U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
Viletha Graham
BURWELL -- Viletha M. Graham, 72, of Burwell died Feb. 8, 1999, near Dunning. She was cremated.
Services will be at 4 p.m. Sunday at the United Methodist Church in Burwell. The Rev. Roger Gillming will officiate.
Memorials are suggested to Ms. Graham's granddaughters.
Eberle-Hitchcock Funeral Home in Burwell is in charge of arrangements.
Ms. Graham was born on July 14, 1926, on a farm near Whitesville, Mo., to Gerald and Grace Dearmont. She came to Nebraska with her family in the spring of 1927. They settled about six miles south and west of Burwell. She attended District 56 School in Valley County and graduated from Burwell High School.
She married
Jim Graham. They were later divorced.
She worked for the state, traveling around helping take care of people in their homes.
Survivors include one son, Lee Graham of Burwell; two granddaughters; four brothers, John of Rose, Nelson of O'Neill, Alvin of St. Paul and Charles of Elyria; and three sisters, Helen Fischer and Ruby (Mrs. Mel) Percell, both of Burwell, and Ivy Everheart of Grand Island.
She was preceded in death by one brother, Robert.
Cole Nealon
FARWELL -- Cole Patrick Nealon, infant son of Gordon and Thereasa (Hruby) Nealon of Farwell, was stillborn Monday, Feb. 15, 1999, at Mary Lanning Memorial Hospital in Hastings.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Friday at St. Anthony's Catholic Church in Farwell. The Rev. Larry Coulter will officiate. Graveside services will be at 1:30 p.m. Friday at Hillside cemetery in Wolbach.
Memorials are suggested to the family.
Peters Funeral Home of St. Paul is in charge of arrangements.
Survivors include his parents; two sisters, Chelsea and Taylor Dawn Nealon, both at home; grandparents, Dominic and Luanna Wroblewski of Boelus, John and Pat Hruby of Oakdale and Lynn and Sharon Beyer of Apache Junction, Ariz.; and great-grandparents are Vera Maxson of Arcadia and Joe and Grace Hruby of Comstock.
He was preceded in death by his paternal grandfather, Patrick Nealon.
Robert Sestak
ARCADIA -- Robert L. Sestak, 71, of Arcadia died Tuesday, Feb. 16, 1999, at St. Francis Medical Center in Grand Island.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday at St. Josaphat's Catholic Church in Loup City. The Revs. Reginald A. Urban and Michael McDermott will officiate. Burial will be in Evergreen cemetery at Loup City with graveside military honors by Arcadia American Legion Post 251.
Visitation will be from 3 to 5 p.m. Thursday at Peters Funeral Home in Loup City and from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the church with a 7:30 p.m. vigil service and Knights of Columbus rosary.
Memorials are suggested to the church, American Legion or the donor's choice.
Mr. Sestak was born on Aug. 6, 1927, at Prague, Okla., to Frank and Carrie (Kamarad) Sestak. At the age of 2, he moved with his family to Comstock. He graduated from Comstock High School in 1944.
He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War from 1951 to 1957. He then returned to Comstock and farmed.
He married
Elaine Stobbe on June 26, 1956, at Loup City. The couple farmed near Comstock until 1962, when they moved to Arcadia, where he managed the Co-op Service Station.
He joined the First Nebraska Bank in March 1967 as a teller and insurance agent. He ran the insurance agency and eventually worked his way up in the bank to branch president. He semiretired in December 1993 and remained the bank insurance agent until fully retiring in December 1997.
He was a member of St. Josaphat's Catholic Church, where he served as a lector and sang in the men's choir. He was a member of Knights of Columbus Council 5455 of Loup City, a lifetime member of Arcadia American Legion Post 251 and a lifetime member of the Ord Veterans of Foreign Wars.
He served as the Valley County veterans service officer and formerly served on the Arcadia Village Board, school board and volunteer fire department.
