U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
Grace Murphy
FULLERTON -- Grace Murphy, 89, of Fullerton died Tuesday, April 7, 1998, at Litzenberg Memorial County Hospital in Central City.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday at St. Peter's Catholic Church in Fullerton. The Rev. Richard Whiteing will officiate. Burial will be in the Fullerton Catholic Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 6 to 8:30 p.m., with a vigil and rosary service at 7 p.m., Sunday at Palmer Funeral Home in Fullerton.
Mrs. Murphy was born on July 2, 1908, at Greeley to Henry and Addie (Gillham) Nestor. She graduated from the Church of the Visitation School at O'Connor.
She taught school in Brewster County until her marriage to Clarence Murphy on March 3, 1930, in O'Connor.
They lived and farmed near Greeley. They moved south of Fullerton in 1937 and continued to farm. They retired and moved west of Fullerton in 1965 to be near their daughter.
She was a member of St. Peter's Catholic Church and St. Ann's Altar Society in Fullerton. She was also a member of the HOA Club for many years. She was an avid card player.
Survivors include two daughters, Darlene (Mrs. Clifford) McCray of Fullerton and Alice Murphy of Central City; five grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild; and two sisters, Marjorie (Mrs. Steve) Reiter of Corpus Christi, Texas, and Vivian (Mrs. Larry) Klinefelter of San Rafael, Calif.
Her husband died on April 11, 1984. She also was preceded in death by one granddaughter; one brother, Albert Nestor; and one sister, Kathryn Molt.
Lylle Rainforth
WOOD RIVER -- Lylle A. Rainforth, 91, of Wood River died Wednesday, April 8, 1998, at Tiffany Square Care Center.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at the First United Methodist Church in Wood River. The Rev. Larry Nothstine will officiate. Burial will be in Westlawn Memorial Park cemetery in Grand Island.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Monday at Apfel Funeral Home.
Memorials are suggested to the church or the donor's choice.
Mr. Rainforth was born on June 20, 1906, at the family home near Rosedale to Arthur and Cora (Brown) Rainforth. He graduated from Rosedale High School and attended Nebraska Central College in Central City. He also attended Hastings College. He taught school at Tryon, Juniata and Alda, where he also coached basketball.
He married
Gladys Ellis on May 24, 1928, at her parents' home in Allen. They moved to their farm north of Wood River in 1932. Mrs. Rainforth died on July 22, 1994. Mr. Rainforth moved to Tiffany Square Care Center on Dec. 8, 1997, due to failing health.
He was a member of the First United Methodist Church. He served on the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service Hall County committee for 35 years, was a Hall County Rural Youth sponsor for 25 years and served on the Wood River school board. He also helped fund the beginning of Fonner Park and Stuhr Museum.
Survivors include one sister, Gertrude Juilfs of Eugene, Ore.; and one brother, Richard Rainforth of Seattle.
Benton Reeves
CENTRAL CITY -- Benton Calvin Reeves, 73, of Central City died Thursday, April 9, 1998, at Litzenberg Memorial County Hospital in Central City.
Graveside services will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Central City Cemetery. The Rev. Dale Sallans will officiate.
Mr. Reeves was born on May 13, 1924, at Central City to Charles and Susan May (Price) Reeves. He attended District 37 School in Merrick County and graduated from Central City High School in 1943. He served in the U.S. Navy from February 1945 to August 1946.
After the service, he attended trade school in Milford. He farmed with his brother in Merrick County for about 25 years. After leaving farming, he worked for Redman Industries and was self-employed as a carpenter, working for many years with John and Ken Sanderson in Central City.
He was a member of the United Presbyterian Church in Central City, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and American Legion Post 6. He enjoyed woodworking and reading.
Survivors include a sister, Susan Decker of Lincoln; and four stepsisters, Virginia Botts of Purdum, Deva Ellison of Central City, Letha House of Longmont, Colo., and Jeanette Wilder of Sylmar, Calif.
He was preceded in death by three brothers, Robert Reeves, Eric Reeves and Cleveland Reeves; and one stepbrother, Charles 'Bub' Lindgreen.
