U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
'Bill' Herdt
HASTINGS -- Wilbert W. "Bill" Herdt, 66, of Hastings, formerly of Giltner, died Saturday, Jan. 10, 1998, at his home.
Memorial services will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Butler-Volland Chapel in Hastings. The Rev. Bill Liddell will officiate. Mr. Herdt was cremated, and there will be no visitation.
A memorial will be established.
Mr. Herdt was born on April 12, 1931, in Batesland, S.D., to Adam and Kathryn (Herber) Herdt. He grew up in Gering and graduated from Gering High School. He entered the military in 1952 during the Korean War and served until 1954.
He married
Elaine Iseburg on March 5, 1952, in North Platte. He worked in construction in Grand Island, Kearney and Hastings. He worked for Carmichael Construction for 25 years until his retirement in 1993. He moved to Good Samaritan Village in 1994.
Survivors include his wife; three daughters, Debbie (Mrs. Virgil) Kruse of Grand Island, Cindi (Mrs. Randy) Clarke of Lincoln and Brenda (Mrs. Gene) Gartner of Hastings; a son, Steve Herdt; four grandchildren; three sisters, Eva Scholl of Rio Del, Calif., Ruth Waters of Zumbro Falls, Minn., and Esther Huck of Bayard; four brothers, Paul Herdt of Scottsbluff, Walter Herdt of Oregon City, Ore., Harold Herdt of Canado Park, Calif., and John Herdt of Fortuna, Calif.
He was preceded in death by a sister, Mary; and two brothers, Rueben and David.
Mavis Ottens
BURWELL -- Mavis Arlene Ottens, 68, of Burwell died Sunday, Jan. 11, 1998, at her home.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at the First Congregational Church in Burwell. The Rev. Ray Avidano will officiate. Burial will be in Cottonwood Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m., with a 7 p.m. prayer service, Tuesday at Eberle-Hitchcock Funeral Home in Burwell.
Memorials are suggested to the church or Community Memorial Health Center in Burwell.
Mrs. Ottens was born on March 26, 1929, in Ord to Leslie and Kathleen (Rowse) Westover. She grew up on farms south of Burwell and attended rural schools. She graduated from Burwell High School in 1946. After graduation, she moved to Lincoln, where she worked in the office of Goodyear.
She married
Paul Ottens on Nov. 27, 1949, at Burwell. The couple farmed near Elmwood until 1962, when they moved to a farm northwest of Burwell. They moved into town in February 1995. She worked at Valley Grain Feed Co. and the Garfield County Courthouse. She also worked in the office of Community Memorial Hospital and Nursing Home for more than 28 years. She was diagnosed with cancer in September 1995.
She was a member of the Rollin' Pins Women's Club and was an active member of the First Congregational Church. She enjoyed ceramics, bowling, crocheting and traveling.
Survivors include her husband; one daughter, Arlene (Mrs. Steve) Lofquist of Elwood; a son, Bob Ottens of Burwell; four grandchildren; two brothers, Troy Westover of Burwell and Norval Westover of Ozark, Mo.; and two sisters, Loma (Mrs. Darrel) Johnson of Burwell and Myrna (Mrs. Lon) DuBois of Norfolk.
Alvin Rice
ELBA -- Alvin L. Rice, 87, of Elba died Sunday, Jan. 11, 1998, at his home.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday at the United Methodist Church in Elba. The Rev. Melanie Adams will officiate. Burial will be in Elmwood cemetery at St. Paul.
Visitation will be from 2 to 5 p.m. Thursday at Jacobsen Funeral Home in St. Paul and from 9 a.m. to service time Friday at the church.
Memorials are suggested to the church or the Elba EMTs.
Mr. Rice was born on March 14, 1910, at Amherst to Logan and Pearl (Mudge) Rice. He grew up near Amherst and attended school there. He moved in 1933 to Hyannis, where he worked on a ranch.
