U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
Nicholas DeGooyer
Nicholas Noah DeGooyer, 3-month-old son of Todd and Angela (Anderson) DeGooyer, died suddenly May 6, 1998, at St. Francis Medical Center.
Services were at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Sioux Rapids, Iowa. Burial was in Liberty cemetery south of Greenville, Iowa.
Sliefert Funeral Home of Sioux Rapids was in charge of arrangements.
Nicholas was born on Feb. 6, 1998, in Grand Island.
Survivors include his parents; his grandparents, Jim and Char DeGooyer of Rock Rapids, Iowa, and Marv and Coke Anderson of Sioux Rapids, Iowa; his great-grandparents, Don and Dean DeGooyer of Sioux Center, Iowa; and Bill and Marge Brown of Ruthven, Iowa.
Earle Gewecke
Earle Don Gewecke, 77, of Grand Island died Sunday, May 10, 1998.
Memorial services will be at 10 a.m. Monday at Faith Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Lincoln.
Memorials are suggested to the Grand Island Veterans Home.
Mr. Gewecke was born on April 27, 1921, on the family farm in Ohiowa Township to William C. and Ida B. (Drummond) Gewecke. He grew up in Strang and graduated from Strang High School.
He entered the U.S. Army Air Corps on Aug. 13, 1942, and served during World War II, mostly in the Pacific. He was discharged on Nov. 14, 1945.
He married
Vurla May Meakins on June 16, 1946. They lived in Lincoln, where he opened a service station. He retired as a stationary engineer in Omaha.
He enjoyed fishing, tinkering with consumer electronics and an active business card ministry. He was a member of Calvary Evangelical United Brethren Church.
Survivors include three daughters, Doris Pulec, Nancy Aughe and Vurla Mae Holland, all of Lincoln; two sons, David Gewecke of Arvada, Colo., and Allen Gewecke of Lincoln; 17 grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his wife, twin grandsons and triplet great-grandsons.
Angelo Lepant
Angelo Lepant, 78, of the Grand Island Veterans Home died Wednesday, May 13, 1998, at St. Francis Medical Center.
Services will be at 9 a.m. Monday in All Faiths Chapel at the veterans home. The Rev. James Schmitt will officiate. Burial will be at 2:30 p.m. in Fort McPherson National cemetery at Maxwell.
Kleine Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Bruce Cowgill
SILVER CREEK - Bruce E. Cowgill, 82, of Silver Creek died Wednesday, May 13, 1998, at St. Francis Medical Center in Grand Island.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Friday at the United Methodist Church in Silver Creek. The Rev. Larry Biederman will officiate. Burial will be in the Silver Creek Cemetery.
Visitation will be after 4 p.m. Thursday at McKown Funeral Home in Silver Creek and from 1 p.m. until service time Friday at the church.
Mr. Cowgill was born on April 23, 1916, at Clarks to Barney and Susan (Zieglar) Cowgill. He graduated from Clarks High School in 1933, received his bachelor of arts degree from Nebraska Central College in Central City in 1941, his master of arts from the University of Omaha and his doctor of education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1958.
He married
Barbara Kindsher on June 2, 1940, at Clarks. He was an educator and administrator for 30 years. He taught in Polk; Hordville, where he also was superintendent; Silver Creek; and Duncan, where he also was superintendent. He then served as superintendent in Monroe for many years. He established Educational Service Unit 7 in Genoa and Columbus and was its administrator for 29 years.
He adjusted insurance claims for more than 50 years as a state supervisor for Nationwide Crop Hail Insurance.
He served on the Nebraska State Game Commission from 1968 to 1973 and from 1978 to 1983, created the Acres for Wildlife Program, was the initial executive director of the Nebraska Game and Parks Foundation from 1984 to 1990 and devoted countless hours to the development of Mahoney State Park. He was founder of the Grand National Mixed Bag Hunt.
