U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
Alberta Anderson
BROKEN BOW -- Alberta A. Anderson, 86, of Broken Bow, formerly of Ansley, died Monday, Jan. 25, 1999, at Heritage Hall Nursing Home in Broken Bow.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Friday at the United Methodist Church in Ansley. The Rev. J. Green and Florence Cox will officiate. Burial will be in the Ansley Cemetery. Visitation will be from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday at Govier Brothers Mortuary and Friday from 11 a.m. until service time at the church in Ansley.
A memorial has been established to the Alberta Anderson Scholarship Fund at the Ansley High School.
Mrs. Anderson was born Nov. 29, 1912, at Ansley to Claude and Clara (Gentry) Roach. She graduated from Ansley High School and remained in the Ansley and Mason City areas.
On June 1, 1934, she married
Walter Anderson. They farmed with his father until moving to Ansley, where they lived the remainder of their married
life. Mr. Anderson died June 17, 1982.
Mrs. Anderson cooked at Ansley High School, was a waitress at area restaurants and in Broken Bow, operated her own restaurant, did church work and enjoyed crafts.
She was a member of the United Methodist Church, Broken Bow Does, Past Nobe Grands and the Rebekahs.
Survivors include one daughter, Vianne (Mrs. Dwayne) Anderson of Kearney; one grandson; one brother, Arthur Roach of Kearney and one great-granddaughter.
In addition to her husband she was preceded in death by a brother and twin grandsons.
Emma Senkbile
CENTRAL CITY -- Emma Darlene Senkbile, 58, of Central City died Sunday, Jan. 24, 1999, at Park Place Health Care and Rehab Center.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at Solt Funeral Home in Central City. The Rev. Charles Pollard will officiate. Burial will be in the Central City Cemetery. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home.
Mrs. Senkbile was born March 22, 1940, in Central City to John and Esther (Harrington) Brondel. She grew up and graduated from Central City High School in 1958. She worked at Wilder's Cafe and Hallgrimson's Nursing Home.
She married
Wayne Elmer Senkbile on Feb. 27, 1960, in the St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Central City. In 1966 they moved to the Senkbile family farm.
She was a member of the Grace Lutheran Church and participated in the Ladies Circle. She also served as a Sunday School teacher. She enjoyed playing cards, dominoes, doing crossword puzzles and was proud of her salt and pepper shaker collection.
Survivors include two sons, Mitch of Central City and Kevin of Grand Island; one daughter, Teresa Senkbile of Central City; her mother, Esther Brondel of Central City; four brothers, David of Central City, Stanley of Grand Island, Dale of Lincoln and Raymond of Tehachapi, Calif.; four sisters, Deloris (Mrs. Bob) Kyes of Central City, Ella (Mrs. Peter) Lachenbruch of Ashton, Md., Kathryn (Mrs. Sam) Price of Acton, Calif., and Marlene Brondel and Mike Schafer of Lincoln; and two grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her father; one brother, Marvin and her husband, Wayne.
Walter Staab
ANSLEY -- Walter Arthur Staab, 81, of Ansley died Monday, Jan. 25, 1999, at St. Francis Medical Center in Grand Island.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday at the First Baptist Church in Ansley. The Rev. Jerry Ruzicka will officiate. Burial with military rites will be in the Mason City Cemetery. Visitation will be from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday at Govier Brothers Mortuary in Broken Bow.
Memorials are suggested to the First Baptist Church in Ansley.
Mr. Staab was born Nov. 16, 1917, at Berwyn to Arthur L. and Alta Jane (Swancutt) Staab. he attended Happy Hallow Country School and graduated from Ansley High School in 1936.
Mr. Staab served in the U.S. Army during World War II from July 1941 to October 1945.
On June 7, 1943, he married
Alice Knudson at Mason City. They farmed in the Mason City and Ansley area. Later Mr. Staab began working for the Ansley City Utilities Department, retiring in 1992.
Mr. Staab was a member of the First Baptist Church in Ansley and also attended the Christian Science Church since the 1950s. He was also a member of the American Legion at Mason City, Custer County Grange, Muddy Creek Historical Society and was a member of the Mason City Veterans' Baseball Team. He was an avid sports fan.
