U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
Norbert Dingwerth
Norbert W. Dingwerth, 83, of Grand Island died Monday, Jan. 18, 1999, at the St. Francis Hospital Emergency Room.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at St. Leo's Catholic Church. The Rev. Jack Rademacher will officiate. Burial will be at Westlawn Memorial Park Cemetery. Visitation will be from 4 to 9 p.m. Wednesday with a rosary at 7 p.m. at St. Leo's Catholic church.
Livingston-Sondermann Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Memorials are suggested to the church.
Mr. Dingwerth was born April 6, 1915, in Raeville to Edward and Josephine (Seier) Dingwerth. He received his education in Raeville and St. Libory. After his education, he worked on the family farm. He moved to Grand Island in 1936.
He married
Frances T. Cordes on April 16, 1941, in St. Libory. He entered the U.S. Army in December 1943 and served during World War II and was honorably discharged in December 1945.
After the military, he worked for Meves Wholesale Liquor. He then managed the Grand Island Saddle Club from 1948 to 1950. He then owned and operated the Rockville bar for eight years from 1950 to 1958.
He moved to McCook in 1958 where he purchased the Bottle Shop. He retired in 1974. He continued to live in McCook until coming to Grand Island in 1991. His wife died on Dec. 16, 1991. He then married
Eileen Clausen on Feb. 12, 1994, in Central City.
He was a member of St. Leo's Catholic church, a Fourth Degree member of the Knights of Columbus, and he was a charter member of the McCook Lions Club. He was also a member of the Platt-Duetsche, the Eagles Club and the Liederkranz.
Survivors include his wife; two daughters, Betty Killion of Jacksonville, Fla., and M.J. Rose of Lincoln; three stepsons, Craig and Kent Clausen, both of Central City and Curt Clausen of Grand Island; one stepdaughter, Cheryl Clausen of Lincoln; four grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; six step grandchildren; three brothers, John Dingwerth and Eddie Dingwerth, both of Grand Island and Francis Dingwerth of Medford, Ore.; and one sister, Marcella Burke of Lincoln.
Melva Higgs
Melva Higgs, 84, of Grand Island died Sunday, Jan. 17, 1999, at her home.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Grand Island. The Rev. Tim Anderson will officiate. Burial will be in the Westlawn Memorial Park Cemetery. Visitation will be from 3 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at Apfel-Butler-Geddes Funeral home.
Memorials are suggested to St. Stephens Episcopal Church.
Mrs. Higgs was born Aug. 9, 1914, to Charles and Etta (Likken) Brown at Glasgow, Kan. She attended Kansas Public Schools and Business College at Kansas City, Mo. She was employed at Fairmont Feeds at Concordia, Kan., and later in Grand Island.
She married
Loren S. Higgs on July 11, 1948, at Edgewater, Colo. The couple lived at Estes Park, Colo., where she worked for the Bureau of Reclamation and the National Park Service.
They later made their home in Grand Island, where she worked as a secretary at St. Stephens Episcopal Church and retired after many years of service. Mr. Higgs died in 1993 and she continued to make her home in Grand Island.
She was a member of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church.
Survivors include a sister-in-law and two nieces.
Besides her husband she was preceded in death by a brother.
Gwendolyn Hotchkiss
Gwendolyn Hotchkiss, 37, of Grand Island died Saturday, Jan. 16, 1999, at St. Francis Medical Center.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the Apfel-Butler-Geddes Funeral home Chapel. The Rev. John Douglas Russell will officiate. Burial will be in Parkview cemetery at Hastings. Visitation will be from 3 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at Apfel-Butler-Geddes Funeral Home with the family receiving friends from 5 to 7 p.m.
Memorials are suggested to the Asthma Foundation.
Mrs. Hotchkiss was born Jan. 16, 1962, to Dennis "Skip" and Colleen E. "Williams" Johnson at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Miss. She grew up and received her education at various locations before settling in Hastings. She graduated from Hastings High School in 1980.
She then attended Central Community College in Hastings where she earned several degrees in Business and as a Medical Receptionist.
She married
Michael Hotchkiss on Oct. 17, 1997, at Grand Island. The couple lived their married
life in Grand Island, where she worked in the Finishing Department of Leon Plastics.
She enjoyed ceramics and tole painting.
