U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
Shirley Griffith
AURORA -- Shirley Joan Griffith, 64, died on Friday, April 2, 1999, at her home northwest of Aurora.
Private graveside services will be at the Aurora Cemetery.
Public visitation will be from 5 to 9 p.m. Monday at Higby Mortuary in Aurora.
Mrs. Griffith was born on Dec. 10, 1934, at Davenport to Ivan and Minnie (Snyder) Miller. She grew up at Carleton and graduated from Carleton High School in 1952. Following graduation, she worked at the bank in Carleton.
She married
Albert "Bill" Griffith on June 19, 1955, at Carleton. They lived in Bruning until 1962, when they moved to a farm northwest of Aurora. She was a housewife and mother.
She was an active member of the Aurora United Methodist Church. She enjoyed gardening and flowers, sewing and quilting, baking and canning.
Survivors include her husband; one son, Wayne of Aurora; three daughters, Cindy (Mrs. Mike) Hansen of Omaha and Cheri (Mrs. Dennis) Fierstein and Lori (Mrs. Dave) Ziska, both of Grand Island; eight grandchildren; one brother, Huebert Miller of Bruning; and four sisters, Helen (Mrs. Bob) Chancellor of Lincoln, Ila (Mrs. Lew) Holland of Loveland, Colo., Dorothy (Mrs. Virgil) Drohman of Boulder, Colo., and Ethel (Mrs. Bob) Bell of Fruitland Park, Fla.
She was preceded in death by one sister, Doris (Mrs. Louie) Gilbert; and one brother, Alan Miller.
Bill Peterson
Bill Peterson, 88, of Grand Island died Wednesday, March 31, 1999, at Clarkson Hospital in Omaha.
Memorial services will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church. The Rev. Tim Anderson will officiate. Burial will be in St. Stephen's Church Columbarium.
There will be no visitation. Apfel-Butler-Geddes Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Memorials are suggested to the church or College Park.
Mr. Peterson was born on May 15, 1910, at Vahlia, Arcadia, Greece, to Petros and Nicoletta Petropoulos. He was educated in nearby schools.
He married
Helene Mirras on June 4, 1936, at Huron, S.D. The couple lived until 1951 in Kearney, where he owned the Tasty Tea Room and Grantham's Cafe. He came to Grand Island in 1951 and operated Schuff's Cafeteria.
He founded Delicious Foods in 1962 and served as president or chairman of the board until retiring in 1983.
The Federal Reserve Bank appointed Mr. Peterson as an agent to promote and sell war bonds in Kearney during World War II. He also was Victory Bond Drive chairman in Kearney, and the drive was oversubscribed in one day. He received a state award for selling the most bonds.
He was appointed state chairman of the Greek War Relief Association in 1942 and raised many carloads of clothing and thousands of dollars for the starving people of Greece under the occupation.
Mr. Peterson co-founded Platte Valley State Bank of Kearney in 1944 and served on the board until moving to Grand Island. He was district governor of the Order of Ahepa in 1945. He was president of Goodwill Industries of Grand Island and served on the board of the Grand Island Area Chamber of Commerce, Industrial Foundation, United Way and College Park.
He was Nebraska Small Businessman of the Year in 1980, was twice elected Nebraska Person of the Year for hiring the handicapped and was honored by Grand Island and Hall County for his service to industrial and economic development.
In 1987, he received the American Citizen by Choice Award and was grand marshal for the Harvest of Harmony Parade.
He was a member of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church and later joined St. Stephen's Episcopal Church.
Mr. Peterson was a member of Ahepa, Elks, Liederkranz, Rob Morris Lodge 46 A.F. and A.M., Royal Arch Mason, Knights of Templar, Tehama Shrine Temple, Grand Island Grand Jesters, Rotary Club and the Touchdown Club.
Survivors include his wife; one daughter, Mary M. Kohl of Omaha; one son, Ernie W. of Grand Island; five grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and one brother, Costas Petropoulos of Athens, Greece.
He was preceded in death by five brothers, George, Stavros, Nick, Ted and Jim; and one sister, Demetria.
