertz family, as well as his other parishioners and the community beyond.

Buck and Rose created a cozy "nest" in the hope that children would fill it.  To that nest, among other things, Buck brought homesteading skills and sensibilities, coupled with a perspective broadened by having held jobs working in the oil fields and in Texas state parks.

And, indeed, their little nest was soon blessed ... and overflowing ... with the addition of their children Bryan, Blake, Belinda, and Brent over the next seven years.  From 1958 until his retirement in 2004, practical and versatile, loyal and dedicated, Buck supported his family through his having been one of the first employees at Wright Distributing Company, a beer distributing company founded by Louis and Virginia Wright in Bastrop in 1948.  During his 46 years with the growing company, Buck did everything from driving the transport to New Orleans to load up Jax beer, to sales and deliveries in Bastrop and surrounding counties, to being the fix-it man at the Bastrop warehouse and overseeing the registration and licensing of the fleet of vehicles.  A sweet bonus was the life-long caring relationships among multiple generations of the Wright and Goertz families.

Buck also enjoyed "cowboying", caring for their horses and cattle, hunting, appreciating and learning about nature, genealogy and local history, storytelling and reminiscing, "old West" history and movies, music and dancing, in addition to his trying to keep up with what was going on in the world and praying for it.  He basked in time with family and friends.  Especially through his role as Grandpa Buck to his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, all the days of his life, he kept on learning, giving of himself, and bestowing his endearing smile on all of his family, including one last celebration of Father's Day with him two weeks before his death.

"It takes a village" as the saying goes, with many walking with Buck on his long journey, creating treasured memories and helping carry on family lineage, values, and spirit.

Buck was preceded in death by his parents; siblings and their spouses Richard and Anna (Wolf) Goertz, William "Bill" and Erlene (Friske) Goertz, Sr. Thecla Goertz O.S.B, Delphert Goertz, Eugene "Gene" Goertz, Erlene (Hilbig) Goertz, Edwin "Ed" Bartsch; parents-in-law Fred and Lena (Frerich) Hilbig; brothers-in-law and sister-in-law Jerry Hilbig, Marcus Hilbig, and Martha (Parker) Hilbig; and son-in-law (Andrew) Derek Normore.

Foremost among those he leaves behind but not alone include –

• his devoted and loving wife of almost 65 years; four children Bryan Goertz, Blake Goertz, Belinda Goertz, and Brent and his wife Kelly (Walker) Goertz; four grandchildren Steven Goertz, Allyson (Goertz) Hubbell and her husband Michael Hubbell, Hunter Goertz, and Abby Goertz; and two great-grandchildren Emma Hubbell and August Hubbell;

• Polly (Lancaster) Goertz (mother of Steven), Katy O'Neil (mother of Allyson and Hunter), and Deborah "Debbi" (Beck) Goertz (mother of Abby); Molly, Brodie, and Christopher Fisher (half siblings to Allyson and Hunter); Zachary Walker and Bayleigh Walker (step siblings to Allyson and Hunter) and their families; Lucille Lancaster (grandmother to Steven), Peggy O'Neil (grandmother to Allyson and Hunter), Suzanne Gibson (grandmother to Abby), Kirk and Holly Hubbell (grandparents to Emma and August);

• his siblings, brother-in-law, and sisters-in-law Arthur Goertz, Ella Mae (Goertz) Bartsch, Joyce (Goertz) and husband John Schuelke, Geneva "Kay" (Cavitt) Goertz, Ellen (Bartsch) Goertz, JoAnn (Beck) Hilbig;

• his many nieces and nephews and their families, and countless other kith and kin.

The family would like to thank everyone for their prayers and other kind expressions of sympathy and support.  The family would also like to thank Buck's core teams (since his cancer diagnosis in 2012) at Texas Oncology (led by Jason Landon Smith M.D. in Smithville and then by Mathew Meeneghan M.D. in Bastrop) and Hospice Austin for their exceptional care and compassion.

Memorials (in lieu of flowers) may be made to the Benedictine Sisters of Boerne, Hospice Austin, or a charity of your choice.

The recitation of the Holy Rosary will take place at 5:30p.m. on Thursday, August 1, 2024 at Bastrop Providence Funeral Home. Following the Rosary, family will receive friends until 8:00p.m.

A Memorial Mass will take place on Friday, August 2, 2024 beginning at 10:30a.m. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 4045 FM 535, Rockne, Texas, 78602 followed by an inurnment at Sacred Heart Cemetery and a reception with the family in the fellowship hall.