U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
Verle Bonnell
BROKEN BOW -- Verle Irene Bonnell, 92, of Broken Bow died Friday, Oct. 23, 1998, at Jennie Melham Memorial Medical Center in Broken Bow.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Monday at Govier Brothers Chapel in Broken Bow. The Rev. Jim Stark will officiate. Burial will be in the Gates Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home.
Mrs. Bonnell was born on June 15, 1906, in Gates to Enoch and Lula (Dare) Myers. She attended country school in the Lillian community in Custer County and graduated from Broken Bow High School.
She married
Harvey Bonnell on June 20, 1931, in Kansas City, Mo. They lived in various locations across the country.
She was a lifetime member of the Lillian Church of Christ.
Survivors include two daughters, Shirley (Mrs. Harold) Wood of Texas and Louella Christy of Nebraska; one son, James Bonnell of Colorado; nine grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; and one brother, Marion Myers.
She was preceded in death by her husband and two brothers, Frank Myers and Lloyd Myers.
Phillip Johnson
HASTINGS -- Phillip D. Johnson, 51, of Hastings died Sunday, Oct. 18, 1998, at his home.
Memorial services will be at 1 p.m. Tuesday at Butler-Volland Chapel in Hastings. The Rev. Bill Liddell will officiate. Private family interment will be at a later date.
There will be no visitation.
Mr. Johnson was born on Jan. 20, 1947, in Hastings to Stanley B. and Roberta I. (Phillips) Johnson. He graduated from Hastings Senior High School in 1965.
He was a surveyor on the Alaskan pipeline for 20 years before returning to Hastings, where he owned and operated Phillip Johnson and Associates.
Survivors include his mother, Roberta Johnson of Harvard; his father and stepmother, Stanley B. and Booie Johnson of Doniphan; and a brother, Curtis D. Johnson of Hastings.
Virgil Ronzzo
BURWELL -- Virgil Ronzzo, 81, of Burwell died Thursday, Oct. 22, 1998, at the Grand Island Veterans Home.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Monday at Ord Memorial Chapel. The Rev. Keith Menter will officiate. Burial will be in Cottonwood cemetery at Burwell with military rites by Burwell Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6155 and Burwell American Legion Post 298.
Visitation will be prior to service time on Monday.
Memorials are suggested to the family's choice.
Richard Odbert
NORTH PLATTE -- Richard G. "Dick" Odbert, 73, of North Platte, formerly of Grand Island, died Thursday, Oct. 22, 1998, after a battle with Lou Gehrig's disease.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Calvary Assembly Church in North Platte. Graveside services will follow at Fort McPherson National Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and from noon to 7 p.m. Sunday at Carpenter Memorial Funeral Home in North Platte.
Mr. Odbert was born on May 13, 1925, in Long Pine to Alonzo and Eva (Bintham) Odbert. He graduated from high school and joined the U.S. Navy in 1942. He served in World War II and was discharged on June 5, 1946.
He then went to work for Northwestern Bell Telephone Co. in Grand Island and North Platte as an installation and repair supervisor. He retired on Dec. 23, 1983, after 37 years of service. He then worked for the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department as jail supervisor until his second retirement on June 1, 1992.
He was active in barbershop quartet singing as well as volunteer music ministries to the elderly. He was active in the Calvary Assembly Church. He enjoyed hunting and fishing.
Survivors include his wife, Jean; one daughter, Debara (Mrs. Mike) Smith of Mandeville, La.; three sons, Mike of Omaha and Darryn and Richard, both of North Platte; five grandchildren; and two sisters, Deanne (Mrs. John) Zyrlis of Branford, Conn., and Lilian (Mrs. Tuck) Tucholke of Hot Springs, S.D.
He was preceded in death by one sister, Marybelle; and two brothers, Jack and Lonnie.
Duane Kersey
MIDLAND, Texas -- Duane C. Kersey, 75, of Midland, Texas, formerly of Grand Island, died Wednesday, Oct. 21, 1998, at Memorial Hospital in Midland.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Pipkin Funeral Home in Midland.
Additional services will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Livingston-Sondermann Funeral Home in Grand Island. The Rev. Alicia Ring will officiate. Burial will be in Westlawn Memorial Park Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 4 to 9 p.m. Monday at Livingston-Sondermann Funeral Home.
Mr. Kersey was born on June 15, 1923, at Riverton to James and Bertha (Sullivan) Kersey. He graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a civil engineering degree. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He retired from Texaco.
He was a member of the Methodist faith and the Bridge Club of Midland.
Survivors include three sons, Duane J. Kersey of Midland, David C. Kersey of Albuquerque, N.M., and Darryl L. Kersey of Summer Key, Fla.; one daughter, Catherine E. Gandy of Atlanta; 10 grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and two brothers, Everett E. Kersey of College Station, Texas, and Arden E. Kersey of Abilene, Texas.
His wife, Eleanor, died in 1992.
George Radenbaugh
MESA, Ariz. -- George Radenbaugh, 78, of Mesa, Ariz., died Tuesday, Oct. 20, 1998, at Valley Lutheran Hospital in Mesa.
Graveside services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Grand Island City Cemetery. The Rev. Joel Schroeder will officiate.
Livingston-Sondermann Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Radenbaugh was born on Sept. 30, 1920, at Alliance to Ernest and Ada (O'Donell) Radenbaugh. He grew up and attended school in Grand Island, graduating from Grand Island Senior High in 1939. He then began studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
He married
Clarine Stoltenberg on June 29, 1941, in Grand Island.
He entered the U.S. Army in 1942. He served as a captain in the infantry in the European theater, earning the Bronze Star and Silver Star. He was discharged in 1946.
He returned to the university to earn his bachelor of science in agriculture.
He traveled to various parts of the western United States in dairy sales. He then opened his own dairy plant, Good N Rich Dairy, in south San Francisco. He retired to Mesa, Ariz., in 1986.
He was a member of the First Lutheran Church of San Francisco.
He enjoyed building hobby horses and donating them to charity.
Survivors include his wife; two sons, Robert Radenbaugh of Bullhead City, Ariz., and John Radenbaugh of Garberville, Calif.; and two grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by two brothers, Don and Doyle Radenbaugh; and one sister, Eleanor Anderson.
Joe Nemecek
Joseph J. Nemecek, 80, of the Grand Island Veterans Home died Saturday, April 3, 1999, at the veterans home.
Services will be at 12:30 p.m. Friday in the veterans home chapel. The Rev. James Schmidt will officiate. Burial will be in Burkett Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 11 a.m. until service time Friday at the chapel.
Memorials are suggested to the veterans home.
Livingston-Sondermann Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Nemecek was born on Jan. 6, 1919, in Omaha to Edward and Mary (Stanek) Nemecek. He grew up in Omaha and was educated there. He worked at Crown Products of Omaha.
He entered the U.S. Army on April 27, 1942, served during World War II and was discharged on Jan. 14, 1946. After the military, he worked as a yardman for the Omaha Stockyards. He had lived at the Grand Island Veterans Home since 1995.
His hobbies included fishing and going to the horse races.
Survivors include one son, Michael of Omaha; one daughter, Alys (Mrs. James) Zbylut of Omaha; four grandchildren; one sister, Marie Vacek of Omaha; and one brother, Raymond Nemecek of Denver.
He was preceded in death by one brother, Edward Nemecek.