He married
Venice Roeshone on Oct. 17, 1936, at Alliance. The couple lived in Hyannis until 1952, when they moved to a farm near Elba. They farmed and raised livestock there until retiring in 1979 and moving into town. He enjoyed woodworking, gardening and working with flowers.
He was a member of the United Methodist Church of Elba.
Survivors include one brother, Doyle of Colorado; and four sisters, Zana (Mrs. Neal) Clark and Velma (Mrs. Alfred) Garrelts, both of Kearney, Alta Broden of Ogallala and Shirley Pettit of Winneglo, Minn.
His wife died on Aug. 10, 1991. He also was preceded in death by six brothers, Lloyd, Sidney, Melvin, Leonard, Everett and an infant brother, Erwin; and two sisters, Melvina Mess and an infant sister, Martha.
Bertha Bills
COLUMBUS -- Bertha H. Bills, 87, of Columbus, formerly of Fullerton, died Sunday, Jan. 11, 1998, at Columbus Manor.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Palmer's Funeral Home in Fullerton. Burial will be in Valley View cemetery in Genoa.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home.
Mrs. Bills was born on Sept. 4, 1910, in Nance County to Theodore and Hilda (Dirks) Steinbach.
She married
Charles Bills on Feb. 24, 1930, in Columbus. They farmed in Boone and Nance counties. Mr. Bills died on June 7, 1982.
Mrs. Bills moved to Columbus in 1986.
Survivors include four sons, Lawrence of Omaha, Kenneth of Valley and Richard and Roy, both of Columbus; 12 grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; and two sisters, Lula Long of St. Edward and Isabelle Thayer of Fullerton.
In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by three brothers, Ted, Lloyd and Raymond.
Michael Starostka
CHAPPELL -- Michael James Starostka, 21, of Chappell died Friday, Jan. 9, 1998, from injuries suffered in a construction accident in Wood River.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at the United Methodist Church in Chappell.
Holechek Funeral Home of Sidney is in charge of arrangements.
A memorial fund has been established.
Mr. Starostka was born on July 30, 1976, at Fremont to James and Jane Starostka and then moved with his parents to a farm north of Chappell.
He attended Chappell Public Schools and graduated from Chappell High School in 1995.
He participated in Boy Scouts, FFA, honor society, band, state FFA welding, federation wrestling, football, track and trapshooting. He attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for two years.
He enjoyed hunting, fishing, music, snowmobiling, jet skiing and cars.
He had worked for Bob Wright, Lynn Newberg and the Strobels. He was working for Starostka Construction Co. of Grand Island at the time of his death.
He was a member of the United Methodist Church of Chappell.
Survivors include his parents; two brothers, Matthew and Kyle; and grandparents, LeRoy and Doris McFee of Chappell and Clarence and Louise Starostka of Clarks.
Odetta Vorderstrasse
LINCOLN -- Odetta E. Vorderstrasse, 80, of Lincoln, formerly of Belgrade, died Sunday, Jan. 11, 1998.
Services will be at 3 p.m. Wednesday at Lincoln Memorial Funeral Home. The Rev. C. Rex Bevins will officiate. Burial will be in Lincoln Memorial Park Mausoleum.
Visitation will be one hour before services.
Memorials are suggested to the donor's choice.
Mrs. Vorderstrasse was born on Jan. 28, 1917, at Belgrade to LarsPeter and Elizabeth (Munson) Nelson.
She was a retired Kmart sales clerk.
Survivors include her husband, Elmer; three sons, Ronald Steinke of LaQuinta, Calif., and Gary and William Steinke, both of Lincoln; three daughters, Barbara (Mrs. Clyde) Wiles of Crowne Pointe, Ind., Charlotte (Mrs. John) Opitz of Mukiteo, Wash., and Janet (Mrs. Gilbert) Morgan of Lincoln; three stepsons, Roger Vorderstrasse of Omaha and Randy and Rodney Vorderstrasse, both of Lincoln; one stepdaughter, Radene (Mrs. Dale) Beran of O'Dell; 18 grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; and nine step grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her first husband, William Steinke; an infant son, Michael; and 12 brothers and sisters.
