U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
Stella Beckman
PETERSBURG - Services for Stella Beckman, 81, of Petersburg will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday at St. John’s Catholic Church in Petersburg with burial in the parish cemetery.
Visitation will be Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m. at the church, with a wake at 7:30 p.m., and resume at 9 a.m. Friday at the church. Levander Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
She died Monday, Jan. 9, 2006, at Willows Assisted Living in Neligh.
Garold Butler
BASSETT - Services for Garold M. Butler, 84, of Bassett will be Thursday at 2 p.m. at Valley Grove Community Church at Bassett. Burial will be in the Stuart Community Cemetery.
Visitation will be at Hoch Funeral Home in Bassett from 1 p.m. Wednesday until service time.
He died Sunday, Jan. 8, 2006, at Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney.
Memorials go to Valley Grove Community Church or to the family.
Shirley Darling
ALBION - Services for Shirley Darling, 65, of Albion will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Zion Lutheran Church in Albion with burial at Rose Hill Cemetery. Visitation will be Tuesday from 4-8 p.m. at Levander Funeral Home in Albion.
She died Sunday, Jan. 8, 2006, at Boone County Health Center in Albion.
The daughter of Theodore and Millie Bannister Schafer was born July 29, 1940, at Albion. She attended school at Boone County School District 24 near Dennison and graduated from Albion High School in 1958.
On June 1, 1958, Shirley was united in marriage to John H. Darling Jr. at Zion Lutheran Church in Albion. They resided at several places including Albion, Fullerton, Gordon, Scottsbluff, Norfolk and Arvada, Colo. In 1996, Shirley and John moved back to Albion. Shirley worked as a bookkeeper at the Fullerton and Albion livestock markets, the water district at Scottsbluff and as a payroll clerk at Hansel Phelps Construction in Denver.
Shirley was a member of Zion Lutheran Church in Albion and the church choir. She also served on various committees at church. She was a member of the hospital auxiliary, and she and John belonged to various square dancing clubs.
Shirley is survived by her husband, John of Albion; son, Kevin Darling and wife Tami of McCook; daughter, Teddi Dubas and husband Paul of Bennet; six grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; brother, Gary Schafer and fiancee Lynn of Columbus; sister, Renalle Loshbaugh and husband Bob of McCook; along with many nieces, nephews and friends.
She was preceded in death by her parents and great-granddaughter, Kaya Hunt.
Condolences may be sent to www.levanderfuneralhome.com
Clayton Higgins
NIOBRARA - Services for Clayton Higgins, 91, of Niobrara will be Thursday at 10:30 a.m. at the Niobrara Lutheran Church with burial in L’Eau Qui Court Cemetery.
Visitation will be Wednesday from 4 to 7 p.m. at Brockhaus Funeral Home in Niobrara.
Mr. Higgins died Monday, Jan. 9, 2006, at Alpine Village in Verdigre.
Geraldine Sterner
MADISON - Services for Geraldine M. Sterner, 80, of Madison will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at Trinity United Methodist Church in Madison. Burial will be in Crown Hill Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Resseguie Funeral Home.
Mrs. Sterner died Sunday, Jan. 8, 2006, at Faith Regional Health Services.
Memorials may be directed to Trinity United Methodist Church in Madison.
Geraldine was born Jan. 12, 1925, in Madison, the daughter of James and Meta (Andre) Kilgore Sr. She was raised in Madison and graduated from Madison High School in 1943. After her education, Geraldine worked as a switchboard operator for the telephone company in Madison. She later worked for several hotels in Norfolk and in Lincoln as a switchboard operator.
On Oct. 17, 1947, Geraldine married Willis A. Sterner in Madison. The couple lived in Lincoln before returning to Madison in 1948. They have lived in Madison for the past 57 years. Geraldine was a member of Trinity United Methodist Church in Madison at the time of her death.
She enjoyed reading and canning what their garden produced. She especially enjoyed her family and her grandchildren.
Geraldine is survived by her husband of nearly 58 years; her children and their spouses, Wesley and Lynda Sterner of Las Vegas, Nev., Gregory and Julie Sterner of Norfolk, James Sterner of Mineral Springs, Tenn., Eugene and Laura of Muddy Pond, Tenn., and Julie Ann and Gregg Gunderson of Aurora; 12 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren; and one brother and his wife, James and Doris Kilgore Jr. of Madison.
She was preceded in death by her parents, one brother and one sister.
Gary Ward
CLEARWATER - Services for Gary J. Ward, 66, of Ewing are pending at Snider Memorial Funeral Home in Clearwater. He died Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2006, at his home following a lengthy illness
Oscar Carlson
Services for Oscar Carlson, 88, Norfolk, will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Johnson-Stonacek Funeral Chapel in Norfolk. Burial will be in the Laurel City Cemetery.
Visitation will be 3-8 p.m. Tuesday at the chapel.
He died Sunday, Jan. 8, 2006, at St. Joseph’s Nursing Home in Norfolk.
He was born March 3, 1917, in Dixon County to Gust Carlson and Elin Kvick. He graduated from Dixon High School.
He married Donna June Wickett on Aug. 15, 1943. She died July 21, 1960, from cancer. He married Mabel Elizabeth Stuff at First United Methodist Church, Jamestown, N.D., on Oct. 13, 1963. They took their wedding trip to Winnipeg, Manitoba, and other places in Canada.
He was a member of Jehovah’s Witnesses Kingdom Hall at Norfolk. He was baptized July 19, 1980, at Kingdom Hall.