He participated in the local talent show for the Arcadia Fall Festival for more than 20 years and served as grand marshal of the Fall Festival Parade in 1994.
He enjoyed fishing, dancing and golfing.
Survivors include his wife; four sons, Kenneth of Bridgeport, Robert A. of Brule, Kevin of St. Paul and Bryan of Madrid; eight grandchildren; and one brother, Jerry Sestak of Omaha.
He was preceded in death by one sister, Ione Gillham.
William Bresley
OMAHA -- William Ray Bresley, 63, of Omaha, formerly of Grand Island, died Wednesday, Feb. 17, 1999, at Methodist Hospital in Omaha.
Graveside services will be at 10 a.m. Monday at Westlawn Memorial Park cemetery in Grand Island. The Rev. Jim Keyser will officiate.
Apfel-Butler-Geddes Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Memorials are suggested to the American Cancer Society.
Mr. Bresley was born on Oct. 6, 1935, at Grand Island to Vernon and Helen (Montgomery) Bresley. He grew up in Grand Island. At the age of 4, he began attending the Omaha School for the Deaf. He graduated in 1996.
He worked for the Army Corps of Engineers for 18 years. He then worked for the Defense Finance and Accounting Services at Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha for three and a half years.
He was a member of the Lutheran Church for the Deaf in Omaha and the National Fraternal Society of the Deaf. He was very active in the deaf community and was secretary of the Omaha Association for the Deaf.
Survivors include one sister, Priscilla (Mrs. Don) Brooks of Grand Island; and his stepfather, Glenn Ball of Grand Island.
He was preceded in death by his mother, Helen Ball; and a stepsister, Sharon Kay Ball.
Margaret Kuntz
AKRON, Colo. -- Margaret Kuntz, 97, of Akron, Colo., died Feb. 10, 1999, at East Morgan County Hospital in Brush, Colo.
Services were on Saturday at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Akron.
Survivors include three sons, Gilbert of Grand Island, Leonard of Denver and Kenneth of Akron; two daughters, Trudy Hause and Margaret Eisenman, both of Greeley, Colo.; 34 grandchildren; 60 great-grandchildren; and four great-great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband and one son.
Ronald Dzingle
Ronald L. Dzingle, 55, of 1309 Sherman Place died Friday, Feb. 12, 1999, of natural causes at St. Francis Medical Center.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at Kleine Funeral Home chapel with the Rev. Roger Ridley officiating. Burial will be in Grand Island City Cemetery. Visitation is from 3 to 8 p.m. Monday at Kleine Funeral Home.
Mr. Dzingle was born on May 19, 1943, at Loup City to John and Sally Mae (Stanczyk) Dzingle. He grew up and received his education at St. Josaphat's Parochial School and graduated from Loup City High School in 1960. He entered the Navy in 1960 and served in the communication/intelligence division as a radar technician at Adak, Alaska. He was honorably discharged in 1964 and returned to Grand Island. He worked as a service technician at Nebraska Office Service from 1964 until 1969.
He married
Carol J. Stobbe on June 12, 1965, at Ashton. They lived in Grand Island. He began working for Eakes Office Products in 1969 and was service manager until 1983. At the time of his death, he owned and operated DZ Office Products. He was an avid sports fan and enjoyed music and playing the guitar.
Survivors include his wife; one son, Bryan of Grand Island; six brothers, Alvin of Chehalis, Wash., Aledoris of Fremont, John Jr. of Missouri, Donald of Ashton, Alois of Sterling, Colo., and David of Phoenix, Ariz.; and three sisters, Lillian Wojtalewicz of Ashton, Louise Madsen of Phoenix, Ariz., and Elaine Bunch of Baldwin Hills, Calif.
He was preceded in death by his parents and one brother, Richard.
John Gray
John L. Gray, 79, of the Grand Island Veterans Home died Friday, Feb. 12, 1999, at the Grand Island Veterans Home in Grand Island.
Services are pending with the Apfel-Butler-Geddes Funeral Home.