Survivors include her husband; two sons, Benjamin Frasier and Stephen Frasier, both of Grand Island; three daughters, Amanda, Rebecca and Sarah Hotchkiss, all of Grand Island; her mother, Colleen E. Johnson of Burlington, Iowa; one brother, Dennis Johnson of Hastings; three sisters, Lisa Johnson of Geneva, Chris Ealy of Wichita, Kan., and Kathy Frasier of Henderson, Nev.; and special friends, Karen and Bryan Phelps.
She was preceded in death by her father and one daughter, Ryane Evon.
Ralph Appleton
STROMSBURG -- Ralph E. Appleton, 72, of Stromsburg died Friday, Jan. 15, 1999, at St. Francis Medical Center in Grand Island.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Palmer Funeral Home at Stromsburg. The Rev. Lester Anderson will officiate. Burial will be in the Stromsburg Cemetery.
Mr. Appleton was born March 21, 1926, on a farm north of Swede Home to Martin and Anna (Backstrom) Appleton. He attended District 47 school at Swede Home and then Osceola High School.
He farmed near Swede Home and he served in the Army during World War II. He continued farming after the war and then was employed by Roberts Milk Plant. In the early 1960s he started working for the City of Stromsburg where he worked until the early 1980s.
He was a member of the Stromsburg United Methodist Church and the Stromsburg Legion.
Survivors include two daughters, Barbra Appleton of David City and Teresa Jano of York; two sons, Derrell of Troy, Ohio, and Dale of Garden City, Kan.; and his former wife, Irene Appleton of Stromsburg.
He was preceded in death by two sisters, Ruth Heckman and Agnes Poland and one brother, Wendell Appleton.
'Micki' Black
AURORA -- Mable "Micki" Black, 62, of Aurora died Sunday, Jan. 17, 1999, at Memorial Hospital in Aurora.
Services will be at 2:30 p.m. Thursday at Higby Mortuary in Aurora. The Rev. Barry McCormick will officiate. Burial will be in the Aurora Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at the mortuary.
Mrs. Black was born on Oct. 11, 1936, at East Prairie, Mo., to George H. and Virgie May (Husk) Owens. She grew up and attended school at East Prairie until the family moved to Ontario, Calif., in 1951. She attended school and worked there.
She married
Gilbert Graves in Arizona, and they continued to live in Ontario, Calif. Mr. Graves died in 1988.
She married
Bill Black on Aug. 27, 1993, at Las Vegas. They lived at Willow Bend, south of Central City, until they moved into Aurora in April 1997.
Survivors include her husband; five sons, Ron Graves of Fontana, Calif., Rod Graves of Peoria, Ill., Rick Graves of Hemet, Calif., Steve Black of Kearney and Doug Black of Denver; four daughters, Rhonda Troli of Alta Loma, Calif., Brenda Black and Lisa Beach, both of Las Vegas, and Billie Jansen of Denver; 15 grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and three brothers, Bobby C. Owens of East Prairie, Mo., Gary H. Owens of Riverside, Calif., and George W. Owens of Ventura, Calif.
Raymond Chagnon
HASTINGS -- Raymond "Ray" George Chagnon, 76, of Hastings died Friday, Jan. 15, 1999, at his home.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd. The Rev. John L. Ross will officiate. Burial with military rites will be in Parkview cemetery in Hastings. Visitation will be from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday at Butler-Volland Funeral Home in Hastings and one hour prior to service time on Wednesday at the church.
Memorials are suggested to the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd.
Mr. Chagnon was born Feb. 5, 1922, in Biddeford, Maine, to Levin and Georgianna (Dion) Chagnon. He attended schools in Biddeford and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps on July 18, 1940.
He was awarded the Purple Heart in Okinawa on May 16, 1945.
He married
Berdena Reiners on Sept. 17, 1947. She preceded him in death in 1964.
He was called back in the Korean War and served as a marksmanship instructor at Camp Lejeune, N.C. He was discharged on Dec. 7, 1952.
He was a brickmason for 27 years. He lived for a short time in Colorado Springs, Colo., when the Air Force Academy was built.
He married
Arlene Fredricks on Nov. 27, 1965. He was employed by the University of Nebraska South Central Station for 13 years.
He was a member of Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd and the Chorus of the Plains.
Survivors include his wife; one son, Thomas K. Chagnon of Holstein; three daughters, Janet Rae Dornhoff of Kenesaw, Angela Kay (Mrs. Ryan) Brown of Corinth, Texas, and Pamela Kay (Mrs. Lane) Sanford of Eaton, Colo.; and 10 grandchildren.
Besides his first wife he was preceded in death by one sister, Lorraine Ollette; one brother, Norman; and a son, Steven.
