U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
Frances Higgins
BROKEN BOW -- Frances Higgins, 92, of Broken Bow died Saturday, March 21, 1998, at the Sandhills Nursing Home in Broken Bow.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Freeman-Holsapple cemetery at Collins, Mo. The Missionary G. Erma Criswell will officiate. Burial will be in the Freeman-Holsapple Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday at Govier Brothers Mortuary at Broken Bow. A wake service will be from 7 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Sheldon-Goodrich Funeral Home in Osceola, Mo.
Mrs. Higgins was born May 21, 1905, to Lewis and Estell (Halstead) Rapp near Broken Bow. The family moved to Collins, Mo., where she spent the next 75 years of her life.
She married
Kay Higgins in February 1922.
After the death of her husband, she moved to Broken Bow to live with her niece and later moved to Sandhills Manor.
Survivors include two grandchildren and three step grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband; one son, Leroy; three half-brothers, Edd, Floyd and Clarence Rapp; and three half-sisters, Mollie Patton, Phebie Coble and Effie Halstead.
Albert McKenney
BROKEN BOW -- Albert J. McKenney, 84, of Broken Bow died Friday, March 20, 1997, at the Jennie Melham Hospital in Broken Bow.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Govier Brothers Mortuary in Broken Bow with the Rev. Cliff Reynolds officiating. Graveside services will be at 3 p.m. at the Newport Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday at the funeral home.
Memorials are suggested to the family.
Mr. McKenney was born on Nov. 22, 1913, at Onawa, Iowa, to Elmer and Pearl (Jacobsen) McKenney. At an early age his family moved to South Dakota, where he grew up. In the spring of 1935, he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps and was stationed in the Black Hills. He was discharged in the fall of 1938. He joined the U.S. Army on Sept. 4, 1941, and was in active duty until July 24, 1945.
He married
Harriet Anderson at her parents' home in Newport on Dec. 21, 1946. Through the years, he worked on various construction sites throughout the country. He retired in 1978, and moved to Broken Bow in 1987. He loved to read and he collected Zane Guy books, played marbles and cards.
He was a member of the Broken Bow United Methodist Church, a life member of the VFW, Cooties, Disabled American Veterans, a 54-year member of the American Legion, Broken Bow Elks Lodge No. 1688, Custer Campers and Golden Trailblazers in Grand Island.
Survivors include his wife; three sons, Rick McKenney of Ord, Leonard McKenney of Broken Bow and John McKenney of Vaughn, Mont.; six grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; one brother, Francis McKenney of Mills; and three sisters, Elsie Gossard of Florida, Alice Neyberg of Kennedy, Minn., and Grace Theil of Anita, Iowa.
He was preceded in death by one daughter, Ellen Marie; two brothers and three sisters.
Emil Tollefsen
KEARNEY -- Emil C. Tollefsen, 85, of Kearney died Friday, March 20, 1998 at Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the First Presbyterian Church in Kearney. The Rev. James D. Cobb will officiate. Burial will be in the Kearney cemetery with military rites provided by the VFW Post No. 759 and the Kearney National Guard.
Visitation will be from 4 to 8:30 p.m. Monday at the Horner-Lieske-Horner Mortuary.
Memorials are suggested to the First Presbyterian Church or the Kearney Q-125 fund drive.
Mr. Tollefsen was born June 25, 1912, to Clarence and Mabel E. (Donehauer) Tollefsen at Sutherland. He moved to Kearney when he was five and graduated from Longfellow High School in 1929. He was president of his junior and senior class. He went to work at the age of 16 at Tollefsen Motor Company and was later manager. He was appointed to the Kearney City Council in 1941.
He married
Dorothy Fuestman on Feb. 9, 1941, at Amherst. She died on Oct. 2, 1992.
She served in the U.S. Army during World War II in the 422nd Infantry, 106th division. He was wounded in the Battle of the Bulge and was a P.O.W. in Germany. He was liberated and awarded the Purple Heart.
He operated the Tollefsen Sports Store with his brother Bill, and the Western Auto Store with his wife and Western Schwinn until retiring in 1988.
He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church, the Junior Chamber of Commerce, the Order of De Molay, American Legion Post No. 52, VFW Post No. 759 and the Kearney Area Chamber of Commerce. He also served as an assistant scout master and elder at the Presbyterian Church.
