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IN LOVING MEMORY OF

Robert Leo

Robert Leo Persyn Profile Photo

Persyn

d. Dec 30, 2015

Obituary

Robert Leo Persyn, age 91, of San Antonio went to be with the Lord on Wednesday, December 30, 2015 surrounded by his loving family. He was preceded in death by his wife of 67 years, Yvonne Stevens Persyn, their infant son Anthony, and his brothers, Albert and Arthur Persyn, and sister, Martha Persyn Koch. Born to Arthur and Mary Ann Persyn on February 13, 1924; he was the son of Belgian farmers who raised vegetables and flowers. He was inducted at Fort Sam Houston on August 9, 1944 and joined the First Division (Big Red One) Company 'C' 18 th Infantry and then sent to Infantry training at Camp Fannin, Texas. While stationed there, his training was cut short. He sailed on the Queen Elizabeth to Glasgow, Scotland, by train to South Hampton, England and later sailed on a boat train to France and on to Belgium where he fought and was wounded at the Battle of the Bulge. Later, he was deployed to Nuremburg, Germany as a guard at the Nuremberg Trials held in the Palace of Justice. Specifically, he was assigned to guard Whilhiem Frick. During his service in the Army and as a soldier during WWII, he received numerous medals and honors including the Purple Heart and Bronze Star. At the end of the war, the 1 st Division was in Czechoslovakia removing the remaining German soldiers from the area. He saw thousands and thousands of German soldiers marching back to the German Stockades under US guards. Here, he guarded a POW hospital. Later on furlough, he took a train to Rome, Italy where they stayed at Mussolini's Palace and later had an audience with Pope Pius XII. He was a member of the following; St. John Berchmans Catholic Church for 60 years, member of Refrigeration Services Engineers Society (RSES), a charter member and past president with the Belgian American Club of Texas (BACT). His Belgian heritage was very important to him and Yvonne. They participated in the BACT Flemish Folk Dancers for many years and traveled to Belgium and Canada to perform with the dance team. He was very active serving his church in the Men's Club and was chairman for the Parish Festivals for many years. He was a refrigeration mechanic with Alamo Refrigeration for 37 years. Dad loved to barbeque, hunt, tinker in the garage, make bird houses and loved doing "honey do's" for his wife. He was the 'king' of the fixer upper challenges set before him. He leaves behind five children, 13 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.

Robert is survived by his devoted children: Bob Persyn (Hilda), Philip Persyn (Joan), JoAnn Persyn DeHart (Harold), Andrew Persyn, and Marlene Persyn Richter (Rick); grandchildren , Troy Persyn, Dawn Persyn Schneider (Kirby), Michael Persyn (Jennifer), Matthew Persyn (Sarah), Kyle Persyn (Lindsey), Jodie Persyn, Kimberly Persyn, Jeffrey DeHart (Tiffany), Gregory DeHart (Andie), Lauren DeHart (fiancé-Jordan Johnson), Thomas Richter (Denise), Josh and Rebecca Richter; great-grandchildren, Mackenzie, Jack and Calleigh Schneider, Liam and Luc Persyn, Kelsey Schramm, Ashley and Paige Kinney, Ian and Avery DeHart, Levi and Reagan DeHart, Claire and Gracyn Persyn, Blake, Rachel and Hudson Persyn.

FUNERAL SERVICES
Rosary will be held at the Angelus Funeral Home, 1119 N. St. Mary's Street, 78215 on Tuesday, January 5, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. Visitation will be available from 5-7.
The Funeral Mass will be held at St. John Berchmans Catholic Church, 1147 Cupples Road, 78226 on Wednesday, January 6, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. Visitation will be held at 10:00.
Interment will be at San Fernando Cemetery #2.

Funeral Services

Rosary

January
5

Tuesday

The Angelus Chapel

1119 N St Mary's St, San Antonio, TX 78215

Starts at 7:00 pm

Funeral Mass

January
6

Wednesday

St. John Berchmans Catholic Church

1147 Cupples Road, San Antonio, TX 78226

Starts at 10:00 am

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