U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
Wayne Peterson
Wayne Peterson, 78 of Billings, Mont., and former Livingston resident, passed away peacefully at Deaconess Billings Clinic, Wednesday, July 6, 2005.
Wayne was born on Sept. 24, 1926 in Beaver City, Neb. to Leonard and Edith (Gifford) Peterson.
He spent his early life and attended school there before entering the U.S. Army in May of 1945 at Camp Hood, Texas.
He was assigned as a truck driver in the anti-tank battalion and was later transferred to Ft. Meyer, Va. as an armored driver in the 703rd MP Ballalion. During this time he was part of a team that returned valuable jewels to Germany, which had been stolen from a high ranking family. He also had duties patrolling the Pentagon, Ft. Meyer, Arlington cemetery and escorted dignitaries.
On April 13, 1952 he married
Rosalene (Rosie) Kunnemann. In January 1969, they moved from Grant, Neb. to their ranch on Fleshman Creek in Livingston, Mont. They spent the next 20 years raising cattle and their two daughters.
Wayne joined the Farm Bureau in 1955. He served in various offices over a 19 year span from county secretary and treasurer to state director. He and Rosie moved to Billings in 2000 to be closer to their daughter and her family.
Wayne was preceded in death by his parents, Leonard and Edith Peterson and sister, Beverly Cooper.
He is survived by his wife, Rosie Peterson of Billings; a sister, Barbara Cline of Glendive; a brother, Don Peterson of Imperial, Neb.; his daughters, Diann (Irvan) Floth of Billings and Janet Peterson (Les Hedquist) of Portland, Ore.; and granddaughters, Morgan and Alison Floth of Billings.
Cremation has taken place at Franzen-Davis Crematory in Livingston with memorial services being held at 10 a.m. Monday, July 11, at Franzen-Davis Funeral Home in Livingston.
Graveside committal and burial followed in Mountain View cemetery afterwhich there was a reception at the home of Morris and Ann Hallowell in Livingston.
The family requests memorials be made to the Montana Farm Bureau Foundation, 502 South 19th, Suite 104, Bozeman, MT 59718 or Livingston Senior Citizens Center, 206 W. Main, Livingston, MT 59047.
Opal Humphreys
Opal Marjory Lemon Humphreys was born Oct. 5, 1916 to Bert and Jessie (Gardner) Lemon on her grandfather's homestead northeast of Max, Neb. She was the eldest of seven children.
Opal grew up there, attending country grade school and graduating from Max Rural High School in 1933.
Opal married
William "Kermit" Humphreys on Aug. 10, 1935, in her parents' home in 3-36 precinct. To this union five children were born: Lyle Albert, Merril Dean, Earl Levoine, Phyllis Ila and Sharolyn Hope.
Opal and Kermit lived all their lives within 20 miles of Benkelman, Neb., most of it farming until they moved to Max, living in the house that she inherited from her grandmother.
Opal devoted her entire life to taking care of her eldest son, Lyle, and her family.
Opal passed away, Sunday afternoon, July 10, 2005, at the Hester Memorial Home in Benkelman. She was 88 years of age.
Her joys in life were her flower garden and family. She enjoyed watching her grandchildren as they participated in school activities.
Survivors include son, Lyle of Benkelman, Neb.; son, Merril and wife, Sylvia, Imperial, Neb.; son, Levoine, Max, Neb.; daughter, Ila Foster and husband, Val, Omaha, Neb.; daughter, Shary Jones and husband, Jerry, Max, Neb.; seven grandchildren; 13 great grandchildren; several step grandchildren and great grandchildren; many nieces and nephews; brother, Glen Lemon and wife, Shirley, Max, Neb.; sister, Helen Shoemaker and husband, Vern, Cawker City, Kan.
Opal was preceded in death by her parents, husband Kermit, granddaughter Nancy, brothers Roy Harley and Earl and sisters Hope and Dorothy.
Graveside services will be held today, Thursday morning, July 14, 2005, at 10 a.m. at the Ashgrove Cemetery, north of her ancestral home, with Marcine Farmer PMA officiating.
The public will meet at the Community Park in Max, Neb. at 9:30 a.m. and travel together to the cemetery.
Music will be by Kelly Hayward.
Casketbearers are Kevin Humphreys, Andy Faeh, Kirk Jones, Kent Jones, Mark Sutherland and Will Mossburgh.
Visitation was held Wednesday afternoon, July 13, 2005, at 2-6 p.m. at the funeral home in Wauneta.
A memorial has been established in Opal's memory.
Liewer Funeral Home of Wauneta is in charge of arrangements.