Rita Stepanek
ST. PAUL -- Rita D. Stepanek, 72, of St. Paul died Tuesday, April 7, 1998, at the Howard County Community Hospital in St. Paul.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Monday at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in St. Paul. The Rev. Michael McDermott will officiate. Burial will be in Elmwood cemetery at St. Paul with American Legion Auxiliary honors at gravesite.
Visitation will be from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday at Peters Funeral Home in St. Paul and from 6:30 to 8 p.m., with a 7 p.m. vigil service, Sunday at the church.
Memorials are suggested to the family's choice.
Mrs. Stepanek was born on Oct. 3, 1925, at Baltimore to Frank Sr. and Mary (Semski) Knapik. She grew up in Baltimore and graduated from St. Michael's High School. She then worked as a secretary until moving to St. Paul in 1951.
She married
Leonard E. Stepanek Sr. on Oct. 30, 1951, at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in St. Paul. The couple farmed west of St. Paul until 1977, when they moved into St. Paul.
She was a member of Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church and its Altar Society and American Legion Auxiliary Post 119 of St. Paul. She had been a 4-H leader for many years and worked on the canvas board for the Warsaw District. She enjoyed sewing and gardening.
Survivors include her husband; six sons, Leonard Stepanek Jr. of Papillion, Frank Stepanek of St. Paul, Rick Stepanek of Grand Island, Dwayne Stepanek of Lincoln, Mike Stepanek of Albuquerque, N.M., and Mark Stepanek of Rapid City, S.D.; three daughters, Dolores Stepanek of Woodward, Iowa, Gloria Jorgensen of St. Paul and Jackie Stepanek of Northfield, Minn.; 22 grandchildren; one brother, Joseph Knapik of Baltimore; and four sisters, Mildred Price, Dolores Knapik, Loretta Knapik and Gloria Knapik, all of Baltimore.
She was preceded in death by one brother, Frank Knapik Jr.; and two sisters, Anna and Mary Knapik.
Stephen Streck
ALDA -- Stephen J. Streck, 43, of Alda, formerly of Hastings, died Wednesday, April 8, 1998, at St. Francis Medical Center in Grand Island.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Butler-Volland Chapel in Hastings. The Rev. Fred Gardner will officiate. Burial will be in Parkview cemetery in Hastings.
Memorials are suggested to the family.
Mr. Streck was born on Oct. 24, 1954, in Hastings to Wilbert and Shirley (Smiley) Streck. He graduated from Hastings High School.
He was a sales associate at Menards in Grand Island.
He married
Tina Perrel on March 21, 1997. He lived in Hastings until he moved to Alda four years ago.
He was a member of the Second Presbyterian Church.
Survivors include his wife; a son, Adam Streck of Alda; a stepdaughter, Ashley Perrel of Alda; and his parents, of Hastings.
Anna Wadas
Anna A. Wadas, 89, of Grand Island, formerly of Ord, died Wednesday, April 8, 1998, at the Grand Island Veterans Home.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at the veterans home chapel. The Rev. Walter Phelan will officiate. Burial will be at 3:30 p.m. Monday in the Ord Catholic Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8:30 p.m., with a rosary at 7:30 p.m., Sunday at the Ord Memorial Chapel in Ord.
Memorials are suggested to the donor's choice.
Mrs. Wadas was born on July 22, 1908, in Howard County to Jacob and Cecelia (Pryznek) Kosmicki. She was educated at Howard County District 32 School and also attended a parochial school at Ashton for two years.
She married
Sylvester Wadas on April 21, 1947, at Ashton. The couple lived on a farm northeast of Ord in Valley County until moving into Ord in 1971. She moved to the Grand Island Veterans Home in May 1992.
She was a member of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church at Ord and the Altar Society. She enjoyed gardening, flowers and attending church.
Survivors include her husband, of the Grand Island Veterans Home; one son, Paul of Burwell; two daughters, Margaret Thompson of Ord and Kathie Bruha of North Platte; 14 grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and two sisters, Gertrude Spotanski of Loup City and Victoria (Mrs. Joseph) Radke of St. Paul.
She was preceded in death by eight brothers, Stanley Sr., Phillip, Karl, Bernard, Victor, Steve, Benjamin and Louis; and three sisters, Barbara Gock, Elenor Stefanowicz and Bridget Tomasiewicz.