Survivors include his wife; two sons, Stan of Norfolk and Steve of Ansley; five grandchildren; five brothers, Glenn of Grand Island, Harvey of Denver, Robert of Broken Bow, Norman of Cedar Bluffs and Orie of Omaha; and one sister, Marguerite Bristol of Ansley.
He was preceded in death by two brothers, Herbert and John.
Robert Wykoff
PHILLIPS -- Robert L. Wykoff, 59, of Phillips, died Tuesday, Jan. 26, 1999, at the St. Francis Medical Center in Grand Island.
Services are pending with Apfel-Butler-Geddes Funeral Home.
Elwin Tophoj
OGALLALA -- Elwin R. Tophoj, 70, of Ogallala died Sunday, Jan. 24, 1999, at the Great Plains Medical Center in North Platte.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the United Methodist Church in Ogallala. The Rev. Ray Norris will officiate. Burial will be in the Ogallala Cemetery. Visitation will be from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Draucker Funeral Home in Ogallala.
Memorials are suggested to the Alzheimers Foundation and the United Methodist Church.
Mr. Tophoj was born April 20, 1928, in Big Springs to Lawrence and Elisabeth (Christensen) Tophoj. He graduated from Chappell High School in 1945 and then attended Luther College at Wahoo in 1946.
After attending Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Minn., in 1948 he transferred to Chadron State College and graduated in 1950. Mr. Tophoj completed his masters degree at University of Wyoming in 1968.
He married
Betty Louise Farlin at the Methodist Church in Chappell on Aug. 22, 1948.
Mr. Tophoj started his teaching career in Newman Grove in 1950. He moved to Valley and taught there from 1951 to 1953. He then moved to Ogallala in 1954 and continued to teach.
When he first started in the Ogallala Public School system he taught Junior High Social Studies and coached football. He later taught Social Studies in the Senior High School and in 1972 assumed the duties of Athletic Director and Assistant Principal. He held that position until retiring in 1989.
He was also active in wheat farming in Deuel and Garden counties.
He was active in the United Methodist Church and served as president of Methodist Men. He served on the Pastor-Parish Relations Committee, and was a teacher and superintendent of the Sunday School.
He was chairman of the Cub Scout Committee. He was a member of the Lions Club, Ogallala Jaycees and was a charter member of the Kiwanis. Mr. Tophoj served as chairman of the Keith County Education Association.
Survivors include his wife; three sons, Bruce of Oklahoma City, Okla., Brad of Grand Island and Brian of Broomfield, Colo.; one daughter, Diane (Mrs. Bob) Wheatley of Lincoln; three sisters, Esther White of Oshkosh, Evelyn Henry of Denver, Colo., and Edna (Mrs. Ed) Frause of Englewood, Colo.; and 11 grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by four brothers, Earl, Eugene, Ernest and Erwin.
Ruby Hartman
CANON CITY, Colo. -- Ruby V. Hartman, 83, of Canon City, Colo., formerly of Kearney, died Tuesday, Jan. 26, 1999, at her home in Colorado.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Friday at the Zion Lutheran Church in Kearney. The Rev. North Sherrill Jr. will officiate. Burial will be in the Kearney Cemetery. Visitation will be from 4 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday and 9 a.m. until noon Friday at Horner-Lieske-Horner Mortuary. Further visitation will be Friday afternoon until service time at the church.
Mrs. Hartman was born May 11, 1915, near Odessa to Jesse and Martha (Lindholm) Knox and lived in the Riverdale and Kearney area until moving to Canon City in 1992.
She graduated from Riverdale High School.
She married
Oscar Hartman on Sept. 15, 1932, in Amherst and they lived on the farm near Amherst for several years. They later owned and operated a cafe in Kearney and she worked at the State Tuberculosis Hospital.
She was a member of Zion Lutheran Church in Kearney and St. John's Lutheran Church in Canon City.
Survivors include one daughter, Fay Dauel of Canon City, Colo.; four sons, Fred of Tecumseh, Dick of Grand Island, Gary Hartman of Scottsbluff and Dan of Omaha; 23 grandchildren; and 19 great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband on April 16, 1988; two sisters; and one brother.
Lillian Boernke
Lillian B. Boernke, 97, of Lakeview Rehab/Nursing Center died Tuesday, Oct. 27, 1998, at the center.
Services are pending at Livingston-Sondermann Funeral Home.