Melody M. Miller
Melody M. Miller died Friday, July 1, 2005 in Denver, Colo. She was born Nov. 12, 1951 in Denver to Charles T. Phillips and Vinta (Kimberling) Phillips.
She attended school in Imperial, Neb. and finished her schooling at NJC where she became an LPN. Melody married
Dan Miller on Aug. 2, 1969 and to this union two children were born, Misti and Holli.
Melissa Memorial Hospital and Prairie Vista Care Center were both blessed to have Melody work for them as an LPN. She also served three years on the Phillips County Fair Board.
All outside work stopped when grandchildren arrived and she devoted all her time to helping raise them.
Melody loved spending time with her family, keeping her grandchildren, fishing with her husband, camping, gardening, antiques, cooking, reading, hunting for arrowheads and looking for unusual rocks with her grandkids and making every moment count. She always appreciated everything, especially life itself.
Melody is preceded in death by her grandmother Mary and her father.
Survivors include her husband Dan; daughters Misti Redman and husband Jason of Holyoke, Colo. and Holli Purkeypile and husband Kurt of Emmetsburg, Iowa; grandchildren Whitni and Holden Redman of Holyoke, Colo. and Colby and Kylie Purkeypile of Emmetsburg, Iowa; mother Vinta of Holyoke, Colo.; aunt Vera Gleason of Beaver City, Neb., and uncle Vinton and aunt Fauniel Kimberling of Champion, Neb.; and many cousins, nieces, nephews and friends.
A memorial service for Melody was held Thursday, July 7, 2005 at the United Methodist Church in Holyoke, Colo. with Bryan Kroeger officiating.
Services concluded at the church with a family burial in Crete cemetery in Champion, Neb. at a later date.
Memorial contributions may be given to the Melody Miller Memorial Fund, c/o Holyoke Credit Union, 101 West Denver, Holyoke, CO 80734.
Gerk Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.
Margaret N. Liska
Margaret N. Liska, age 82, of St. Charles, Ill., died Saturday, July 2, 2005, at Delnor-Community Hospital in Geneva, Ill. from complications of acute myelogenous leukemia.
She was born July 27, 1922 in Callaway, Neb. to James C. and Ruth (Snodgrass) Naylor.
She was educated in Arnold, Neb. and graduated from the University of Denver with a degree in business.
She married
U.S. Army Captain, Arthur J. Liska on April 5, 1944, and together they owned and operated businesses in the Chicago area, most notably Ben Franklin stores in Batavia, Ore. and North Aurora.
Peggy, as she was known by her many friends, was deeply devoted to education and worked tirelessly in many local, state and national capacities for the American Association of University Women. An educational endowment was established in her name in 1985.
She was also active in PEO, the Greater Chicago Area Council on Aging, Illinois Fix Valley Embroiders Guild and was a lifetime member of the Eastern Star.
She is survived by a daughter, Jo, of Bloomington, Ind.; a son, Jim (Geri) of Livingston, Mont. and two grandchildren, Courtney and Daniel, both of Livingston.
She was preceded in death by her parents and her husband, Arthur J. Liska.
At her request, there will be no services and interment will be private at Arlington National cemetery in Virginia.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the AAUW Educational Foundation, Margaret "Peggy" Naylor Liska Research and Projects Endowment, American Association of Women, 1111 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036.
Yurs Funeral Home, St. Charles, Ill. was in charge of arrangements.
Andrew Roe
On March 19, 1983, in San Antonio, Texas, Matthew Bryan was born to a caring lady named Jane. She entrusted the care of her child to James and Marvene Roe and their three girls, Tammy, Amanda and Laura. Upon adoption his name became Andrew Bryan Roe.
Andy experienced a full life despite his medical conditions. He has explored caves, climbed mountains, tubed the white water rapids of the Guadeloupe River, participated in numerous camping trips and traveled to many destinations. Some of his favorites were water rides at Worlds of Fun in Kansas City and Silver Dollar City.
Andy succumbed to his medical conditions while camping with his family. Andy passed away on Saturday, July 2, 2005, at the Chase County Community Hospital at Imperial, Neb. He was 22 years of age.
