U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
Opal English
STROMSBURG -- Opal E. English, 96, formerly of Sumner and Kearney, died Monday, Feb. 2, 1998, at the Midwest Covenant Home in Stromsburg.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at Horner-Lieske-Horner Mortuary in Kearney. The Rev. Willis Pauls will officiate. Graveside services will be at 2:30 p.m. at Fairview cemetery in Smith Center, Kan.
Visitation will be from 3 to 8:30 p.m. Friday and until service time Saturday at the funeral home.
Memorials are suggested to the Midwest Covenant Home.
Mrs. English was born on July 25, 1901, in Winnebago to Seth H. and Sophia E. (Hawkins) Morgan.
She married
Elmer L. Tallman in 1922. Mr. Tallman died in 1929.
She married
Rudolph English on Dec. 15, 1938, in Loup City. They farmed northeast of Sumner until his death in 1977. Mrs. English moved to Kearney. She moved to the Midwest Covenant Home in May 1994.
She was a former member of the Sumner Evangelical Free Church and the Sumner American Legion Auxiliary.
Survivors include three sons, William V. Tallman of Polk, Loren R. Tallman of Floris, Iowa, and Howard B. Tallman of Medford, Ore.; two daughters, Dorothy Dunnington of Silver Springs, Md., and Shirley Scoville of Kansas City, Mo.; one stepdaughter, Jan Fern of Kearney; 23 grandchildren; 37 great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandchild; two brothers, Wilmer Morgan of Kelso, Wash., and Jim Morgan of Smith Center, Kan.; and two sisters, Dorothy Watt of Lenexa, Kan., and Helene Rhoades of Ojai, Calif.
In addition to her husbands, she was preceded in death by one daughter, two brothers and three sisters.
Maria 'Mary' Mejia
KEARNEY -- Maria "Mary" Mejia, 70, of Kearney died Monday, Feb. 2, 1998, at Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at Templo Betel Assembly of God Church in Gibbon. The Rev. Don Rodriguez will officiate. Burial will be in Riverside cemetery in Gibbon.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at O'Brien-Straatmann Funeral Home in Kearney. A prayer service will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home. Memorials are suggested to the family.
Mrs. Mejia was born on Aug. 18, 1927, at San Pedro Tlaquepaque, Jalisco, Mexico, to Demetrio and Loretto (Canales) Islas. She attended six years of primary school there.
She married
Mario M. Mejia on Jan. 29, 1953, in Mexico City. She worked at Bethphage Mission in Axtell for seven years.
She was a member of Templo Betel Assembly of God Church in Gibbon.
Survivors include her husband; one son, Mario I. of Kearney; five daughters, Rosemary (Mrs. Kevin) Sprague of Aurora, Colo., Linda (Mrs. Pierre) Manns of Bellevue, Dulce (Mrs. Allen) Sherman of Omaha, Mary Ann (Mrs. Jeffrey) Johnson of Fairbury and Esther Mejia of Omaha; eight grandchildren; one brother, Eusebio Canales; and two sisters, Paulita Alpizar and Juanita Canales.
She was preceded in death by two infant children.
Ruth Thomsen
ORD -- Ruth Thomsen, 91, of Ord died Monday, Feb. 2, 1998, at Park Place Nursing Home in Grand Island.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday at Ord Memorial Chapel. The Rev. M.S. Anderson will officiate. Burial will be in the Ord City Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday at the chapel. Memorials are suggested to the Ord Volunteer Fire Department or Ord Township Library.
'Bill' Blankenship
ANDERSON, Calif. -- Wilber "Bill" Blankenship, 85, of Anderson, Calif., formerly of Ericson, died Jan. 16, 1998, at Shasta Convalescent Hospital in Redding, Calif.
Services were on Jan. 24 at McDonald's Redding Chapel. The Rev. Ryan Hollister officiated. Burial was in the Redding Cemetery.
Mr. Blankenship was born on Sept. 28, 1912, in Missouri to Hiram and Ida (Thompson) Blankenship.
He married
Rozetta Baldwin at Ericson. The couple lived in Washington, Oregon and California. He was a logger until they moved to Shasta County, Calif., in 1965. He worked as a heavy equipment mechanic for U.S. Plywood at Anderson, Calif., until his retirement.
