U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
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
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.
Doris Pierce
GREEN VALLEY, Ariz. -- Doris Pierce, 79, of Green Valley, Ariz., formerly of Grand Island, died on March 31, 1998, in Arizona after a battle with cancer.
Services were on Monday at Forest Lawn cemetery in Omaha.
Mrs. Pierce was born on Aug. 22, 1918, on a farm near Logan, Iowa. She graduated from Logan High School in 1935 and taught country school in Harrison County for two years.
She married
Myron Pierce on Aug. 10, 1940, in Papillion, and they lived in Omaha. After 19 years in Omaha and 30 years in Grand Island, the couple moved to Green Valley, Ariz.
Survivors include her husband; one daughter, Cheryl Petersen of Greeley, Colo.; a son, Jack Pierce of Minneapolis; a granddaughter; two sisters, Beulah Dillard of Green Valley and Lois Elbert of Rochester, Wash.; and her brother, Dwain Oviatt of Spencer, Iowa.
Ted Bartusek
BURWELL -- Ted Bartusek, 86, of Burwell died Sunday, April 5, 1998, at Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Burwell. The Rev. Bernard Berger will officiate. Burial will be in Cottonwood cemetery in Burwell.
Eberle-Hitchcock Funeral Home in Burwell is in charge of arrangements.
Memorials are suggested to the church.
Mr. Bartusek was born on July 2, 1911, in Valley County to Joe and Sophia (Kozeal) Bartusek.
He married
Esther V. Anderson on Sept. 28, 1940, in Taylor. They farmed together. Mrs. Bartusek died in 1979.
Mr. Bartusek enjoyed horses and machinery and going to horse and machinery sales.
Survivors include one brother, John Bartusek of Ogallala; and four sisters, Irene (Mrs. Stanley) Hovorka of Burwell, Florence Bartusek of Palm Springs, Calif., Evelyn Harris of Valentine and Clara (Mrs. Ernest) Parkos of Grand Island.
He was preceded in death by one brother, Ben Bartusek; and one sister, Bernice Hovorka.
Rita Stepanek
ST. PAUL -- Rita Stepanek, 72, of St. Paul died Tuesday, April 7, 1998, at the Howard County Community Hospital in St. Paul.
Services are pending with Peters Funeral Home in St. Paul.
Letha Gibson
ST. PAUL -- Letha V. Gibson, 85, of St. Paul died Sunday, April 5, 1998, at the Howard County Community Hospital in St. Paul.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at Jacobsen Funeral Home in St. Paul. Ellen Campbell will officiate. Burial will be in Elmwood cemetery at St. Paul.
Visitation will be from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Friday at the funeral home.
Memorials are suggested to the family's choice.
Mrs. Gibson was born on Nov. 21, 1912, at Palmer to Jerome and Mary (Flint) Tuttle. She attended schools near Palmer and Ericson and in Brayton and grew up in that area.
She married
Aden Gibson on Jan. 3, 1928, in Grand Island. The couple lived in St. Paul through most of their married
life. Mr. Gibson died on Oct. 8, 1984. Mrs. Gibson remained in her home in St. Paul.
She was a member of the United Presbyterian Church and Presbyterian Women's Organization of St. Paul.
She was past matron of the former ONO Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star in St. Paul.
Survivors include one son, Rollie of St. Paul; two daughters, Dorthy (Mrs. M. Eugene) Horton of St. Paul and Lila (Mrs. James) Schultz of Hiawatha, Iowa; 10 grandchildren; 21 great-grandchildren; eight great-great-grandchildren; one sister, Ethel Morrow of Scotia; and one brother, Ralph Tuttle of LaVerne, Calif.
Besides her husband, she was preceded in death by one granddaughter; one sister, Blanche Earl; and two brothers, Emery and Theodore.
Eva Kapustka
ORD -- Eva A. Kapustka, 95, of Ord died Tuesday, April 7, 1998, at the Valley County Nursing Home in Ord.
Memorial services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Ord. The Rev. James Warner will officiate. Burial will be in the Ord Catholic Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8:30 p.m., with a rosary at 7:30 p.m., Friday at Ord Memorial Chapel.
