U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
Marilyn (Orrell) Cosentino
Marilyn (Orrell) Cosentino died March 15, 2007, at her home in Phoeniz, Ariz.
She graduated with the class of 1956 from Chase County High School.
Leslie Cooper
Leslie James Cooper, age 87, of Akron, Colo., passed away on April 12, 2007 at the Yuma District Hospital in Yuma, Colo.
Les was born April 10, 1920 to Charles and Agnes (Brown) Cooper in Holyoke, Colo. He was the sixth of seven children born to this union.
The family resided southeast of Lamar, Neb. until Charles passed away in 1933.
The family then moved to Imperial in 1934 so he and his sister, Thelma, could attend high school. When his mother, Agnes, died in 1935, he and Thelma lived with their brother, Alan, and wife, Florence.
Les attended a country school near Lamar, Nebraska through the eighth grade and graduated from Imperial High School in 1938. He entered the military April 4, 1942. He served in the Army during WWII in the 337th Infantry, and was involved in battles and campaigns of North Apennines, Po Valley, Algeria, French Morocco, Tunisia, Naples Foggia, and Rome Arno. He was honorably discharged Sept. 1, 1945.
Les and his brother, Clyde, began farming south of Fort Morgan, Colo. On the weekends, he and Clyde would drive back to Imperial to play baseball and then come back out and farm all week. His winters were spent working in the Imperial area.
On Feb. 9, 1952, he married
Velma Jaeger of Imperial, Neb. Soon they moved to Elba, Colo. along with their daughter, Marlyn. In Colorado, three more children were born, Douglas, Marcia, and Diana.
He and Velma farmed and raised hogs west of Elba until 1973. At that time, they moved to a farm southwest of Platner and lived there until he semi-retired in 1990 when they moved to their current home in Akron, Colo. He continued to custom farm for several more years. He never lost his interest in farming and watching crops grow. This was evident through his assistance at harvest times, his love of going for rides in the country with Velma, and growing an assortment of flowers and vegetables in his garden.
Les enjoyed playing horseshoes, cards, gardening and visits with his grandchildren.
He was an exceptionally good pinochle and pitch player and played to win. He also enjoyed attending his grandkids' many school and athletic events. He was a member and elder of the First Presbyterian Church.
One of Les's highlights was hauling pigs to Denver to the sale and then coming home to listen to the radio to see if Evan Slack called his name as a high seller for the day. His name was called often.
He was preceded in death by his father and mother, brothers Alan, Clyde, Cliff, and sister Aletha.
He is survived by his wife, Velma, of Akron, Colo.; daughter, Marlyn Salley, of Cheyenne, Wyo., son, Doug, and wife, Debi, of Akron, Colo.; daughter, Marcia, and husband, Jim Pieper, of Akron, Colo.; and daughter, Diana, and husband, Mark Craig, of Cope, Colo.; sister, Ruth Shackleford of Lincoln; and sister, Thelma Mathies of Aberdeen, S.D.; grandchildren, Kyle Cooper of Montrose, Colo., Janessa Helling and husband, Kevin, of Idalia, Colo., Alana McGough and husband, Lance, of Manhattan, Kan., Sarah and Karen Pieper of Akron, Colo., Nathan and Larissa Craig of Cope, Colo., Kurt Salley and wife, Kathy, of Denver, Colo., Scott Salley and wife, Debbie, of Denver, Colo., and five great grandchildren.
Les was a humble man who worked hard and made an honest living. He will be missed by all who knew him.
Funeral services were held Monday, April 16, 2007 at 10:30 a.m. from the First Presbyterian Church in Akron with Rev. Susan Spencer officiating.
Rosalie Jefferson, organist, accompanied Christopher Whitney as he sang "The Old Rugged Cross" and "Here I am Lord" and also the congregation as they sang "Victory in Jesus."
Escorts were Kyle Cooper, Nathan Craig, Kevin Helling, Lance McGough, Kurt Salley, Scott Salley and Matthew Pieper.
Honorary escorts included Glenn Baker, Kenneth Bradney, Burdell Guy, Wilbur Kloefkorn, Leo Pieper, Robert Schenk and Glenn Venrick.
Burial followed in the Akron, Colo. cemetery with Military Rites performed by the Akron Veterans' Posts.
Brenner Funeral Home was in charge of the arrangements.
Wanda (West) Winkelmann
Wanda Elaine (West) Winkelmann was born to Samuel and Leona (Churchill) West on Sept. 18, 1924 on the family farm near Wauneta, Neb.
