U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
Amelia Puncochar
ST. PAUL -- Amelia Puncochar, 97, of St. Paul died Thursday, July 23, 1998, at the Grand Island Veterans Home.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in St. Paul. The Rev. Michael McDermott will officiate. Burial will be in St. Wenceslaus' cemetery west of St. Paul.
Visitation will be from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 p.m., with a rosary at 8 p.m., Saturday at Jacobsen Funeral Home in St. Paul.
Memorials are suggested to the church building fund or St. Paul Library Foundation.
Mrs. Puncochar was born on July 16, 1901, in Baltimore to Thomas and Marie (Heyman) Skrivan. In her early years, she moved from Maryland to Wolbach with her family and was educated there.
She received her teaching certificate from Peru State Teachers College.
She taught school in rural Greeley County for five years.
She married
Joseph Puncochar on Sept. 1, 1923. The couple lived on a farm southwest of St. Paul from 1925 to 1977. Mr. Puncochar died on March 31, 1977. Mrs. Puncochar moved into St. Paul in 1978.
She enjoyed raising flowers, gardening, fishing, dancing and crocheting.
She was a member of Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church, the Altar Society, Friendship Circle Extension Club, American Legion Auxiliary Unit 119 of St. Paul and the CZBJ Lodge. She was a member of the District 15 school board for many years
Survivors include one son, Gene of St. Paul; one daughter, Marie Vollbracht of St. Paul; seven grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; and one sister, Louise Bailey of Noblesville, Ind.
Besides her husband, she was preceded in death by five brothers, Albert, Vincent, James, Harry and William Skrivan Sr.; and two sisters, Mary Stepp and Bessie Bailey.
Joseph Young
ALDA -- Joseph Young, 95, of Alda, formerly of Boelus, died Friday, July 24, 1998, at St. Francis Medical Center.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Grace United Methodist Church in Boelus. The Rev. Alan Davis will officiate. Burial will be in Soulville cemetery near Boelus.
Memorials are suggested to the church or the family.
Jacobsen Funeral Home in St. Paul is in charge of arrangements.
Leonard Bell
LINCOLN -- Leonard A. Bell, 63, of Lincoln, formerly of Grand Island, died Wednesday, July 22, 1998, in Lincoln.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Lincoln Christian Fellowship Church. The Rev. Terry Johnson will officiate. Burial will be in Greenwood Memorial Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday at Roper and Sons Mortuary in Lincoln and one hour prior to service time Monday at the church.
A memorial fund has been established for the family at Home Federal Bank in Grand Island.
Mr. Bell was born on Dec. 23, 1934, at Nebraska City. He was a former heavy equipment operator and a former chauffeur for the Rev. Hoosier in Grand Island.
He was a longtime volunteer with handicapped.
Survivors include his wife, June D.; two sons, Leonard A. Bell Jr. of Columbus and Scott D. Bell of Grand Island; two daughters, Kathy (Mrs. William) Dempsey of Olathe, Kan., and Terri (Mrs. Curt) Weber of Ericson; three stepdaughters, Michelle (Mrs. Larry) Sommerville of Fairbury, Corinne (Mrs. Aaron) Eagle of Northville, Mich., and Teresa (Mrs. John) Klusaw of Greenwood; 22 grandchildren; one great-grandchild; and four sisters, Rosa (Mrs. Dale) Kelso of Grand Island, Sharon (Mrs. Richard) Neal of Council Bluffs, Iowa, Joyce (Mrs. Cliff) Wolfe of Tabor, Iowa, and Wendy (Mrs. Dave) Cita of Sutherland.
He was preceded in death by his parents and three sisters.
Hal Chase
COLUMBUS -- Hal Chase, 95, of Columbus, formerly of Broken Bow, died Thursday, July 23, 1998, in Columbus.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at the First Presbyterian Church in Broken Bow. The Rev. David Stipp will officiate. Burial will be at 9:30 a.m. Monday in Douglas Grove cemetery in Comstock.
Visitation will be from 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday at the mortuary.