A funeral Mass will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday at the church.
Memorials are suggested to St. Mary's School in Ord.
Mrs. Kapustka was born on Oct. 21, 1902, in Krakow near Columbus to Frank and Mary (Kusek) Dubas. When she was a young child, her family moved to Valley County and settled north of Elyria. She attended Fort Hartsuff School. Her mother died in 1915, and she and her sister helped their father raise the four younger brothers.
She married
Steve Kapustka on April 15, 1929, in St. Mary's Church at Elyria. They lived on a farm west of Elyria for more than 50 years before moving to Ord in 1980.
She was a member of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church.
Survivors include her husband; two sons, Alvin Kapustka of Tomball, Texas, and Herman Kapustka of Golden, Colo.; three daughters, Virginia Sawdey of Ord, Phyllis Murphy of Greeley, Colo., and Mary Kay Kapustka of Denver; 15 grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; and one brother, Ted Dubas of Lincoln.
She was preceded in death by a granddaughter; a great-grandson; three brothers, Ed, Floyd and Adam; and a sister, Celia Savage.
Omar Godejohn
NORFOLK -- Omar H. Godejohn, 61, of Norfolk died Sunday, April 5, 1998, at Faith Regional Health Services in Norfolk.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Friday at McKown Funeral Home in Columbus with military honors by the Hartman American Legion Post 84 honor guard. Burial will be in Fort Snelling National cemetery at Minneapolis.
Visitation will be from 3 to 9 p.m. Thursday and 10 to 11 a.m. Friday at the funeral home.
Memorials are suggested to the donor's choice.
Mr. Godejohn was born on May 16, 1936, at Bowbells, N.D., to Harold and Hazel (Hanson) Godejohn. He attended school in North Dakota. He served in the U.S. Navy from December 1955 to November 1959. He then entered the Navy Reserve as an electrician mate petty officer fireman.
He married
Marion Fiest in 1957 in San Diego. He moved to Nebraska in 1974. He lived in Dakota City until moving in June 1984 to Columbus, where he worked for Jackson Services and Appleton Electric.
He married
Barbara Bane in September 1985 in Shakopee, Minn. He became disabled in 1996 and moved to Norfolk.
He was a member of New Hope Church and supported and participated in Boy Scouts of America.
Survivors include his wife; seven sons, Dale, Danny, Dean, Loren and Lynn Godejohn, all of North Dakota, Glenn Omar Godejohn of Omaha and Richard Godejohn of Orlando, Fla.; two daughters, Shirley (Mrs. Robert) Lute of York and Dorthy (Mrs. Jeremy) Mossman of Norfolk; 25 grandchildren; and three brothers, Cary, Robert and Russell Godejohn, all of North Dakota.
He was preceded in death by one daughter, Melissa; his parents; and one brother, Earl.
Clara Koepke
BLUE HILL -- Clara M. Koepke, 88, of Blue Hill died Monday, April 6, 1998, at the Blue Hill Care Center.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at Trinity Lutheran Church in Blue Hill. The Rev. Robert Seible will officiate. Burial will be in the Blue Hill Cemetery.
Merten-Butler Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Memorials are suggested to the church or the Blue Hill Care Center.
Mrs. Koepke was born on Aug. 10, 1909, in Blue Hill to the Rev. Louis and Marie (Kasper) Ernst. She graduated from Blue Hill High School and taught at Trinity Lutheran School.
She married
Wilfred Koepke on July 17, 1932. They lived on a farm northwest of Blue Hill until Mr. Koepke died on Dec. 26, 1941.
Mrs. Koepke moved into Blue Hill and operated a cream station and was also a bookkeeper at the Corner's Ford Garage. She became a receptionist and bookkeeper at the Blue Hill Clinic in 1956 and retired at the age of 75.
She was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church, Ladies Aid, Church Choir, Lutheran Women's Missionary League and the Blue Hill Senior Citizens.
Survivors include two sons, Jim Koepke of Aurora and Jerry Koepke of Blue Hill; five grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.