Survivors include two daughters, Karen (Mrs. K.C.) Diestler of Kearney and Judy (Mrs. Woody) Hamarick of Orlando, Fla.; one son, James Tollefsen of Kearney; and four grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his wife and one brother, Wilmer Tollefsen.
Dorotha Lilienthal
TRENTON -- Dorotha G. Lilienthal, 84, of Trenton died Friday, March 20, 1998, at McCook Community Hospital in McCook.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday at the United Methodist Church in Trenton. The Rev. Don Morton will officiate. Burial will be in the Trenton Cemetery.
Visitation will be from now until the funeral on Monday at Hermann Funeral Home in Trenton.
Mrs. Lilienthal was born on Dec. 1, 1913, to Greg and Estella (Dean) Wiest at Shelton. She grew up in Shelton and graduated from high school in 1932.
She married
Barney Lilienthal on Nov. 12, 1935, at Shelton. The couple moved to Hitchcock County in 1936, where they farmed north of Trenton.
She helped her husband with the farm and enjoyed being a member of social clubs, dancing and was an accomplished pianist.
Survivors include her husband; three daughters, Bethelene (Mrs. Ray) Madsen of Phoenix, Ariz., Genice (Mrs. Don) Berns of Hastings and Polly Markham of Grand Island; one son, Larry Lilienthal of McCook; seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren; and one sister, Beulah "Cindy" (Mrs. Art) Either of McCook.
She was preceded in death by one sister, Bernice Wiest; two grandsons and her stepmother, Marie (Nills) Wiest.
Carl Bauer
FRANKLIN -- Carl Thomas Friedrich Bauer, 72, of Franklin died on Thursday, March 19, 1998.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Monday at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Hildreth. The Rev. Ronald Ebb will officiate. Burial will be in St. Peter's Lutheran cemetery near Hildreth.
Visitation will be from 3 to 5 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday at Jelden-Layton Funeral Home.
Mr. Bauer was born on Jan. 9, 1926, near Hildreth to Fred and Katie (Westerbuhr) Bauer. He began his education at District 63 School south of Hildreth and graduated from Hildreth High School.
He served in the Army during the Korean War.
He married
Carolyn Sanders on Oct. 29, 1950. The couple lived and farmed south of Hildreth for 47 years.
He served on the St. Peter's Lutheran Church council and sang in the choir. He loved music and devoted many years to singing in the church quartet. He also served on the Hildreth school board, Hildreth Co-op board and was a 4-H leader for many years. He was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and rifle squad, the American Legion and the Macon Lions Club.
He enjoyed animals and gardening.
He had lived at the Franklin Nursing Center since December.
Survivors include his wife, of Hildreth; three daughters, Charlene Swarthout of Holdrege, Clarice (Mrs. Sam) Sharpe of Lincoln and Cynthia Oates of Minden; three sons, Crale Bauer of Wilcox, Curtis Bauer of Hildreth and Clark Bauer of Central City; eight grandchildren; and two sisters, Violet (Mrs. Reinhold) Eberle of Hildreth and Freda (Mrs. Emmitt) Wild of Amherst.
He was preceded in death by a son, Craig Bauer; and a granddaughter.
Ruby Gracey
OGALLALA -- Ruby Gracey, 70, formerly of Broken Bow, died Thursday, March 19, 1998, at Indian Hills Manor in Ogallala.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday at Govier Brothers Chapel in Broken Bow. The Rev. Doug Jones will officiate. Burial will be in the Broken Bow Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday at the mortuary.
A memorial has been established.
Mrs. Gracey was born on Oct. 16, 1927, in Custer County to Victor and Nellie Mae (Evans) Hall. She attended Fleming Valley country school and Broken Bow High School, graduating in 1945.
She married
Robert E. Gracey on May 21, 1946. The couple lived in Broken Bow. Mr. Gracey died on April 15, 1989. Mrs. Gracey moved to Ogallala last year to be near her daughter and had been a resident of Indian Hills Manor.
She was a member of the United Methodist Church in Broken Bow, Broken Bow Does Drove 68, the Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary and Broken Bow Rebekah Lodge 110.
Survivors include two daughters, Roberta (Mrs. Dick) Dunkel of Ogallala and Patricia (Mrs. James) Waltke of Beatrice; four grandchildren; her mother, of Broken Bow; one brother, Bob Hall of Broken Bow; and two sisters, Arlene Moninger of Merna and Louise Troyer of Ashland.
In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by one brother, Chris Hall.
