Sandra Kubicek

We mark the passing of Sandra Lee Kubicek (née Guthrie) who entered the world on October 9, 1940 and departed it on February 2, 2025. She was the first child of James O. and Orelia Fey Guthrie of San Antonio, Texas. She was born at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, but, as part of a military family, she spent much of her childhood in various parts of the country, including the metro Washington DC area, Maryland, Alabama, and Hermiston Oregon, where she graduated high school in 1958. The military also took the family to Japan where her father was stationed shortly after World War II. She always spoke with a fondness for this time, having a chance to live in a foreign land as a young girl and learn about another culture and approach to life, even in the difficult times in which they were there. Eventually, the family returned to their native Texas, where she attended the University of Texas in Austin and studied English literature. She met her husband James Kubicek while both were working at Medina Base and they married in 1967. She was a devoted mother who played an active role in her children's lives from elementary through high school. You could often find her at a PTA meeting, organizing a bake sale, leading a Brownie meeting, or judging a speech tournament - whatever opportunity arose for her to be involved. She was happy to host her children's friends and always provided a home away from home when anyone needed it. She was a gifted artist who used her skills in a variety of media including watercolors, needlework, clay and beautiful cakes that her family looked forward to for birthdays and holidays. In particular, she loved folk art, and crafted cloth dolls which she sold at different craft events and local stores. She served as a docent at the San Antonio Museum of Art where she loved learning about various artists and artistic techniques and sharing that information with school groups and others. She enjoyed travel both domestically and abroad. These trips included driving throughout Texas, especially antique shopping in the Texas Hill Country and trips to the Texas coast for fresh seafood and enjoy the breeze off the Gulf of Mexico. She and her husband traveled abroad to London, Turkey, Austria, Guatemala, the Netherlands, Hungary and the Czech Republic. Her last international trip was to visit Oaxaca, Mexico, a place she had long wanted to visit to see the Zapotec and Mixtec crafts and eat the native food. She looked forward to annual road trips to visit her son and grandchildren in Michigan as well as the Folk Art Festival in Santa Fe. She spent the last several years of her life in Michigan, where she always noted that food and weather was much better in Texas. She was a lifetime animal lover and made her home the house in the neighborhood that took in any stray kittens, cats or dogs. The house was full of any number of pets including turtles, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, horned toads and birds. She also loved the wildlife around her. She would feed the birds and squirrels in the yard, skunks and raccoons in the garage, and loved to give the many deer in the neighborhood carrots and tortillas. In her later years she doted on her rescue dogs, Andy and Teddy, whom she loved dearly. Above all else she was devoted to her family. She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Paul Kubicek and Alyce Howarth (Royal Oak, Michigan); her daughter Katrina Kubicek of Los Angeles, California; her grandsons Jonah and Asher of Royal Oak; and her two sisters and two brothers Jamie Daily (San Antonio), Marsha Alles (San Antonio), Terry Guthrie (San Antonio) and David Guthrie (Comfort, Texas). Graveside services will be held on Tuesday, February 11th at 9:00 am at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to SNIPSA, an animal rescue organization in San Antonio (210) 237-9400 or online at https://snipsa.org/donation-options/

Sandra Kubicek

October 9, 1940 - February 2, 2025