U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
Faunie Wolf
ORD -- Faunie V. Wolf, 67, of Ord died Thursday, June 11, 1998, at her home.
Mrs. Wolf bequeathed her body to the Palmer College of Chiropractic.
Memorial services will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Ord United Methodist Church. The Revs. Max Graves and Jim Miller will officiate. Ord Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements.
Memorials are suggested to the Valley County Hospital.
Mrs. Wolf was born on Jan. 12, 1931, on a ranch 12 miles north of Burwell to Floyd and Mabel (Nelson) Johnson. She graduated from Burwell High School in 1948 and attended a Commercial Extension School in Omaha.
She married
Leo Wolf on Sept. 30, 1951, at Burwell. Mrs. Wolf lived in the Burwell and Ord area.
She enjoyed cooking and preparing meals for the needy. She attended the Assembly of God and the Evangelical Free Church.
Survivors include her husband; two sons, Steve of Ord and Jeff of Kearney; four grandchildren; and one sister, LaMoyne Graves of Burwell.
She was preceded in death by twin sons, Jerry and Larry; and one brother, Byron Johnson.
Virgil Blue
ELM CREEK -- Virgil F. Blue, 78, of Elm Creek died Thursday, June 11, 1998, at the Mount Carmel Nursing Home in Kearney.
Mr. Blue was cremated. A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Monday at the First Christian Church of Elm Creek. The Rev. Dan Cleveland will officiate. Burial will be at a later date in Riverside cemetery in Gibbon.
O'Brien-Straatmann Funeral Home of Kearney and Elm Creek is in charge of arrangements.
Memorials are suggested to the Good Samaritan Hospice Program or the Elm Creek Volunteer Fire Department.
Mr. Blue was born on Aug. 16, 1919, at Heartwell to Chester and Aleta (Derby) Blue. He attended school in the Gibbon area and graduated from Gibbon High School in 1937.
He entered the U.S. Army on Dec. 2, 1940, at Little Rock, Ark. He was on Omaha Beach in Normandy on D-Day.
He married
Pauline Tunks on May 27, 1949, in Kearney.
He married
Ruth Weller Dorris on Sept. 29, 1972, in Kearney. She died on April 25, 1997.
In his earlier years, he was a salesman for Cudahy Distributing and co-owner of a North American Vanline agency in Wichita, Kan. He also was a district representative for Blue Cross and Blue Shield. With his wife, Ruthie, he owned and operated the Lakeview Restaurant in Gibbon and then the Spoon Cafe in Elm Creek. They also operated the Huss Sale Barn Cafe in Kearney.
He was a member of the Kiwanis Club, Lions Club and Tehama Shrine. He was a 32nd-degree Mason for 42 years. He was a lifetime member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Survivors include a daughter, Brenda Kay (Mrs. Benny) Schr'der of Elm Creek; a granddaughter; and two brothers, Gary of Aurora, Colo., and Lyle of Wichita, Kan.
In addition to his wife, he was preceded in death by one brother, Darrell; and one sister, Nadene Benson.
Hazel Meridith
LENEXA, Kan. -- Hazel Meridith, 90, of Lenexa, Kan., died Friday, June 12, 1998, at Delmar Gardens Nursing Home in Lenexa.
Funeral services are pending with Miller-Levander Funeral Home in St. Edward.
'Ted' Smith
Theodore "Ted" L. Smith, 87, of Grand Island died Monday, June 29, 1998, at Community Care of America in Grand Island.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at the First Baptist Church. The Rev. Michael W. Cole will officiate. Burial will be in Westlawn Memorial Park Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 3 to 9 p.m., with the family receiving friends from 6 to 8 p.m., Wednesday at Apfel-Butler-Geddes Funeral Home.
Memorials are suggested to the church or the Grand Generation Center.
Mr. Smith was born on July 28, 1910, at North Loup to Aaron and Julia (Waldron) Smith. He grew up and was educated in Grand Island.
He married
Gladys Swanson on June 21, 1933, at Aurora. The couple lived in Grand Island, where he worked at Jesse's Bakery and at the Thompson Co. as a salesman. He retired in 1972. Mrs. Smith died on July 6, 1997.
Mr. Smith was a member of the First Baptist Church, where he held many offices. He also was a member of the Kiwanis Club, American Association for Retired Persons, UCT, Grand Generation Center and Meals on Wheels.
Survivors include two sons, Terry Smith and Carlyle Smith, both of Grand Island; three grandchildren; and two great-granddaughters.
Besides his wife, he was preceded in death by two brothers, Waldron and Howard.
Loretta Beck
BROKEN BOW - Loretta Beck, 86, of Broken Bow, formerly of Oconto, died Saturday, June 27, 1998, at the Good Samaritan Center in Callaway.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Oconto. The Rev. Jim Novakowski will officiate. Burial will be in the Oconto Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 1 to 5 p.m. Tuesday at Reynolds-Love Funeral Home in Lexington. A rosary will be at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Oconto.
Memorials are suggested to the Oconto Rescue Unit.
Mrs. Beck was born on May 18, 1912, in Harrison County, Iowa, to Fredrick William and Christina Agnes (Tamisiea) Bolliger. She graduated from Missouri Valley High School in 1929.
She married
Donald W. Beck on Sept. 2, 1930, in Kearney. They farmed and ranched in Custer County and owned and operated the Beck Cafe in Oconto for several years.
The couple purchased their home in Oconto in 1979. Mr. Beck died on Feb. 28, 1989. Mrs. Beck remained in Oconto until the last five years, when she lived in Broken Bow.
She was a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church and the altar society. She liked playing bingo, reading and playing cards.
Survivors include two sons, Duane Beck of Oconto and James Beck of Greeley; three daughters, Elaine (Mrs. Jerry) Davis of Oconto, Ray Klebe of Fremont and Gay Stauffer of Kearney; 16 grandchildren; 37 great-grandchildren; three great-great-grandchildren; two brothers, Jack Bolliger of Missouri Valley, Iowa, and Duane Bolliger of Kansas City, Mo.; and one sister, Marguerite Prior of Missouri Valley, Iowa.
In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by one infant son and four grandchildren.
Esther Boelts
CENTRAL CITY - Esther Elizabeth Boelts, 82, of Central City died Sunday, June 28, 1998, at Litzenberg Memorial County Hospital in Central City.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Solt Funeral Home in Central City. The Rev. Barbara Hart will officiate. Burial will be in the Central City Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home.
Mrs. Boelts was born on Dec. 14, 1915, in Lincoln to Philip and Elizabeth (Weygant) Nagel. She attended Lincoln public elementary and junior high schools and Lincoln High School. After completing her schooling, she worked in her father's market.
She married
Hubert F. Boelts on Aug. 17, 1941, in Lincoln. They farmed in Merrick County for 43 years and in Cheyenne County, Kan., from 1969 through 1971.
Mr. Boelts died in 1990. Mrs. Boelts then moved from the farm into Central City and wintered in Yuma, Ariz.
Mrs. Boelts was a member of Archer United Methodist Church, and after it burned, she became a member of Fairview United Methodist Church. She also was a member of the United Methodist Women's Group. She enjoyed quilting, canning and sewing.
Survivors include two sons, Hubert "Fred" Boelts Jr. of Yuma, Ariz., and Norman R. Boelts of Fairbanks, Alaska; one daughter, Gail (Mrs. Brad) Cool of Casper, Wyo.; six grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and one sister, Helene Buxman of Greeley, Colo.
Besides her husband, she was preceded in death by one daughter, Katherine A. Boelts; one brother and two sisters.
