U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
Joy Sipple
PONCE, Puerto Rico -- Joy F. Sipple Jr., 82, of Ponce, Puerto Rico, formerly of Grand Island, died Sunday, Dec. 28, 1997, in the Ponce hospital.
Services and burial were in Puerto Rico.
Mr. Sipple was born on Aug. 26, 1915, in Grand Island to Joy F. and Adda (Rockwell) Sipple. He graduated from Grand Island Senior High School in 1934.
He married
Margaret Schellman on Feb. 14, 1940. They moved to Long Beach, Calif., where he worked as a welder in a shipyard.
He later worked on a pipeline in Saudi Arabia before moving to Ponce, where he owned his own construction company.
He married
Iris Mercado in 1962 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Survivors include his wife; two sons, Joy III of Ponce and Charles of California; three daughters, Ada of Ponce and Joyce and Susan, both of California; two brothers, Charles of Grand Island and Rex of Ogallala; and two sisters, Opal Mawhinney and Juleen (Mrs. Barney) Reher of Grand Island.
Robert Swenson
ROCKY HILL, Conn. -- Robert D. Swenson, 80, of the Rocky Hill, Conn., Veterans Home died Dec. 19.
A military funeral and burial were on Dec. 22 at the Rocky Hill Veterans Home.
Mr. Swenson was the son of Charles and Mary (Harrison) Swenson. He was a World War II veteran. He lived at Southington, Conn., for 40 years.
Survivors include two sons, Robert Swenson of Grand Island and James Swenson of Massachusetts; two daughters, Mary Lamont of Plainville, Conn., and Gail Swenson of Bristol, Conn.; five grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
His wife, Angela Swenson, died on June 10, 1997.
Mabel Hallner
Mabel E. Hallner, 89, of Grand Island, formerly of Ericson, died Wednesday, June 17, 1998, at St. Francis Skilled Care.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Monday at the Ericson United Methodist Church. The Rev. Cynthia Altstadt will officiate. Burial will be in the Bartlett Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Ord Memorial Chapel.
Ruth Hodtwalker
Ruth Hodtwalker, 74, of Grand Island died Tuesday, June 16, 1998, at St. Francis Medical Center.
Services will be at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Apfel-Butler-Geddes Funeral Home. The Rev. Joel Schroeder will officiate. Burial will be in Westlawn Memorial Park Cemetery.
Mrs. Hodtwalker was cremated. There will be no visitation.
Memorials are suggested to the YMCA.
Mrs. Hodtwalker was born on June 3, 1924, in Merrick County to Floyd and Ethel Tyler. She grew up in Chapman and was educated at Rose Valley District 3 School. She graduated from Chapman High School on May 13, 1941, and then graduated from Grand Island School of Business.
She married
Kenneth R. Hodtwalker on May 21, 1942, at Grand Island. She lived in Grand Island while Mr. Hodtwalker was serving in the U.S. Army. He returned home in 1945, and the couple lived on a farm near Chapman for many years. They farmed and operated a popcorn-processing business. They later moved to Grand Island. She worked for many years in retail cosmetic sales and later in food and beverage wholesaling before working at Grand Island News and Books.
She was a member of St. Pauls Lutheran Church, the Eagles, Platt-Duetsche Society, American Legion and Elks Club. She was also a foster grandparent at Knickrehm Elementary School.
Survivors include two sons, Richard Hodtwalker of Grand Island and James Hodtwalker of Texas; a foster son, Les Grotzky of Wilton, Iowa; two daughters, Julie Blanke of Espanola, N.M., and Elaine Mainwaring of Nederland, Colo.; 10 grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; three foster grandchildren; and three foster great-grandchildren.
Her husband died in 1992. She also was preceded in death by a sister, Marjorie.
Audrey Likes
Audrey B. Likes, 82, of Grand Island, formerly of Lexington, died Wednesday, June 17, 1998, at St. Francis Memorial Health Center.
Services will be at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at Apfel-Butler-Geddes Funeral Home. The Rev. Jocelyn B. Tupper will officiate. Burial will be at 1 p.m. Saturday in Greenwood cemetery at Lexington. The Rev. Karla Sheffy will officiate.
Visitation will be from 3 to 9 p.m., with the family receiving friends from 5 to 7 p.m., Friday at the funeral home.
Memorials are suggested to Parkinson's disease research or the Good Samaritan Center at Wood River.
Mrs. Likes was born on July 20, 1915, at Wood River to Lloyd and Jennie (Williams) Hodges. She grew up and was educated at Wood River, graduating from Wood River High School. She taught rural school for one year.
She married
Jesse C. Likes in 1934 at Grand Island. They lived in Lexington. She worked at Reutlinger's five-and-10 in Lexington and at the Lexington State Bank. Later she and her husband had a photography studio in Lexington. She retired from Central Alfalfa as a secretary.
She was a member of the First Methodist Church and the Order of the Eastern Star. She enjoyed traveling, needlework, flowers and baking.
Survivors include one sister, Joyce Stewart of Chico, Calif.; and one sister-in-law, Dorothy Hodges of Grand Island.
She was preceded in death by her husband and a brother, Elden "Kuke" Hodges.
Bessie Wieser
Bessie E. Wieser, 95, of Grand Island died Thursday, June 18, 1998, at Park Place Health Care and Rehab Center.
Services will be at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Apfel-Butler-Geddes Funeral Home. The Rev. George Wheat will officiate. Burial will be in the Grand Island City Cemetery.
There will be no visitation.
Memorials are suggested to Trinity United Methodist Church.
Mrs. Wieser was born on Feb. 10, 1903, in Nance County to Dave and Cynthia Ann (Watson) Elliott. She grew up and was educated in Nance County near Fullerton.
She married
Loyd Wieser in 1920 in Howard County. The couple lived in Wolbach, where she owned and operated the City Cafe. She sold the cafe in 1955 and moved to Grand Island, where she did home health care work before retiring.
Survivors include one daughter, Velda Christensen of Grand Island; two sons, Lloyd Wieser of Cozad and Wayne Wieser of Shelton; 11 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband; one daughter, Shirley Goehring; one grandson; eight brothers; and five sisters.
Marie Brickel
FULLERTON -- Marie Brickel, 78, of Fullerton died Thursday, June 18, 1998, at St. Francis Medical Center in Grand Island.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Monday at Palmer Funeral Home in Fullerton. The Rev. Mary McQueen will officiate. Burial will be in Rose Hill cemetery in Albion.
Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home.
Mrs. Brickel was born on Dec. 19, 1919, in Albion to Fredrick and Theresa (Muller) Brickel. She attended District 7 School in Albion.
She married
Clarence R. Brickel on Sept. 7, 1939, in Bartlett. They lived in Fullerton.
Survivors include her husband; one daughter, Janice Peterson of Fullerton; and two grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by one son, Clarence Clay Brickel, in 1972.
Helen Leibert
SARGENT -- Helen M. Leibert, 80, of Sargent died Thursday, June 18, 1998, at the Sargent Nursing Center.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Rhoad Funeral Chapel in Sargent. The Rev. Samm Johnston will officiate. Burial will be in Mount Hope cemetery at Sargent.
There will be no visitation.
Memorials are suggested to the United Methodist Church or the American Heart Association.
