U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
Dale Finke
KEARNEY -- Dale E. Finke, 73, of Kearney, formerly of Gibbon, died Saturday, March 13, 1999. at Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney.
Services will be at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Zion Lutheran Church in Kearney with the Rev. North P. Sherrill officiating. Burial will be in the Gibbon Riverside Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday at the Godberson Mortuary in Gibbon.
Memorials are suggested to the church or the Gibbon emergency unit. Godberson Mortuary of Gibbon/Shelton is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Finke was born April 1, 1925, in Kearney to Carl E. and Clara (Dauel) Finke. He grew up on a farm north of Riverdale and graduated from Riverdale High School. He served in the Army Air Corp from 1946 to 1948 in Okinawa. After returning to the United States he worked as an auto body repairman in Kearney and also owned a house-moving business there.
On Sept. 24, 1953, he married
Charlotte DeBrie in Kearney, and the couple made their home there until moving to Gibbon in 1958. Mr. Finke owned and operated a gas station there and also worked for the Gibbon Feed Mill.
In 1966 he went to work for New Holland in Grand Island in quality control and retired in 1987. He and his wife moved to Kearney in 1997.
Mr. Finke was a member of the Zion Lutheran Church and the VFW, both in Kearney.
Survivors include his wife, Charlotte of Kearney; two sons, Bob of Aurora, Colo., and Ron of Kearney; one daughter, Donna Hansen of Kearney; two brothers, Virgil of Kearney and Carl of Johnson Lake; one sister, Mary Ann Eatherton of Upland; four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents and a daughter, Verla.
Jacob Janzen
AURORA -- Jacob D. Janzen, one day old, of Aurora, died March 13, 1999, in Grand Island.
Graveside services will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Hampton cemetery with the Rev. Paul Nauman officiating.
The Higby Mortuary in Aurora is in charge of arrangements.
Survivors include his parents, Douglas and Debra (G'rtzen) Janzen of Aurora; one brother, Nolan; one sister, Randi; maternal grandparents, Ardean and Shirley G'rtzen of Aurora and paternal grandparents, Rich and Lois Janzen of Hampton.
Merle Weller
PALMER -- Merle L. Weller, 64, of Palmer died Sunday, March 14, 1999, at his home.
Services will be at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday at Archer Zion United Methodist Church with the Rev. Barbara Hart officiating. Burial will be in the Rose Hill cemetery in Palmer.
Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday at Solt Funeral Home in Central City.
Mr. Weller was born on March 26, 1934, at the family home near Palmer to Herman and Elsie Bruns Weller. He attended rural Merrick County Grade School and graduated from Archer High School in 1952. After high school, he worked for Peter Kiewit Construction.
On Nov. 6, 1955, he married
Patricia "Pat" Luebbe in Archer. He served in the U.S. Army from 1956 to 1958, living in Texas and Washington. After leaving the service he moved his family back to Nebraska where he worked for John Deere Implement in Central City.
In 1959 he returned to the farm near Palmer. In addition to farming, Mr. Weller worked at New Holland from 1972 until his retirement in 1992.
After retiring from much of his farm work, he continued to raise some livestock, worked at Sands Livestock in Wolbach, Thompson Farms, Dinsdale Brothers, and was driving the maintainer for the township of Palmer at the time of his death. Each year he looked forward to working with his brother-in-law, Roger Luebbe, at Husker Harvest Days.
Mr. Weller was a member of the Archer EUB/Zion United Methodist Church, Palmer American Legion, helped deliver meals to the elderly, was an avid collector of stamps, coins, toys, and other items. He enjoyed Husker football, putting out lights at Christmas time and his greatest joy came from spending time with his family, especially his grandchildren.
Survivors include his wife, Pat of Palmer; his mother, Elsie Weller of Central City; one daughter, Debra (Mrs. Bruce) Faimon of Seward; two sons, Richard and Jamie, both of Palmer; three grandchildren; and one brother, Kenneth of Palmer.
He was preceded in death by his father.
Mabel Hallner
Mabel Hallner, 89, of Grand Island, formerly of Ericson, died Wednesday, June 17, 1998, at St. Francis Skilled Care Center.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Monday at the Ericson United Methodist Church. The Rev. Cynthia Altstadt will officiate. Burial will be in the Bartlett Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Ord Memorial Chapel.
Memorials are suggested to the church.
