Bernard John Lempa, Jr., 73, of Cuero, went to heavenly rest on August 24, 2021. Born the first child to Bernard J. Lempa, Sr. (deceased) and Helen Warwas Lempa, on October 24, 1947, he was a 1966 Cuero High School graduate, where he was part of the band. A lover of music, BJ played piano and guitar throughout his life.

In 1970, he graduated as a Civil Engineer from the University of Houston, obtained his pilot's license, and married Cathryne Lee Woltz. They celebrated 51 years together on August 15, 2021.

BJ worked as a civil-structural engineer in the oil & gas industry for 40 years, and lived & worked for 27 years in Lumberton, Texas for DuPont. He enjoyed tinkering in his garage, fixing up boats, and building things around the house. He was also an inventor who obtained 3 different patents for lawn/garden products.

BJ was a devout lifelong Catholic and a loving, simple family man. He attended mass and adoration weekly at Infant Jesus Catholic Church in Lumberton. He enjoyed fishing with his brothers, taking his grandkids out on his boat and teaching them to fish, and even taught his twin grandsons to ride bikes without training wheels.

He survived non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma in 2001, and lived with Parkinson's Disease for the last 7 years, but ultimately lost his life to COVID. We will always carry his memory in our hearts.

He is survived by his mother, Helen; wife, Cathy; brothers, Mike Lempa (Debbie), Leonard Lempa and Tom Lempa (Sharon); sister, Dorothy Dearing; daughters, Aimee Hardin of Dallas and Kelly Balfour (Todd) of League City; brothers-in-law, Tom Woltz (Heather) of Houston and Jim Woltz (Lucy) of League City. He had 4 treasured grandchildren, Jackson & Julian Hardin and Kendall & Kamryn Balfour, as well as many nieces and nephews.

Services will be held Saturday, August 28th at St. Michael Catholic Church in Cuero. The viewing will be held at 1:00pm with a rosary at 1:30pm and service at 2:00pm. A reception will follow at the English-German School at the Chisholm Trail Heritage Museum in downtown Cuero.

The family wishes to thank the nurses and staff at AlzCare of DeWitt County for their compassionate care through the past three years.

In lieu of customary remembrances, memorial contributions in BJ's name may be made to Catholic Charities, CatholicCharitiesUSA.org.