He was a scout for the Cleveland Indians and Kansas City Royals. He was a member of the Nebraska Baseball Hall of Fame and served as president of the Central Nebraska Baseball League.
Survivors include his wife; three sons, Dr. Doug Cowgill of Madison, Wis., Dr. Kent Cowgill of Winona, Minn., and Scott Cowgill of Grand Island; 11 grandchildren; and one sister, Dr. Donna Crosley of Sebastapol, Calif.
JoAnn Merrill
CENTRAL CITY -JoAnn E. Merrill, 65, of Central City died Wednesday, May 13, 1998, at St. Francis Skilled Care Unit in Grand Island.
Services are pending with Solt Funeral Home in Central City for a Saturday morning service at St. Michael's Catholic Church in Central City.
Mary Landauer
FAIRBURY - Mary Genevieve Landauer, 64, of Fairbury, formerly of Petersburg, died Monday, May 11, 1998, at the Blue Valley Care Center in Hebron.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday at St. Michael's Catholic Church in Albion. The Rev. Will Spenner will officiate. Burial will be in the parish cemetery.
Visitation will be from 3 to 8 p.m., with a 7:30 p.m. wake service, Thursday at Levander Funeral Home in Albion.
She was born on March 8, 1934, at Petersburg. She attended St. John the Baptist School and District 3 School at Petersburg.
She lived in Fairbury from July 1983 until several months ago, when she became ill and moved to the care center.
She worked at the Region 5 workshop and did custodial work and ironing for the elderly in Fairbury. She did a great deal of volunteer work, especially at nursing homes.
She was president of People's First, a new organization in teaching and community awareness. She was outside guard for the Eagles. She was honored at the ribbon-cutting ceremony commemorating the opening of Region 5's new location on May 19, 1992. She was a member of St. Michael's Catholic Church and Altar Society in Fairbury.
Survivors include one sister, Irene Fisher of Albion; three brothers, LaVern "Shorty" Landauer and Donald "Doc" Landauer, both of Albion, and Jerome Landauer of Lincoln; and a special friend, Jim Singleton of Fairbury.
She was preceded in death by her parents.
Agnes Grudzinski
Agnes B. Grudzinski, 77, formerly of Phillips, died Saturday, Nov. 7, 1998, at Lakeview Nursing and Rehab Center in Grand Island.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church. The Rev. Martin Egging will officiate. Burial will be in Westlawn Memorial Park Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday with a 7 p.m. rosary all at the church. Livingston-Sondermann Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.
Memorials are suggested to the family's choice.
Mrs. Grudzinski was born Oct. 29, 1921, at Ashton to Stanley and Martha (Shuda) Stenka. She attended school in Loup City.
She married
Leonard Grudzinski on Nov. 30, 1940, at St. Josephats Catholic Church in Loup City. The couple started out farming. They eventually moved to Grand Island before buying a home in Phillips. They lived in Phillips until Mr. Grudzinski's death in 1992. She moved to Lakeview in 1995.
She worked as a teacher's aide in the Phillips and Aurora school systems. Prior to that she worked for Dependable Cleaners in Grand Island as an Avon distributor.
She was a member of Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, Eagles Club Auxiliary and a former director of the Senior Citizens of Phillips.
Survivors include three daughters, Susan (Mrs. Manuel) Carreon of Grand Island, Elizabeth Edwards of Kearney, LeAnn (Mrs. Jeff) Olsen of Lincoln; three sons, Stanley of St. Libory, Leonard of Grand Island, Timothy of Kearney; three sisters, Katherine McCarthy and Louise Pheil, both of Grand Island, and Virginia Fretto of Phoenix, Ariz.; 17 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by one son, Donald.
Jack Hacket
Jack J. Hacket, 81, of 2718 Sunny Brooke Road died Saturday, Nov. 7, 1998, at the V.A. Medical Center in Grand Island.
Services are pending with Livingston-Sondermann Funeral Home in Grand Island.