He is survived by his parents, James and Marvene Roe; birth mother, Jane; sisters: Tammy and husband, Nick Walkowski, of Paris, Ill.; Amanda Roe of Wauneta and Laura and husband, John Blomstedt, of Palisade; cousins: Darren Roe and Isaiah Littrel living with Andy; grandparents: Rev. Leo and Onita Porter of Wauneta; Willa Roe of Edina, Mo.; great grandmother Betty Porter of Lafayette, Colo.; aunts and uncles: Terry and Christine Lytle of Wauneta, Kim and Lisa Walcott of Palisade; Don and Bonita Lawler of Stratton, Kirk and Cindy Gates of Palisade; Dr. Robert Collinge and wife, Peggy, of Edina, Mo., Keith Roe and wife, Lacy, of Marietta, Ga., and Kenneth Roe of Topeka, Kan.; numerous cousins and two nieces: Renzie and Cheya.
He was preceded in death by grandfather Edward Roe and great grandparents Wayne and Gladys Porter.
Funeral services will be held Saturday, July 9, 2005, at 10:30 a.m. MT at the Hamlet Union Church in Hamlet, Neb., with Rev. Leo Porter officiating.
Interment will follow at Riverside Cemetery, Wauneta.
A memorial has been established in Andy's memory. Proceeds will be donated to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
There will be no public visitation.
Liewer Funeral Home of Wauneta is in charge of arrangements.
Melody M. Miller
Melody M. Miller of Holyoke, Colo. died July 1, 2005.
Among survivors are husband, Dan Miller of Holyoke, Colo.; daughters, Misti Redman and Holli Purkeypile; and mother, Vinta Claney, of Imperial, Neb.
A memorial service will be held today, Thursday, July 7, 2005, at 10:30 a.m. at the United Methodist Church in Holyoke, Colo.
Interment will be at the Crete cemetery in Champion, Neb.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Melody Miller Memorial Fund, c/o Holyoke Community Federal Credit Union, 101 W. Denver, Holyoke, Colo. 80734.
Gerk Funeral Home of Holyoke-Haxtun is in charge of arrangements.
Ethel Brown
Ethel Brown was born on May 30, 1908 in Chase County, Neb.
She was the second of six children born to Frank and Jennie Hoffman Whips.
Ethel attended rural school in Chase County before her parents moved to Grant. Ethel finished school in Grant, graduating from Perkins County High School in 1926 with normal training. She taught school at Brule and Middlevale rural school for the next two years.
Ethel was married
to Walter Brown on May 20, 1928 at the United Church of Christ First Congregational Church in Grant. They had the distinction of being the first couple that was married
in the "new" church. Two children, Donna Mae and Robert Allan were born to this union.
Walt and Ethel built their farm home northwest of Grant where they lived for 46 years before moving into town in 1974.
Walt and Ethel enjoyed traveling and spent several winters in Arizona.
Walt died in 1986 and Ethel continued to maintain her home until 1996 when she moved to Westview Retirement.
Ethel moved to Parkview Assisted Living in 2002 and was recuperating at the Golden Ours Convalescent Home in Grant where she died Tuesday morning, June 21, 2005. She had reached the age of 97.
Ethel had been an active member of the Congregational Church for nearly 80 years, being a member of the Dorcas as well as the general fellowship. She had been a member of the Grant Woman's Club and was a charter and 50-year member of the W.I.L. extension club.
She was a longtime member of the Eastern Star where she had served as the worthy matron and of the Grant Rebekah Lodge where she had served as the noble grand.
She enjoyed gardening, making fancy things and cooking. Her greatest joy was her family-spending time with them and watching her grandchildren and their families in their many different activities.
In addition to her parents and husband, Ethel was preceded in death by her son, Robert; one grandson, Doug Brown; two sisters, Edna Mickish and Mabel Beal and two brothers, Frank and Fletcher Whips.
She is survived by her daughter, Donna and husband; Bob Bishop of Grant; six grandchildren, Jim and wife, Carol Bishop of Lincoln, Gaylord and wife, Genie Bishop of Grant, Russell and wife, Claire Bishop of Ogallala, Lloyd and wife, Tricia Bishop of Indianapolis, Suzan and husband, Calvin McCormick of North Platte and Shelly Oakley of Mesa, Ariz.; 17 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren; one sister, Margaret (Frosty) Quick of McCook; one sister-in-law, Vera Whips of Max, and many other relatives and friends.
Services were held June 25 at the Grant First Congregational Church with Pastor John Keener officiating.
Organist was Lynn Schumacher and soloist was Cheryl Russell. Musical selections were "Beyond The Sunset" and "Safe In The Arms Of Jesus."
Casketbearers were Bret Bishop, Jayson Bishop, Aaron Bishop, Andrew Bishop, Daniel Bishop, David Bishop, Kevin Bishop, Carl Bishop and Ryan Bishop.
Interment was in the Grant Cemetery.
Bullock-Long was in charge of arrangements.
