U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
Merna Hoage
AUSTIN, Texas -- Merna M. Hoage, 65, of Austin died Wednesday, Feb. 18, 1998.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at Beck Funeral Home Chapel in Austin with the Rev. Elmer Holtman officiating. Graveside services will be at 2:30 p.m. Friday in Cameron cemetery near Grand Island.
Mrs. Hoage was born on July 28, 1932, in Wood River to Everett and Ruby (Lippincott) Vogel. She was bookkeeper at Westwood High School in Austin.
Survivors include her husband, Frank Hoage of Austin; two sons, Wade and Anthony "Tony" Hoage, both of Austin; and two sisters, Ramona Haydenfelt of Colorado and Cheryl Vogel of Nebraska.
Elizabeth Bauer
Elizabeth Bauer, 92, of Grand Island died Wednesday, Oct. 7, 1998, at Park Place Health Care and Rehab Center.
A prayer service will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Apfel-Butler-Geddes Funeral Home. The Rev. Martin Schmidt will officiate.
Memorial services will be at 10 a.m. Monday at Zion Lutheran Church in Palmyra, Mo. The Rev. David Johnson will officiate. Burial will be in Greenwood cemetery at Palmyra.
Visitation will be from 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday at Lewis Funeral Home in Palmyra.
Memorials are suggested to a memorial fund in memory of Elizabeth K. Bauer. The funds will be sent to the mission field in Argentina.
Mrs. Bauer was born on Dec. 1, 1905, on the family farm at North River near Palmyra, Mo., to Frederick and Louise (Nill) Voepel.
She married
the Rev. Julius A.E. Bauer on Sept. 27, 1925, at the North River Lutheran Church. The Bauers spent the first 12 years of their marriage in Argentina, where the Rev. Bauer was a missionary. They then lived in the Midwest, where the Rev. Bauer served a number of Lutheran congregations.
Mrs. Bauer's last years were spent in Grand Island.
She was active in the congregations where her husband had served. After her husband's retirement in 1965, they were members of Zion Lutheran Church in Palmyra. She was a member of the Ladies Aid.
Survivors include two sons, Joe of Ogallala and Dr. James Bauer of Peoria, Ill.; three daughters, Elizabeth (Mrs. Robert) Peterson of Ballwin, Mo., June (Mrs. John) Reehl of Grand Island and Sadie (Mrs. Robert) Frerking of LaBelle, Fla.; 17 grandchildren; 38 great-grandchildren; one brother, Fritz Voepel of Palmyra, Mo.; and one sister, Emma Wehking of Knoxville, Tenn.
She was preceded in death by her husband, one son, five brothers and one sister.
Henry Dittmer
POLK -- Henry Arthur Dittmer, 59, of Polk died Wednesday, Oct. 7, 1998, as the result of a two-vehicle accident near Polk.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at Immanuel Lutheran Church between Polk and Hordville. The Rev. Kurt Letcher will officiate. Burial will be in Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 8 a.m. until service time Saturday at the church.
Solt Funeral Home of Polk is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Dittmer was born on March 18, 1939, in the rural Clarks area to Arthur and Minnie (Hammond) Dittmer. He grew up in the Polk area and graduated from Polk High School in 1958.
He served four years in the U.S. Navy. He returned to the Polk area and worked for the Polk Co-op elevator and then with Polk Grain Co. for several years. He then worked for several area farmers until his illness forced him to quit this summer.
Mr. Dittmer was a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church.
He enjoyed cooking and the outdoors, especially fishing and being on the Platte River.
He is survived by his mother.
He was preceded in death by his father and one brother, Marvin.
Donald Keezer
ERICSON -- Donald Keezer, 70, of Ericson died Thursday, Oct. 8, 1998, at his home.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday at St. Theresa's Catholic Church in Ericson. The Rev. James Murphy will officiate. Burial will be in the Bartlett Cemetery. Military rites will be conducted by the Bartlett American Legion.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8:30 p.m. Sunday at the church. A rosary will be recited at 7:30 p.m.
Memorials may be made to the family's choice.
Ord Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements.
Maxine Compton
WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. -- Maxine Irene Compton, 71, of Wheat Ridge, Colo., formerly of Grand Island, died Oct. 1, 1998, as the result of heart failure.
Her remains were cremated and scattered at one of her favorite vistas in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado.
Mrs. Compton was born on Oct. 15, 1926, at the family home in Grand Island to Levi and Emily Stout.
Mrs. Compton had lived with her daughter and son-in-law for the past 14 months, and her son had relocated from Alaska to be near her.
In the past few years, she had taken up acrylic painting and also pursued her decades-long hobby of collecting stamps. One of her proudest accomplishments was earning her high school equivalency certificate in her mid-60s.
A member of the Salvation Army, she was a volunteer bell ringer at Christmas in Grand Island.
She was diagnosed with inoperable liver cancer last January.
Survivors include one daughter, Donna (Mrs. Gary) Henderson of Wheat Ridge, Colo.; one son, Leonard Compton of Fort Collins, Colo.; six grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; three brothers, Harold of Irving, Texas, Danford of Grand Island and Clyde Stout of Kalispell, Mont.; and one sister, Donna Gorin of Simi Valley, Calif.
She was preceded in death by an infant daughter, a great-grandchild and three brothers.
Olive Hollister
LEE'S SUMMIT, Mo. -- Olive May Hollister, 95, of Lee's Summit, Mo., died Monday, Oct. 5, 1998, at a Lee's Summit hospital.
Memorial services were on Thursday at Langsford Funeral Home in Lee's Summit. Graveside services will be at 3 p.m. Friday at Main cemetery in Belgrade.
Mrs. Hollister was born on March 18, 1903, in Nance County to Clifton and Nellie (Ward) Wagner. She attended District 17 School east of Belgrade.
She married
Morgan Edward "Ed" Hollister on April 2, 1924, at North Star Church west of Fullerton.
She and her husband lived on a farm in the Fairview area for several years. They then moved to Lincoln, where they operated a service station for several years. They then moved to Lee's Summit, Mo.
Mrs. Hollister loved animals and bred and raised champion English springer spaniels. She showed and judged dogs at shows all over the United States. Upon her husband's retirement, they traveled extensively, judging at dog shows.
She also enjoyed working in the yard and in vegetable and flower gardens. She was a big fan of Royals baseball.
She was active in her church and many retirement organizations. She crocheted hundreds of caps for newborns at area hospitals through one of the retirement organizations.
Survivors include one son, Paul of Florida; two grandchildren; and two nephews, Ronald Christensen of Fullerton and Dennis Wagner of Central City.
She was preceded in death by her husband; two brothers, Carl and Elvin; and two sisters, Viola Christensen and Ruth.
Mark Adams
Mark D. Adams, 43, of Grand Island died Tuesday, April 13, 1999, of injuries received in an automobile accident.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Friday at Kleine Funeral Home. The Rev. David Vaughn will officiate. Burial will be in the Grand Island City cemetery with military rites by the veterans service officer.
Memorials are suggested to the family.
He grew up in Grand Island and was educated at Grand Island Senior High. He worked for Skagway during high school.
Survivors include one son, Matthew of Grand Island; one daughter, Tera of Grand Island; his father, Dorsey Adams of Grand Island; and one brother, Larry Adams of Grand Island.
He was preceded in death by his mother, Frances (Wardyn) Adams.
