U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
Rex Coffman
NORTH AURORA, Ill. -- C. Rex Coffman, 74, of North Aurora, Ill., a Berwyn native, died Friday, March 20, 1998, at his home.
Services will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Govier Brothers Chapel in Broken Bow. Burial will be in the Ansley Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the mortuary.
Mr. Coffman was born on Oct. 21, 1923, at Berwyn to Ora and Maggie (Clingerman) Coffman. He attended country school and graduated from Norwood Consolidated High School.
He married
Frances Black on Dec. 28, 1942, in Broken Bow. The couple lived in Lucas County, Hardin County, Poweshiek County and Clark County in Iowa before moving to Nebraska in 1946.
He farmed in Custer County and Keith County before he moved to Elburn, Ill., in 1966. His wife and family followed in 1967.
Mr. Coffman had worked as a truck driver, dealt in livestock and worked at many area auctions. He farmed and worked with livestock until 1984, when ill health forced him to retire.
He was a member of the Kane County Farm Bureau and the Elburn Lions Club.
Survivors include his wife; four daughters, Ruth Thompson of Broken Bow, Vera (Mrs. Robert) Hageman of Ogallala, Betty (Mrs. Paul) Johnson of Fort Morgan, Colo., and Kathy (Mrs. Richard) Cregier of Lebanon, Ohio; four sons, Lloyd Coffman of Plano, Ill., C. Rex Coffman Jr. of Riverside, Calif., Ronald Coffman of Escondido, Calif., and Jerry Coffman of Berkeley, Ill.; 24 grandchildren; 28 great-grandchildren; one sister, Maxine Crouch of Ansley; and four brothers, Claire Coffman of Mesa, Ariz., Chester Coffman of Smithville, Mich., Omar Coffman of Carroll, Iowa, and Orel Coffman of Eustis, Fla.
He was preceded in death by one daughter, Marie Price; one granddaughter; one sister, Mae Rookstool; and two brothers, Lloyd Coffman and Dale Coffman.
Dolores Bartz
Dolores D. Bartz, 77, of Grand Island, longtime operator of Bartz Floral, died Wednesday, March 18, 1998, at her home.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Monday at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church. The Rev. Don Larmore will officiate. Burial will be in Westlawn Memorial Park Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m., with a parish rosary at 7 p.m., Sunday at the church. A Catholic Daughters of America rosary will be at 4 p.m. Sunday at the church.
Memorials are suggested to World Indigenous Missions.
Apfel-Butler-Geddes Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Bartz was born on Jan. 14, 1921, at Grand Island to Alphonse and Georgia (Carl) Bixenmann. She was raised in Grand Island and graduated from St. Mary's High School in 1939.
She married
Dale R. Bartz on Jan. 21, 1944, at Grand Island. They lived in Grand Island, where they were second-generation operators of Bartz Floral Co. Mr. Bartz died on Jan. 3, 1967. Mrs. Bartz retired in 1985.
Mrs. Bartz was a member of Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, the Altar Society and Catholic Daughters of America. She was an honorary member of the Nebraska Florists Society.
She enjoyed her pets and growing flowers. She was an avid reader and doll collector.
Survivors include three sons, Richard Dale Bartz of Ujung Pandana, Indonesia, David Bruce Bartz of Hastings and Daniel Raymond Bartz of Concordia, Kan.; two daughters, Dianna Dee (Mrs. Jerry) Duering of Grand Island and Roberta Rae (Mrs. Stephen) Brich of Dayton, Ohio; 18 grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; two brothers, George A. Bixenmann of Columbus and Richard L. Bixenmann of Grand Island; and one sister, Adeline M. Kutschkau of Grand Island.
Other than her husband, she was preceded in death by a grandson; a sister, Evelyn McPhillips; and an infant brother, Donald.
Wiley Ferguson
Melvin Wiley Ferguson, 76, of Grand Island died Thursday, March 19, 1998, at the Grand Island Veterans Home.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Libory's Catholic Church in St. Libory. The Revs. Thomas Ryan and Marty Egging will officiate. Burial will be in the parish cemetery.
Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m., with a 7 p.m. rosary, Friday at Peters Funeral Home in St. Paul.
Memorials are suggested to the donor's choice.
