U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
Micky Houston
Micky Houston, age 87, passed away early Tuesday morning, Jan. 25, 2005, at the Imperial Manor Nursing Home in Imperial, Neb.
Survivors include nieces Linda Banks of Erie, Colo., Vicky Fuhrer and husband Keith of Newman Grove, Neb.; and sister-in-law Lourene Miller and husband Dewey of Colorado Springs, Colo.
Funeral services will be held Friday, Jan. 28, 2005, at the United Methodist Church in Imperial with Pastor Murray Schmechel officiating.
Interment will follow at Mount Hope cemetery in Imperial.
Visitation will be held today (Thursday afternoon), from 2-6 p.m. at the funeral home in Imperial.
A memorial has been established to the Imperial Manor Nursing Home and the Imperial Community Center of Imperial.
Liewer Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Hilda Roschewski
Hilda Roschewski, long time resident of the Wauneta area, passed away Saturday afternoon, Jan. 15, 2005, at the Chase County Community Hospital, Imperial, Neb. She was 93 years of age.
Survivors include: daughters, Elaine Jones and husband, Wally, Skiatook, Okla., Carolyn Anderson and husband, Ted, Wauneta, Neb.; son, Danny Roschewski and wife, Sharla, Imperial, Neb.; 11 grandchildren; 19 great-grandchildren; one great-great-granddaughter; brothers, Martin Fortkamp and wife, Erma, Wauneta, Neb., Art Fortkamp and wife, Nina, Wauneta, Neb.; sister, Violet Long of Wauneta, Neb.; daughter-in-law, Elaine Roschewski, Palisade, Neb.
Funeral services will be today (Thursday morning), Jan. 20 at 10 a.m. at Redeemer Lutheran Church of Wauneta, Neb. with Pastor Keith Wellman officiating.
Interment will follow at Riverside Cemetery, Wauneta.
Visitation was held Wednesday afternoon, Jan. 19, 2-6 p.m. at the funeral home in Wauneta.
A memorial has been established in Hilda's memory.
Liewer Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.
Pauline Wine
Pauline F. Wine, age 100, of Imperial died Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2005, at Chase County Community Hospital in Imperial.
Services will be held Saturday, Jan. 22, 2005, at the Enders Church of the Brethren, Enders, with Rev. Francis Baker officiating.
Interment will follow at Mount Hope Cemetery, Imperial.
A memorial has been established in her memory.
Visitation will be held Friday afternoon, 2-6 p.m. at Liewer Funeral Home in Imperial.
Liewer Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.
Marlies Gauger
Marlies Sophia (Haarberg) Gauger was born March 15, 1931, to Henry and Elise (Nordhausen) Haarberg in Chase County, Nebraska, near Wauneta.
She was baptized and confirmed at St. Paul Lutheran Church, rural Wauneta.
Marlies grew up and attended school at St. Paul's parochial school and graduated from Wauneta High School in 1949.
On Dec. 19, 1968, Marlies married
Jim Gauger in a ceremony at Colorado Springs, Colo. The couple settled in Wauneta and then made their home in Dundy Coun-ty, moving in 1972. In 2002 they returned to Wauneta and made their home on the west side of town.
In years gone by Marlies enjoyed gardening and canning and had a special love for baking cookies. Failing health curtailed those activities, but her love of reading and embroidery remained a pleasant pastime to the end.
Marlies passed away Thursday night, Dec. 30, 2004, at the Chase County Community Hospital in Imperial, Neb. She was 73 years of age.
Preceding her in death were her mother and father, brothers Eldon and Harlan, and infant brother Harry.
Survivors include: husband Jim of Wauneta; brother Vic Haarberg and wife, Kathleen, of Texas; sister Dorinda and husband, Kenneth Polly, of McCook, Neb.; sister Erma and husband, Ed Suelflow, of Milwaukee, Wisc.; mother-in-law Virginia Gauger, sister-in-law Twilla Denker and sister-in-law Dorothy Gauger, all of Wauneta; sister-in-law Mary Ann Haarberg; sister-in-law Mary Haarberg, numerous nieces and nephews.