She graduated from Wauneta High School in 1943. By God's grace, she received the blessings of Holy Baptism and Confirmation on March 29, 1946 at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Staplehurst, Neb.
On Sept. 18, 1945, she married
Milton Winkelmann at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Utica, Neb. This marriage was blessed with three children: Robert, Marylee and Judy.
After their marriage, Milton and Wanda farmed near Staplehurst, Neb. until their retirement and then moved to Seward, Neb.
Wanda was a faithful member of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church of Staplehurst, Neb.
On Thursday, April 12, 2007, having reached the age of 82 years, six months and 25 days, God graciously received Wanda from this vale of tears to her eternal home in heaven.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Samuel and Leona West; her brothers, Carl, Bob and Sam West; and grandson, Bart Rhodes.
Wanda is survived by her husband, Milton; son and wife, Robert and Deborah Winkelmann of Springfield, Neb.; daughters and husbands, Marylee and Dwayne Olson of Lexington, Neb. and Judy and Jerry Rhodes of Gresham, Neb.; brother and wife, Gail and Nona West of Lincoln, Neb.; sister, Bonnie Winkelmann of Utica, Neb.; grandchildren, Joshua Winkelmann and fiancee Angie McCubin, Philip and Stacie Winkelmann, Aaron Winkelmann and fiancee Tammy Kolecka, Tracy and Tim Thompson, Trevis Minnick and Dana, Todd and Darlene Rhodes, Tina and Cory DeFrain, Laurie and Mike Horn and Teresea and Dave Opfer; great grandchildren, other relatives and a host of friends.
Funeral services were held Monday, April 16, 2007, at 10:30 a.m. at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Staplehurst, Neb. with Rev. Robert Wiest officiating.
Organist was Mrs. Evelyn Roebke who accompanied a quartet.
Casketbearers were Joshua Winkelmann, Philip Winkelmann, Aaron Winkelmann, Todd Rhodes, Trevis Minnick, Tina DeFrain, Tracy Thompson and Mike Horn.
Honorary casketbearers were Theresa and Dave Opfer, Laurie Horn, Timothy Thompson, Dana Miller, Angie McCubbin, Stacie Winkelmann, Darlene Rhodes, Cory DeFrain and Tammy Kolecka.
Interment was at Our Redeemer Lutheran Cemetery.
Volzke Funeral home of Seward, Neb. was in charge of arrangements.
John Sutherland
John W. "Burly" Sutherland was born on March 7, 1929 at Blue Springs, Neb. He was the oldest of four sons born to John and Thelma (Taylor) Sutherland. The family moved to Blair where Burly grew up and attended school. He later drove a truck for the Denver-Chicago Trucking Company based out of Blair.
Burly was married
to Colleen Willmott. She died during the birth of their first daughter in 1952. Burly was then married
to Lylia King on March 20, 1953. Burly was inducted into the United States Army in 1953 at the end of the Korean War and served until 1955 when he was discharged. (He served with the Army Reserves until his discharge from the reserves in 1961.)
Burly was elected to the position of Washington County Sheriff in 1958 and served for three terms until 1970. He then started his career with Great Plains Communications out of Blair as an equipment operator. The family moved to Grant in 1973 where he worked until 1987 when he was transferred to Indianola. He retired from Great Plains in 1991 and moved to Max. Burly served as a Dundy County Commissioner from 2002 until 2006. He had developed a malignancy late in 2006 and had been transferred to Omaha in February for surgery. He died in Omaha on Tues. morning, April 10, 2007. He had reached the age of 78.
While living in Blair, Burly was active with the Masonic Lodge, Jaycees and fire department. He was a member of the American Legion and the honorary 40 and 8. While serving as sheriff, he was elected as the president of the Nebraska Sheriff and Peace Officers Association. While living in Max, he served as the President of the Max Community Club.
He loved spending time with his family and friends. He enjoyed fishing and hunting and was recognized with the world champion "Snow Goose Caller" award.
In addition to his parents and first wife, Colleen, he was preceded in death by his youngest son, Joe, who died in 1975.
Burly is survived by his wife of over 54 years, Lylia; two daughters, Roxann (Pat) Edwards of Blair and Robin (Wayne) Larsen of Cozad; three sons, Tim (Gretchen) of Seward, Bill of Blair and Mark (Kim) of Bertrand; 16 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren; three brothers, Cliff (Bev) of Omaha, Dar of Blair and Dick (Marlene) of Sioux Falls, S.D.; many relatives and friends.