Mrs. Hallner was born on Aug. 6, 1908, at Fullerton to Jehu and Eliza (Watson) Gray. She attended school at Newman Grove and Albion. She moved with her parents to Wheeler County southeast of Bartlett in 1924.
She married
Cecil Hallner on Dec. 12, 1927, at Bartlett. They lived in Ericson until September 1994, when they moved to Grand Island to be close to their family.
She was a member of the Ericson United Methodist Church and attended the First Baptist Church of Grand Island.
Survivors include her husband; a daughter, Ruby Usasz of Grand Island; a son, Glen Hallner of Grand Island; four grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; one sister, Ethel Sanford of Albion; a brother, John Gray of Grand Island; and two nieces she raised, Letha Hinkle of Spalding and Deb Haley of Des Moines, Iowa.
She was preceded in death by two sisters and one brother.
Marc Neppl
Marc A. Neppl, 31, of 417 N. Custer died Friday, June 19, 1998, near Ord as the result of a traffic accident.
Services are pending with Kleine Funeral Home.
Marie Brickel
FULLERTON -- Marie Brickel, 78, of Fullerton died Thursday, June 18, 1998, at St. Francis Medical Center in Grand Island.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Monday at Palmer Funeral Home in Fullerton. The Rev. Mary McQueen will officiate. Burial will be in Rose Hill cemetery in Albion.
Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home.
Mrs. Brickel was born on Dec. 19, 1919, in Albion to Fredrick and Theresa (Muller) Cook.
Herb Geu
AURORA -- Herb Geu, 65, of Aurora died Friday, June 19, 1998, at Memorial Hospital in Aurora.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Messiah Lutheran Church in Aurora. The Rev. Al Duminy will officiate. Burial will be in the Aurora Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 3 to 5 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Monday at Higby Mortuary in Aurora.
Mr. Geu was born on July 3, 1932, at Wisner to Herman and Hulda (Woldt) Geu. He was educated at Wisner, graduating from Wisner High School in 1949. He was in the military from 1951 to 1955, serving in the Korean War. Following his discharge, he returned to Wisner and worked at the Richards Hatchery.
He married
Virginia Schultz on June 7, 1953, at Wisner. The couple lived in Lexington. The Geus moved in 1984 to Aurora, where Mr. Geu managed the Hamilton Motor Inn until 1992. He then began working with the Jones Agency as a real estate and insurance salesman.
Mr. Geu was a member of Messiah Lutheran Church in Aurora and held numerous church offices. He also was a member of the Aurora Rotary Club, was active in the Boy Scouts for 25 years and was serving on the Hamilton County Visitors Committee. He enjoyed playing tuba with the Hamilton Concert Band.
Survivors include his wife; three sons, Charles, stationed in Iceland, David of Colorado Springs, Colo., and Thomas of Oceanside, Calif.; three daughters, Teresa (Mrs. Dale) Hack of Madison, Janet (Mrs. Chuck) Warner of San Antonio and Susan (Mrs. Pat) Margritz of Lexington; 16 grandchildren; and a brother, Elmer of Garland.
He was preceded in death by three brothers, Harvey and Raymond and an infant brother, Melvin; and a sister, Viola M'ller.
Helen Leibert
SARGENT -- Helen Marie Leibert, 80, of Sargent died Thursday, June 18, 1998, at the Sargent Nursing Center.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Rhoad Funeral Chapel in Sargent. The Rev. Samm Johnston will officiate. Burial will be in Mount Hope cemetery at Sargent.
There will be no visitation.
Memorials are suggested to the United Methodist Church or the American Heart Association.
Mrs. Leibert was born on April 9, 1918, in Yoakum, Texas, to August F. and Myrtle (Shields) Kopecky. The family moved to Nebraska in 1923. She attended grade school in Omaha and graduated from Belgrade High School in 1935.
She graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1939 and taught school in Oconto, Pleasanton and Ord.
She married
Don D. Leibert on Sept. 29, 1945, at Phillipsburg, Kan. They moved to Sargent, where they were in business.
She was active in the Sargent United Methodist Church, UMW and American Legion Auxiliary in Sargent.
Survivors include her husband; two daughters, Linda Leibert of Sargent and Loree (Mrs. Doug) Moss of Aurora; one son, Michael of Fremont; and six grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by a granddaughter and two siblings who died in infancy.