Survivors include his wife; three sons, Derold and Wilber, both of Redding, and Richard of Missoula, Mont.; two daughters, Linda Johnston of Happy Valley, Calif., and Patricia of Anderson, Calif.; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by a daughter and a grandson.
Robert Harris
CHEYENNE, Wyo. -- Robert F. Harris, 71, of Cheyenne, Wyo., died Sunday, Feb. 1, 1998, at Cheyenne.
Services will be at 9:30 a.m. Thursday at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Cheyenne. The Rev. Gerald Sullivan will officiate. Burial will be in Olivet cemetery in Cheyenne.
He was cremated. There will be no visitation.
Memorials are suggested to Hospice of United Medical Center East in Cheyenne.
Schrader Funeral Home in Cheyenne is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Harris was born on Aug. 1, 1926, in Omaha.
He married
Coletta Welsh on Oct. 7, 1950, in Central City. He worked for Cheyenne Music and Vending as a coin machine mechanic.
He was a member of Holy Trinity Catholic Church and an honorary life member of the Knights of Columbus.
Survivors include his wife; four sons, Robert J. and Donald, both of Cheyenne, Charles of Centennial, Wyo., and Jeffrey of Boulder, Colo.; two daughters, Mary K. Christensen of Boise, Idaho, and Colleen A. Cohen of Fort Collins, Colo.; six grandchildren; one brother, William of Grand Island; and one sister, Mary Kittel of Hermitage, Tenn.
He was preceded in death by one sister, Joyce Jorgensen.
Dorothy Spelts
Dorothy Helen Spelts, 76, of Grand Island died Sunday, July 12, 1998, at her home.
Memorial services will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the First Presbyterian Church. Dr. Glenn Olds and the Rev. Andrew M. Augustyn will officiate. A private burial will precede the service in the Grand Island City Cemetery.
There will be no visitation. Apfel-Butler-Geddes Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Memorials are suggested to the church.
Mrs. Spelts was born on Jan. 13, 1922, at Omaha to Elmer and Hazel (Boesche) Tipton. She was raised and educated in Omaha. She attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
She married
Richard E. Spelts Jr. on April 11, 1942, in Omaha. The couple moved to Grand Island in 1947.
Mrs. Spelts served her community through various volunteer activities. She served as president of the Women's Association of the First Presbyterian Church and as an elder. She was affiliated with PEO and the New Book Club.
Survivors include her husband; two daughters, Connie (Mrs. Gary) Brouillette of Mission Hills, Kan., and Susie (Mrs. Charles) Fricke of Houston; four grandchildren; and two great-grandsons.
Irving Phillips
Irving D. Phillips, 88, of Grand Island died Monday, July 13, 1998, at a nursing home in McCook.
Apfel-Butler-Geddes Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangement.
Alex Bialas
GENOA - Alex Leo Bialas, 79, of Genoa died Saturday, July 11, 1998, at St. Francis Medical Center.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Genoa. The Rev. Don Cleary will officiate. Burial will be in Valley View cemetery with military rites by American Legion Post 263 of Silver Creek.
Visitation will be from 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesday at Anson Funeral Home in Genoa and from 7 to 9 p.m., with a 7:30 p.m. vigil service, Tuesday at the church.
Memorials are suggested to the donor's choice.
Mr. Bialas was born on March 17, 1919, in Nance County to John and Mary (Bargiol) Bialas. He attended rural Nance County schools and was involved in farming.
Mr. Bialas served in the U.S. Army from 1942 to 1946.
He married
Josephine Borowiak on Dec. 26, 1945, in Genoa. The couple lived in Merrick and Nance counties all their lives.
He was a member of St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church, American Legion Post 263 of Silver Creek and was a lifetime member of the Disabled American Veterans.
Survivors include his wife; two daughters, Theresa (Mrs. Leonard) Brezenski of Columbus and Joyce (Mrs. James) Sock of Albion; eight grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; and two sisters, Wanda Lesiak of Fullerton and Tessie (Mrs. Marion) Slusarski of Columbus.
He was preceded in death by six brothers, Leo, Emil, Tony, Walter, Alphonse and Henry; and one sister, Cecelia.