Committal services were held, Sat., April 14 at 3:00 p.m. at Grant Fairview cemetery with John Long officiating.
Bullock-Long Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.
Zella Bailey
Zella Bailey was born on Dec. 16, 1913 in Chase County Nebraska in the Blanche community. She was the fifth of eight children born to James "Duffy" and Laura Baker Harris. Zella attended country school at Blanche through the 8th grade.
Zella was married
to Joe Bailey on Dec. 7, 1929 at Holyoke, Colo. They made their home in the Blanche area until 1945 when they moved to Paxton where Joe was employed on a section crew with Union Pacific Railroad.
Joe died in 1995 and Zella continued to maintain her home in Paxton until January of 2006 when she moved to Grand Island to be closer to family. Due to health problems, Zella moved to Park Place Nursing Manor in January where she died Saturday night, April 14, 2007. She had reached the age of 93.
In addition to her parents and husband, Zella was preceded in death by one daughter, Betty VanVleet; six grandchildren, one great grandchild; her four brothers, Bert, Clyde, Elmer and Doc Harris and her three sisters, Mae Goodman, Iva McCoy and Alta Eckert.
She is survived by one son, Bill of Grand Island; four daughters, Mona Miller, Jennie Syfrett, Audrey (Johnny) Howard, all of Grand Island and Celia (Roy) North of Buffalo, Mo.; 17 grandchildren; 26 great-grandchildren and several great-great-grandchildren; two sisters-in-law, Amy Harris and Mary Bailey; many other relatives and friends.
Funeral services were held Wed., April 18 at 10:30 a.m. at the Paxton United Methodist Church with Pastor Harun Gatobu officiating. Burial was in the Paxton Cemetery. A memorial has been established.
Bullock-Long Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.
Winona Terry
Winona Nelle (Brown) Terry was born June 12, 1924, on a farm north of Wauneta, Neb., to Andrew Jackson and Gertrude Orvada (Witt) Brown and went to her reward in heaven April 7, 2007. She died in her sleep after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease.
After graduating from high school, Nelle worked at a soda fountain in Elsie, Neb. Everett Terry had returned home on vacation from serving in the Army Air Force. They were immediately attracted to each other and were later married
in Wauneta, Neb., April 24, 1943.
They started their marriage in La Junta, Colo., and due to the war status of our country, all troop movements had to be by troop train with no dependents. Winona (as known by her new family of friends) was not to be denied being with Everett, gathered together some other new wives, loaded all in their 1940 Buick and headed for destinations of the troop train. They would be waiting with open arms to greet their husbands on each train arrival.
After the war Everett remained in the Air Force and Winona became a homemaker. The career she held most dear to her heart was being a loving wife to Everett for 64 years, mother of four children, nine grandchildren, four great grandchildren and one great great grandchild.
Winona was baptized into Christ at an early age and remained a faithful servant throughout her life. She especially enjoyed teaching Sunday school classes and was always active in church schools.
Winona was preceded in death by her parents, two brothers, one sister and one grandson.
She is survived by her husband, Everett; two daughters: Kathryn and husband Ron Nelson and Tracey and husband Tom Trout; two sons: Thomas Terry and wife, Paula, and Kenneth Terry and wife, Betsy; one brother, Alan Brown and wife, Mabel; three sisters: Annabel Pump, Delpha Nordhausen and Marlene and husband, Marv Gardner, and eight grandchildren, four great grandchildren and one great, great grandchild and a host of nieces and nephews.
Funeral services were held April 12, 2007, at the Church of Christ in Lake Placid, Fla., with burial at Bushnell National Cemetery, Bushnell, Fla.
Lareta K.E. Bartels
Lareta K. E. Bartels was born June 25, 1919 at Champion, Neb. Her parents were Herman and Katherine (Ahrens) Greim.
Lareta was baptized July 20, 1919 at Immanuel Lutheran Church, Champion Valley, Neb. by the Rev. L. A. H. Werning. She was confirmed April 2, 1933 at Immanuel Lutheran Church, Champion Valley by the Rev. Fred A. Elze.
Lareta attended the Champion Valley Lutheran School.
On Sept. 7, 1958 she married
Leonard H. Bartels of Tobias, Neb. They were married
at Zion Lutheran Church, Imperial by the Rev. Walter A. Meyer.