Marilyn Fox
BREWSTER -- Marilyn Ione Fox, 61, of Brewster died Thursday, April 1, 1999, at Jennie Melham Memorial Medical Center in Broken Bow from injuries suffered in a traffic accident near Brewster.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday at the Berean Fundamental Church in Broken Bow. The Rev. Steve Hicks will officiate. Burial will be in the Ansley Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday at Govier Brothers Mortuary in Broken Bow.
Memorials are suggested in her name.
Mrs. Fox was born on Feb. 19, 1938, at Broken Bow to Leonard L. and Mildred (Rapp) Anderson.
She married
Leland L. Fox on June 10, 1956. They lived in the Brewster area.
She was a member of the Pleasant Valley Gospel Church at Brewster. She was a schoolteacher, bus driver and a piano teacher.
Survivors include her husband; five daughters, Sheri (Mrs. Steve) Oman of Callaway, LeAnne (Mrs. Greg) Coleman of Dunning, Connie (Mrs. Byron) Cox of Purdum, Marcia (Mrs. Bob) Keeney of Callaway and Debbie (Mrs. Pat) Higgins of Amherst; 14 grandchildren; her mother, Mildred Olson of Broken Bow; one sister, Karma (Mrs. Jerry) Thomas of Newcastle; and one brother, Cortland Anderson of Colorado Springs, Colo.
She was preceded in death by her father.
Dorothy Schroeder
GOTHENBURG -- Dorothy H. Schroeder, 86, of Gothenburg, formerly of Shelton, died Wednesday, March 31, 1999, in Lincoln.
Services will be at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at the United Methodist Church in Shelton. The Rev. Charles Spence will officiate. Burial will be in the Shelton Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 9:30 a.m. to service time Saturday at the church.
A memorial has been established.
Blase Memorial Chapel in Gothenburg is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Schroeder was born on Dec. 20, 1912, at Grant to John and Anna (Johnson) Johnson. She lived in the Grant area until 1920, when they moved to Gibbon. She lived in Gibbon until her marriage.
She married
Roy Schroeder on June 7, 1939. They lived on a farm south of Shelton until moving into Shelton in 1956. She taught in rural schools and later in the Shelton school district for 30 years. Mr. Schroeder died on Feb. 5, 1970. Mrs. Schroeder lived there until last year, when she moved to Crestview Apartments in Gothenburg.
Survivors include one daughter, Dolores (Mrs. Dale) Stevens of Brady; one son, Eugene Schroeder of Grant; four grandchildren; one great-grandson; and one sister, Ruth Stevens of Kearney.
Other than her husband, she was preceded in by three brothers.
Donna Irwin
Donna L. Irwin, 60, of Grand Island died Tuesday, Jan. 13, 1998, at St. Francis Medical Center from a long-term illness.
Services will be at 3 p.m. Friday at Trinity United Methodist Church's Gollaher Chapel. The Rev. George Wheat will officiate. Burial will be in Westlawn Memorial Park Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 3 to 9 p.m. Thursday at Apfel-Butler-Geddes Funeral Home.
Memorials are suggested to the American Cancer Society.
Mrs. Irwin was born on Feb. 8, 1937, at Lincoln to Evelyn Gillham. She was raised by Paul and Evelyn Magnuson. She grew up in Central City, Archer and Grand Island and graduated from Grand Island Senior High.
She married
James Grandon in 1955 in Wichita, Kan. The couple lived in Wichita.
She married
Robert Irwin in July 1960 in Grand Island. She lived in Grand Island, where she worked at the Cornhusker Army Ammunition Plant before working at Kmart as electronics department manager for 25 years.
She was a member of Trinity United Methodist Church and the City Singers. She enjoyed camping, fishing, bingo, bowling and coaching girls softball.
Survivors include two sons, Timothy L. Grandon of Grand Island and Jimmie L. Grandon of Lexington; three daughters, Teresa R. Reinertson and Catherine A. Miller, both of Lexington, and Tammy Galusha of Grand Island; 17 grandchildren; one great-grandchild; her mother, Evelyn P. Magnuson of Grand Island; one sister, Nancy A. Slattery of Tulsa, Okla.; and two brothers, Samuel C. Magnuson of Casper, Wyo., and Steven E. Magnuson of Gillette, Wyo.
She was preceded in death by her stepfather, Paul Magnuson.