Memorials are suggested to the church or the cemetery.
Blanche Rezabek
WILBER -- Blanche K. Rezabek, 86, of Wilber died Thursday, July 23, 1998.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday at Zajicek Funeral Home in Wilber. The Rev. Paul Quackenbush will officiate. Burial will be in the Wilber Czech Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and from 9:30 a.m. to service time Monday at the funeral home.
Memorials are suggested to the family.
Mrs. Rezabek was born on Sept. 11, 1911, to Charles and Kristia (Placek) Kubicek. She grew up on a farm east of Milligan and attended rural school near her home. She graduated from Milligan High School in 1929. She attended Peru State Teachers College and taught at rural schools in the Saline County area for 10 years.
She married
Charles Rezabek on June 27, 1939. They farmed and lived southwest of Wilber. They moved to Wilber in 1969.
Survivors include two sons, Carl A. of Grand Island and Roy Gene of Lincoln; two daughters, June A. Kucera of Wilber and Lois B. Rezabek of Cincinnati; six grandchildren; one great-grandchild; five step grandchildren; 12 step great-grandchildren; one step great-great-grandchild; and three sisters, Velma (Mrs. Jerry) Sadlo of Lincoln, Mildred Krejdl of Exeter and Alice (Mrs. Delmar) Hall of Campbell.
Her husband died on Nov. 26, 1985. She also was preceded in death by a granddaughter; a half brother, William Placek; and twin brothers, Harold and Harry Kubicek.
Harvey O. Larsen
Harvey O. Larsen, 72, of Grand Island, died Friday, Oct. 23, 1998, at the Skilled Nursing Unit of St. Francis Memorial Health Center.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the United Congregational Church in Grand Island. The Rev. Lonnie Logan will officiate. Burial will be in the Westlawn Memorial Park Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 4 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at Livingston-Sondermann Funeral Home.
Memorials are suggested to the family.
Mr. Larsen was born June 18, 1926, at Boelus to Lawerence and Nellie (Blair) Larsen. He was raised by William and Dora (Larsen) Peterson of Boelus. He grew up and attended school in Boelus, where he graduated from high school.
A self-taught musician who mastered the saxophone and clarinet, he began playing with the Lee Barron Band.
He was drafted into the U.S. Army Feb. 23, 1945, and served in the Philippines from Oct. 1, 1945, to July 28, 1946.
Following his military service, he traveled and played with the Vern Wilson Band. He then became a member of the Bobby Mills Orchestra, the George Janky Band, Bill Knight Orchestra, and later started his own band. He also served 25 years as the local and state musicians union secretary.
He married
Gladys Schlieker on Jan. 3, 1948, at Grand Island.
Mr. Larsen also worked as a letter carrier for the Grand Island Post Office until retiring in 1981. He then worked for the Grand Island Federation of Labor until July, 1998.
He was a charter member of the United Congregational Church, serving on the building committee and as a deacon for a number of years. He was a member and officer of the National Association of Retired Federal Employees, a Silver-Haired Senator, a member of American Federation of Musicians Union Local 777, National Association of Letter Carriers, secretary of the Grand Island Federation of Labor for 17 years, a member of American Legion Post No. 53, V.F.W., and he coached Little Bigger League baseball and later girls softball.
Survivors include his wife, Gladys of Grand Island; three sons, Bill Larsen of Lincoln, Gary Larsen of Grand Island and Paul Larsen of Hays, Kan.; three daughters, Pat (Mrs. Lloyd) Mader of Grand Island, Paula (Mrs. Ron) Cates of Lakeland, Fla., and Vicky (Mrs. Dave) Roepker of Meridan, Idaho; 19 grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and three sisters, Martha Suntych of Grand Island, Lois Hoover of Independence, Mo., and Shirley Hall of Hastings.
He was preceded in death by one sister, Jeannine Petersen.
Loren Linton
Loren W. Linton, 63, of Grand Island, died Sunday, Oct. 25, near Laramie, Wyo.
Services are pending with Apfel-Butler-Geddes Funeral Home.
