U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
'Morris' McGuire
WOOD RIVER -- Francis "Morris" McGuire, 81, of Wood River died Friday, July 31, 1998, at Lakeview Rehab/Nursing Center in Grand Island.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Wood River. The Rev. Ray Kosmicki will officiate. Burial will be in St. Mary's Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Monday at Apfel Funeral Home in Wood River with the rosary recited at 7 p.m.
Memorials are suggested to the Damien Leper Society.
Jay Nelson
ORD -- Jay Nelson, 82, of Ord died Wednesday, July 29, 1998, at the Grand Island Veterans Home.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Monday at the United Methodist Church in Ord. The Rev. Jim Miller will officiate. Burial will be in the Ord City cemetery with military rites by the Ord Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8:30 p.m. Sunday at Ord Memorial Chapel.
Memorials are suggested to the Grand Island Veterans Home.
Mr. Nelson was born on Jan. 15, 1916, in his grandmother's home at Burwell to John Theodorick and Lula Etta (Alderman) Nelson. He grew up on a farm in the Rosevale community east of Burwell. His mother died when he was young, so his Aunt Ona Nelson moved in to help raise him and his three brothers. He attended the rural Rosevale School and graduated from Ericson High School in 1932.
He farmed with his brother Thead before entering the U.S. Army Air Corps on April 2, 1942. He served during World War II in the India-China-Burma theater as a crew chief on a C-47. He also was an airplane maintenance technician. He was discharged as a master sergeant on Jan. 3, 1946.
He married
Margaret Barnes Aug. 7, 1942. After Mr. Nelson was discharged,they moved to Ord, where he worked for Jack Romans and Ruben Cook and then owned the Lennox Heating and Air Conditioning business. He also worked as a Postal Service substitute from 1949 until retiring in 1978. He retired from the heating and air conditioning business in 1979 but still did small repair work for his old customers.
His hobbies in retirement were reading and crossword puzzles, but his happiest times were spent trucking with his son, Ken.
He was a member of the Ord VFW Post 7029, Ord American Legion Post 38 and the United Postal Workers Union.
Survivors include his wife, of Ord; two daughters, Nola (Mrs. Richard) Miles of Grand Island and Pat (Mrs. Bill) Murphy of Tucson, Ariz.; a son, Ken Nelson of Elyria; six grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; and two brothers, Lonnie Nelson of Ericson and Clay Nelson of Denver.
He was preceded in death by a brother, Thead.
Marvin Myers
Marvin C. Myers, 86, of the Grand Island Veterans Home died Sunday, Nov. 1, 1998, at the home.
Services will be 1:30 p.m. Thursday at the All Faiths Chapel at the veterans home. The Rev. Fred Weiss will officiate. Burial will be in Burkett cemetery at the veterans home.
Visitation will be from 1 p.m. to service time Thursday at the chapel.
Apfel-Butler-Geddes Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Myers was born on Dec. 2, 1911, at Benedict to Earl and Fern (McSherry) Myers. He grew up and was educated in the York and Eddyville areas.
He served in the U.S. Army from April 4, 1942, to Dec. 8, 1944. After his discharge, he lived in various towns in Nebraska.
He moved to the veterans home from Gothenburg in 1983.
Survivors include a sister, Marjorie Ingraham of Golden, Colo.
He was preceded in death by an infant brother.
Verna Beck
MASON CITY -- Verna M. Beck, 80, of Mason City died Saturday, Oct. 31, 1998, at the Sargent Health and Rehabilitation Center.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Baptist Church in Mason City. The Rev. Victor Crawford will officiate. Burial will be at 12:15 p.m. in the Mount Hope cemetery at Scotia.
Visitation will be from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at Jacobsen Funeral Home in St. Paul. Further visitation will be from 9 a.m. to service time Wednesday at the church.
Memorials are suggested to the Mason City emergency medical technicians or the hospice program.
Mrs. Beck was born on July 6, 1918, at Cotesfield to Paul and Blanch (Halla) Coufal. She grew up in Cotesfield and graduated from Cotesfield schools. After her schooling, she worked in Scotia.
