U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
Raymond Roehrkasse
Raymond W. Roehrkasse, 94, of Grand Island died Tuesday, Aug. 18, 1998, at St. Francis Medical Center.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Trinity Lutheran Church with a family prayer service at 10:15 a.m. The Rev. Robert Harms will officiate. Burial will be in Westlawn Memorial Park Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 3 to 9 p.m., with the family receiving friends from 6 to 8 p.m., Friday at Apfel-Butler-Geddes Funeral Home.
Memorials are suggested to the church, Concordia Seminary at St. Louis or the Heartland Lutheran High School building fund.
Mr. Roehrkasse was born on Jan. 22, 1904, to William and Clara (Hodde) Roehrkasse of rural Seward County. He grew up at Seward and graduated from Seward High School. After graduating from the Grand Island School of Business, he worked for a short time at Central Power. He then started working for Reitan Automotive Service. At various times, he was secretary, bookkeeper, on-the-road salesman and, finally, parts manager and buyer. He retired in 1972 after working at Reitan's for 49 years.
He married
Pauline Holtorf in 1935 at Malmo.
He was an active member of Trinity Lutheran Church. He served in various church posts, including the board of elders, building committee, a charter member of the Lutheran Laymen's League, church choir, Walther League and the Concordia State College Scholarship Committee. He was also an active member of the Cosmopolitan Club, serving as president in 1972.
Survivors include his wife; three daughters, Paula (Mrs. Ralph) Knepper of Holdrege, Claire (Mrs. Mike) Eason of North Bend and Kathryn (Mrs. Glenn) Trebelhorn of Lincoln; five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by a brother, Ted; and two sisters, Mathilda Schuhknecht and Clara Roehrkasse.
Orpha Brockman
TAYLOR -- Orpha Brockman, 83, of Taylor died Wednesday, Aug. 19, 1998, at the Sargent Nursing Center.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Calvary United Methodist Church in Taylor. The Rev. Donald Dennison will officiate. Burial will be in the Kent Cemetery, east of Taylor.
Visitation will be from 1 to 8 p.m. Friday at Rhoad Funeral Home in Sargent.
Memorials are suggested to the Loup County Rescue Unit.
More details will appear.
'Buck' Conner
ORD -- Walter "Buck" Conner, 84, of Ord died Wednesday, Aug. 19, 1998, at the Corner Cottage.
Services are pending at Ord Memorial Chapel.
Robert Ruzicka
PHILLIPS -- Robert Ruzicka, 47, of Phillips died Sunday, Aug. 16, 1998, at Phillips.
Services were on Wednesday at the Phillips United Methodist Church. The Rev. Dwight DeLaet officiated. Burial was in the Phillips Cemetery.
Higby Mortuary in Aurora was in charge of arrangements.
Survivors include his wife, June; one son, Justin Lee Ruzicka of Kansas; three stepsons, David Lee Starkey and Gilbert John Starkey, both of Columbus, and Kenneth James Starkey of Phillips; a stepdaughter, Victoria Burnes of Phillips; two grandchildren; four brothers, Richard, James, John and Tom, all of Grand Island; and a sister, Pat Barr of Brenham, Texas.
Wanda Steuben
LEXINGTON -- Wanda Jean Steuben, 74, of Lexington died Tuesday, Aug. 18, 1998, in Gothenburg.
Services will be at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Berryman Funeral Home Chapel in Cozad. The Rev. Roger Daum will officiate. Burial will be in the Central City Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday at the funeral home.
Memorials are suggested to the Shriners' Children's Hospital.
Mrs. Steuben was born on March 23, 1924, near Central City to Fred and Edith (Lawson) Galusha. She was raised on a farm near Central City, where she attended school.
She married
Albert Steuben in 1941. They lived in Central City. She later operated the Western Cafe at Schuyler and then moved to Cozad in 1967. She had worked at the Dixie Inn before operating a Cozad taxi. She had also worked for F&S; Sausage. She had lived in Lexington for 12 years.
She was a member of the American Legion Auxiliary.