Oscar was a farmer all of his life in the Dixon and Laurel area. Besides farming, he had a small dairy. He also did custom combining for a few years. In 1983, he and his wife retired and moved to Norfolk. He enjoyed music, reading, medical books, animals, the outdoors and traveling. He has been a resident of St. Joseph’s Nursing Home since Oct. 23, 2004.
Survivors are his wife, Mabel Carlson of Norfolk; three sons, Richard Carlson of Ponca, Robert Carlson of Hebron and Ted Carlson of Brandon, S.D.; daughter, Janet Kavanaugh and her husband, Gary, of Laurel; two granddaughters, Deborah Obermeyer and her husband, Steve, of Wakefield, and Colleen Kavanaugh of Orlando, Fla.; a brother, Victor, and his wife, Arlyce, of Concord; three sisters, Esther Craig of Topeka, Kan., Violet Wickett and her husband, Keith, of Laurel, and Bonnie Green and her husband, Bill, of St. Louis, Mo. He was preceded in death by his parents, first wife Donna on July 21, 1960, two brothers, Carl and Ernest, and one sister, Ruth Kamrath.
Casket bearers are Jon Benson, Ken Halsey, Mark Hyatt, Seth Hyatt, George Thomas and John Vaught.
Horace Verry
A memorial service for Horace D. “Hoss” Verry, 73, was conducted Jan. 5 at Adair Avalon Chapel in Tucson, Ariz., with military rites by the Fort Huachuca Select Honor Guard.
He died Dec. 29, 2005, at Tucson.
He was born in Keene, N.H., on July 14, 1932. Horace was united in marriage to Mary Jean Lutes on Dec. 30, 1956, at the First Presbyterian Church in Norfolk. Mary Jean and children lived in Norfolk, close to her parents, the late Leon and Martha Lutes, during Horace’s military tour in Vietnam.
He will be remembered as a loving husband and father who sacrificed everything for his family and his country with 30 years of dedicated service as a U.S. Army Ranger, including tours in Korea and Vietnam. He was a retired lieutenant colonel.
Beloved husband, father, grandfather and brother, he is survived by his devoted wife of 49 years, Mary Jean (Lutes), formerly of Norfolk; children, Marianne, Jon, Pamela, Jay and Heidi; grandchildren, Annemarie, Jay, Christopher, Amber, Thomas, Matthew, Justin, Jennifer and Madison; a great-grandson, Hayden; a sister, Elizabeth Verry; brother-in-law, Charles Lutes, and his wife, Ruth, of Norfolk; and a sister-in-law, Deborah Lutes, also of Norfolk.
Shirley Darling
ALBION - Shirley Darling, 65, of Albion died Sunday, Jan. 8, 2006, at Boone County Health Center in Albion.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Zion Lutheran Church in Albion with burial at Rose Hill Cemetery. Visitation will be Tuesday from 4-8 p.m. at Levander Funeral Home in Albion.
Evelyn Fuller
O’NEILL - Services for Evelyn Fuller, 69, of O’Neill will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at Biglin’s Mortuary in O’Neill with burial in the O’Neill Cemetery.
Visitation will be Wednesday from 6 to 9 p.m. at the mortuary with an 8 p.m. prayer service.
She died Saturday, Jan. 7, 2006, at Avera St. Anthony’s Hospital in O’Neill.
Rev. Edward Gill
ALBION - Services for the Rev. Edward Gill, 92, Albion, will be at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at St. Michael Catholic Church in Albion with burial Friday at Rose Hill Burial Park in Oklahoma City, Okla., following a memorial Mass at the Carmelite Sisters Convent.
Visitation will be 3-8 p.m. Tuesday at the church, with a rosary at 4 p.m. and wake at 7:30 p.m., and continue Wednesday after 9:30 a.m. at the church. Levander Funeral Home of Albion is in charge of arrangements.
He died Saturday, Jan. 7, 2006, at Boone County Health Center in Albion.
Memorials are suggested to St. Michael’s Catholic School or Church in Albion.
Edward Bryan Gill, the son of John E. and Lillian Dunn Gill, was born May 22, 1913, in Omaha. He received his elementary education at Sacred Heart School in Omaha and attended Creighton Prep. He continued his education by attending Nazareth Hall Seminary in St. Paul, Minn., and St. Thomas Seminary in Denver, Colo. He was ordained on May 31, 1941, by Archbishop Ryan at St. Cecelia’s Cathedral in Omaha.
In the nearly 60 years that Father Ed served actively in the priesthood, he served St. Peter’s and St. Agnes parishes in Omaha, parishes in Coleridge, Norfolk, Plainview, Butte, Madison, Atkinson, Central City, Stanton, Osmond and St. Edward. Sister Agatha Marie and Sister Maxelinda assisted Father Gill in St. Edward. They built liturgy, Catholic school education, CCD programs, convert classes, ministry to care center shut-ins, offered several parish retreats, along with many, many other services to the many communities he served.
Father Gill enjoyed companionship with many of his friends while golfing, a sport which he dearly loved. He also enjoyed reading, listening to and collecting music tapes and CDs.
Following his official retirement on June 17, 1999, he and the sisters moved from St. Edward to Albion where he assisted Father Frank Baumert at St. Michael’s parish and continued to share his time along with Sister Agatha at Cloverlodge Care Center in St. Edward.
Following declining health the past several years, Father Gill entered Cloverlodge Care Center in October of 2004.
He is survived by several dear nieces and nephews, Sister Agatha Marie, and a host of friends.
Father Gill was preceded in death by his parents; one sister, Lillian Switzer; two brothers, Jeremiah and John; and two infant brothers.