She married
Willis Beck on March 19, 1948, in St. Paul. The couple lived in Scotia and Burwell and moved to Mason City in 1960. They moved to Ansley before moving back to Mason City in 1962. They purchased the Crow Bar in Mason City and operated it until 1973. Mrs. Beck then worked for Becton-Dickinson in Broken Bow for 11 years until retiring. Mr. Beck died in 1990.
Mrs. Beck enjoyed baking, especially cookies for her grandchildren; furniture refinishing; and attending a women's coffee club.
She was a member of the Baptist Church and the American Legion Auxiliary, both of Mason City.
Survivors include one son, Ron of Mason City; one daughter, Phyllis (Mrs. Melvin) Sayer of Amherst; four grandchildren; two brothers, Joe Coufal of Cotesfield and Lee Coufal of Lakebay, Wash.; and two sisters, Blanche Hermsmeyer of Mason City and Margery Conwell of Merced, Calif.
In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by one brother, Ralph Coufal.
Helen Lewin
AURORA -- Helen "Peg" Frances Lewin, 85, of Aurora died Sunday, Nov. 1, 1998, at Aurora Memorial Hospital.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Aurora Evangelical Covenant Church. The Rev. Karl Larson will officiate. Burial will be at 2 p.m. in the Douglas Grove cemetery at Comstock.
There will be no visitation. The casket will be open prior to service time at the church.
Higby Mortuary in Aurora is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Lewin was born on Oct. 21, 1913, at Naponee to Frank and Marion (Burnham) O'Neill. She grew up and was educated at Naponee. She attended Hastings College and received her bachelor of science degree in secondary education from the University of Nebraska.
Upon graduation, she moved to Broken Bow, where she worked for the federal rehabilitation office.
She married
Floyd Lewin on July 2, 1939, in Naponee. They began farming near Comstock. She began teaching in the late 1940s and taught high school in Comstock, Westerville, Fairfield and Palmer. Mr. Lewin died on Nov. 27, 1977.
Mrs. Lewin retired from teaching in 1978 and moved her mobile home to the farm of her oldest son, Byron, north of Aurora.
Following her retirement, she became very active in the Aurora Evangelical Covenant Church. She also helped deliver Meals on Wheels and volunteered at the Plainsman Museum. She was a member of the Retired Teachers Association.
Survivors include three sons, Byron of Aurora, Frank of Ord and Robert of North Charleston, S.C.; one daughter, Marianne Lewin of Bakersfield, Calif.; 12 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; and one brother, James O'Neill of Los Gatos, Calif.
In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by two brothers, Frank and Lloyd.
Vyrl Moore
HASTINGS -- Vyrl Moore, 81, of Hastings died Sunday, Nov. 1, 1998, at BryanLGH Medical Center in Lincoln.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at Butler-Volland Chapel in Hastings. The Rev. Harold D. Stromer will officiate. Burial will be in Parkview cemetery at Hastings.
Visitation will be from noon to 9 p.m. Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday and 9 a.m. to service time Thursday at the funeral home.
Memorials are suggested to St. Pauls Lutheran Church.
Mr. Moore was born on Oct. 13, 1917, in Beeler, Kan., to Clifford and Bessie (Schaben) Moore. He graduated from Beeler High School. He moved to Hastings from Lakin, Kan., in 1965.
He married
Vera Spatz. He was a construction superintendent with Kansas-Nebraska Energy for 43 years before retiring in 1983. Mrs. Moore died on Dec. 17, 1986.
Mr. Moore married
Julie Biede on Feb. 5, 1988.
He was a member of Masonic Emerald Lodge 289 of Lakin, Kan., and 32nd Degree Scottish Rite of Wichita, Kan. He was also a member of the Four Rivers Sportsman Club, Central Nebraska Gun Club and National Rifle Association. He received a number of state championship trap shooting awards.
Survivors include his wife; one stepdaughter, Michele Biede of Kearney; two stepsons, David Biede of Des Moines, Iowa, and Mark Biede of Hastings; and two step grandchildren.
In addition to his first wife, he was preceded in death by one brother and one sister.