Survivors include two sons, Larry of Harlowton, Mont., and Ted of Gothenburg; four daughters, Twila (Mrs. Steve Jr.) Gomez of Cozad, Diane (Mrs. Marty) Clifton of San Antonio, Sandra (Mrs. Ray) Urban of Lexington and Nicki (Mrs. Nodle) White of Funk; 23 grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren; one brother, Richard Galusha of Omaha; and one sister, Mary Jane Sherrieb of Garden City, Kan.
She was preceded in death by her husband; two sons, Fred and Tommy; two brothers, Bobby and Rex; and one sister, Maxine Leece.
Chester Smith
Chester Smith, 65, of Grand Island died Thursday, Sept. 10, 1998, at St. Francis Medical Center.
Apfel-Butler-Geddes Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mildred Kreis
STROMSBURG -- Mildred L. Kreis, 93, of Stromsburg died Wednesday, Sept. 9, 1998, at York General Hospital.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Friday at the United Methodist Church in Stromsburg. Chaplain Dick Bauer will officiate. Burial will be in the Stromsburg Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday at Palmer Funeral Home in Stromsburg.
Mrs. Kreis was born on June 16, 1905, in Polk County to William A. and Victoria M. (Olson) Hernbloom. She attended Bense Country School and Osceola High School.
She married
Luther Kreis on March 8, 1927. The couple farmed near Stromsburg most of their lives.
She was active in extension club, 4-H, United Methodist Women and Methodist Church Mariam Circle and also sung in the choir. She enjoyed sewing, crocheting, knitting and quilting at the Senior Center and also enjoyed gardening.
Survivors include three sons, Keith of Loveland, Colo., Larry of Victor, Mont., and Lee of Stromsburg; two daughters, Janice (Mrs. Roger) Weathers of Westminster, Colo., and Betty (Mrs. Rupert) Zwiebel of Loveland, Colo.; 17 grandchildren; 22 great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandson; and one sister, Doris Kreis of Stromsburg.
She was preceded in death by her husband; one son, Don; and three brothers, Wilbur, Manley and Clifford.
Dennis Murdock
ORD -- Dennis Murdock, 61, of Ord died Wednesday, Sept. 9, 1998, at his home.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at Ord Memorial Chapel. The Rev. Paul Day will officiate. Burial will be in the Ord City Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8:30 p.m. Friday at the chapel.
Memorials are suggested to the family.
Mr. Murdock was born on June 29, 1937, in North Platte to William P. and Grace May (Gibson) Murdock. He grew up and was educated in North Platte. He served in the U.S. military. Much of his life was spent in the Crete area, where he was a truck driver and was in the salvage business.
Mr. Murdock moved to Ord in 1980 and worked on the Calamus Dam project near Burwell.
He married
Sharon Fryzek in 1980.
He enjoyed gardening and was interested in history.
Survivors include two sons, Doug Murdock of Beatrice and Shawn Murdock of Ord.
He was preceded in death by his parents.
Jason Sorgenfrei
DONIPHAN -- Jason Lee Sorgenfrei, 23, of Doniphan died Tuesday, Sept. 8, 1998, in a car accident near Tecumseh.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Trinity Lutheran Church in Grand Island. The Revs. John Reehl and Robert Harms will officiate. A family prayer service will be at 10:15 a.m. Burial will be in Cedar View cemetery at Doniphan.
Visitation will be from 3 to 9 p.m. Friday at Apfel-Butler-Geddes Funeral Home.
Memorials are suggested to the church or the family.
Mr. Sorgenfrei was born on Dec. 7, 1974, in Grand Island to Deryl and JoAnn (Cranford) Sorgenfrei. He graduated from Doniphan High School in 1993. As a high school junior, he was a Hall County Boys State representative. He played high school football and was a weight lifter.
He attended Peru State College, where he played football. He worked at Pioneer Seeds during the summer.
He enjoyed fishing, hunting and the outdoors.
He was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Grand Island and Sons of the American Legion in Doniphan.
Survivors include his parents, of Doniphan; a twin brother, James Sorgenfrei of Doniphan; and a sister, Tina Sorgenfrei of Omaha.
He was preceded in death by his grandparents.