Prior to marriage Lareta worked in Colorado at Wheatridge Sanitarium, Children's Hospital and the Agustana Lutheran Home of Denver.
Leonard and Lareta lived on Leonard's farm near Tobias and she was a homemaker. She remained on the farm until January 2004 when she became a resident of Gardenside Long Term Care in Fairbury, Neb. She remained there until the time of her death, April 7, 2007.
Lareta was a member of Zion Lutheran Church, rural Tobias and Zion Lutheran Ladies Aid.
Survivors are her husband, Leonard, resident of Gardenside Long Term Care; brother, Gilbert and wife, Leona, Greim of Imperial; sister-in-law Arline Greim of Omaha; nephew DeWayne Greim, Omaha; neices, Carol Greim, Omaha and Joan Magdanz and husband, Dave, Houston, Texas; great-nieces, Lindsey Magdanz and Amy Rose. Also surviving are sister-in-law, Lela (Bartels) Bauer, Fairbury, Neb.; brother-in-law, William and wife, Leona, Bartels of Tobias, Neb.; nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents, brother, Melvin Greim and infant nephew, DeWayne Greim.
Services for Lareta were Wednesday, April 11 at Zion Lutheran Church with Pastor Paul Beyer officiating. Burial was in the church cemetery.
Janile Campbell served as organist.
Pallbearers were DeWayne Greim, Paul Niemann, Brian Bauer, Galen Drees, Daniel Drees and Randal Drees.
Willis Skewes
Willis Roy Skewes was born in Loveland, Colo. on June 21, 1918. He was the loving and faithful son of Minnie and Roy Skewes who homesteaded in Stonem, Colo. and raised Willis and his five siblings in Colorado and Nebraska.
The pioneering family migrated to Nebraska where they settled on a farm just outside of Imperial, Chase County.
Willis attended Chase County High School where he met the love of his life, Iola (Ollie, as she was later called). She was a classmate from a neighboring farm. They married
on Thanksgiving Day, 1938.
Iola preceded Willis in death by six years. Iola was always-until the day he died-Willis' sweetheart. They enjoyed a life-long love affair that lasted more than 62 years. And now, they are together again.
The industrious Willis took over the family farm and expanded it several times. Few people could out work Willis Skewes! But, they fell on hard times when, for three straight years, their crops of wheat and corn were virtually wiped out by powerful hail storms just before harvest time. Willis sold the farm, built a house in Imperial, moved his family that had grown to three children and went to work in the local lumber and hardware store as a clerk. The fourth and last child was soon born to Willis and Iola.
Willis' talent, intelligence and entrepreneurial spirit paved his way to a larger lumber yard, first in Gering, Neb. and then Omaha, Neb., where he became the manager of a major operation. The family prospered with Willis' resolve, endless hours of work and extra jobs.
Still, the spirit called and he had an eye on sunny California where his brother had settled. The two of them collaborated and found a small lumber and hardware store for sale in Montebello, Calif. He flew to L.A. on a Thursday, closed the deal and was home on Monday.
In 1957, the family packed everything they could-including the four children and a dog, into their station wagon and the largest trailer they could pull and moved to the little apartment that was above the store on Whittier Blvd. They lived there for more than 10 years and made his business a success. Eventually, the business outgrew that location and expanded to Greenwood Ave. in Montebello where it was known for many years as Willis Cashway Lumber.
Willis made his business successful and developed a broad customer base, making him well known in the community. With his business as his forum, he became known as "Mr. Willis", a term of deep respect. He commanded that respect, because he was respectful of all who were lucky enough to know or meet him. While he involved himself in the Montebello community in many ways-giving back-especially through his 30 year commitment to the Kiwanis Club and 40 years with the Montebello Chamber of Commerce, he was generous to a fault and gave back to strangers as well. Willis was honest, ever loyal to his family, trusting and a genuinely nice guy who made people happy to know and see him. The world has lost a fine precious person.
Willis passed away on Nov. 16, 2006, in Whittier, Calif. A memorial service was held at Plymouth Church in Whittier, Calif. on Nov. 21.
Willis is survived by his four children: Daniel Skewes of Whittier, Calif., Linda Hedgpeth of Folson, Calif., Douglas Skewes of Sacramento, Calif. and Peggy Sue Zepeda from Carlsbad, Calif.; ten grandchildren, two step-grandchildren and one step-great-granddaughter. He is also survived by two sisters, Shirley Holder from Colorado and Patty Koppel from Minnesota.