Mr. Ferguson was born on March 6, 1922, at Lynchburg, Va., to Wiley and Nora (Rice) Ferguson. He was educated at Lynchburg and moved in 1941 to New York, where he became a professional boxer. He served in the U.S. Air Force in Utah and at Kearney.
He married
Bernardine McEntee on Jan. 13, 1944, at Eddyville. He was transferred to the U.S. Army infantry in March 1945 and served one year in Germany and France. He toured Europe with a GI show, "Carmen," in June 1945 and returned to the states in March 1946.
He worked for Fairmont Foods in Kearney until 1967, when he moved to Grand Island. He worked as a security guard at the Cornhusker Army Ammunition Plant until retiring in 1979. He moved to the Grand Island Veterans Home in March 1995.
He was a member of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1347 of Grand Island.
Survivors include his wife; one son, Arthur Ferguson of Tarzana, Calif.; four grandchildren; and three sisters, Edna Sherman and Estelle (Mrs. Dan) Smith, both of Lynchburg, and Louise Carr of Alexandria, Va.
Forrest Smith
Forrest B. Smith, 85, of Grand Island died Thursday, March 19, 1998, at St. Francis Medical Center.
Services will be at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at St. Pauls Lutheran Church. The Rev. Joel Schroeder will officiate. Following the service, Mr. Smith will be cremated. Burial will be at a later date in the Grand Island City Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday at Livingston-Sondermann Funeral Home.
Memorial are suggested to the church.
Mr. Smith was born on Aug. 5, 1912, in Merna to Wirt and Edith (Brewer) Smith. When he was 6 years old, the family moved to Aurora after his father's death. He graduated from Aurora High School.
He married
Helen Anderson on May 26, 1934, in Aurora. The couple moved in October 1934 to Grand Island, where he worked at Jessee Baking Co. for 21 years. He then farmed and was a cattle feeder. He was a cattle buyer for Cornhusker Packing Co. from 1978 until 1994.
He was a member of St. Pauls Lutheran Church, where he served on the church council and was a communion usher for 40 years. He served as a director of the Central Nebraska Livestock Feeders Association. He was a member of the Liederkranz, Platt-Duetsche and Eagles.
Survivors include his wife; two sons, Larry Smith of North Platte and Donald Smith of Grand Island; one daughter, Norma (Mrs. David) Stull of Lincoln; 11 grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; and one brother, Harold Smith of Norfolk.
He was preceded in death by one brother and two sisters.
Claude Terrill
Claude L. Terrill, 80, of Grand Island died March 10, 1998, at Tiffany Square Care Center.
Graveside services will be at 2 p.m. Monday at Fort McPherson National cemetery in Maxwell with Chaplain Norval Holtmeier officiating.
There will be no visitation.
Memorials are suggested to Tiffany Square Care Center.
Apfel-Butler-Geddes Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Loretta Meyer
GENOA -- Loretta I. Meyer, 81, of Genoa died Wednesday, March 18, 1998, at the Genoa Community Hospital.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at the United Methodist Church in Silver Creek. The Rev. Larry Biederman will officiate. Burial will be in the Silver Creek Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at McKown Funeral Home in Silver Creek and from 1 p.m. until service time Saturday at the church.
Memorials are suggested to the Loretta Meyer Nursing Scholarship Fund in care of the Farmer's State Bank in Silver Creek.
Mrs. Meyer was born on Feb. 8, 1917, at St. Edward to Frank and Katherine (Heltenberg) Campain. She attended rural school and graduated from St. Edward in 1931. She also attended nurse's training school.
She married
Fred Meyer on Aug. 22, 1938, in Fullerton. She worked in the Genoa Hospital for 10 years as a nurse's aide. She also worked at the Cornhusker Army Ammunition Plant for four years.
She was a life member of the American Legion Auxiliary and the United Methodist Church in Silver Creek.
Survivors include her husband; a son, Milton Meyer of Arkansas City, Kan.; two daughters, Marilyn (Mrs. Joseph) Mohanna of Omaha and Marcia (Mrs. Jim) Warnecke of Columbus; eight grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; one brother, Vearl Campain of Grand Coulee, Wash.; and three sisters, Delores Berggren of Stamford, Darlene Potter of Columbus and Grace Wilcox of Silver Creek.
She was preceded in death by three grandsons and two sisters, Jane Grosch and Vernie Harrington.