Graveside services were held Monday, Jan. 3, 2005, at 10:30 a.m. at the Eden Missionary cemetery at Wauneta with Rev. Lloyd Bley officiating.
A memorial has been established in Marlies' memory.
Interment was at the Eden Missionary Cemetery, Wauneta, Neb., with Liewer Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.
A.D. 'Swede' Swanson
A.D. "Swede" Swanson, 64, passed away at his home Dec. 26, 2004, after a long battle with cancer.
He was born Nov. 18, 1940 in Curtis to Lawrence and Una Swanson. After graduating from high school in Curtis, he joined the U.S. Army and was stationed in Washington, D.C. He served in the Presidential honor guard at Fort Meyer, Arlington, Va.
After completing his military service he returned to Curtis to marry his high school sweetheart, Mardee Gardner, on April 17, 1960, in Curtis.
He spent several years working for the Orville Kuhlman Polled Hereford Ranch in North Platte, and then lived in California and Oregon.
After moving back to the North Platte area, he started selling feed in 1968 for Morman Manufacturing Company, which he retired from in 2002.
In 1974, Swede settled south of Hershey, where he and Mardee owned and operated a farm and ranch.
In the late 1960s he was introduced to the second love of his life-the sport of rodeo and steer wrestling. He spent a lot of time over the years rodeoing and teaching young cowboys. He was a gold card member of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and the Nebraska State Rodeo Association, where he was a state champion steer wrestler in 1969 and 1972. He also was a member of the Mid-States Rodeo Association, a past Hershey school board member, Hershey Booster Club and most recently the Buffalo Bill Rodeo committee.
Along with his love of rodeo, Mr. Swanson enjoyed watching his kids play sports in high school and later in college. Spending time with his grandchildren was an enjoyable time for him.
Survivors include his wife Mardee of Hershey; a son Shane of Omaha; a daughter Sabrena of Phoenix; brothers Rodney of Cozad, and Leonard of Curtis; a sister Evelyn Sines of Imperial; grandchildren, Katie, Kristin and Morgan Swanson and Patrick McNamara; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
He was preceded in death by a son Rocky; his parents; a father and mother-in-law Mr. and Mrs. Fay Gardner; a sister-in-law, Doris Swanson; and brother-in-law, Kenny Carper.
Memorials are suggested to Miss Rodeo Nebraska Scholarship, High School Rodeo Scholarship in his memory, or to the Great Plains Regional Medical Center Callahan Cancer Center.
A memorial service was held at the Steerhead Arena on the North River Road, north of Hershey.
Inurnment was at the Lamont cemetery southwest of Hershey following the services.
Nelba Smith
Nelba Dean Smith passed away Jan. 1, 2005, in Oklahoma City, Okla. at the age of 71.
She was born Oct. 30, 1933, in Wagoner, Okla. to Cline and Cyble Flippin, the second of three daughters. Nelba grew up on her parent's farm.
Following high school, she moved to OKC to attend business school and work.
From there she moved to Denver, Colo., where she met and married
Gene Smith.
They moved to Imperial where Nelba was involved in church and community affairs. She served as a trustee on the Imperial Public Library Board during the first remodeling of the library. She was a member of the Friends of the Library while living in North Platte as well as a member of the Town Hall Group.
Nelba played golf and was an avid bridge player, an enthusiastic football fan and loved to entertain.
Friends and family will attest to her ability to turn an ordinary meal into a gourmet feast.
In recent years Nelba has been active in promoting and educating people about lymphodema as it was one of the problems she had to contend with following her first bout with cancer.
Nelba is survived by her husband, Gene Smith; sister, Wava Rutherford and husband, Edward; mother-in-law, Gladys Smith; brothers-in-law, Stan Smith and wife, Shirley and Les Smith and wife, Sue; five nieces and one nephew. She was preceded in death by her parents and sister, Vaunda Bussey.
Services were conducted in OKC on Jan. 5, 2005. Honorary pallbearers were Gladys Smith, Frank Clements, Les Smith, Stan Smith, Ed Rutherford, Melinda Gray, Kyla Bussey, Felicia Fair and Laura Riddick.
Memorials in Nelba's memory may be made to Imperial Public Library and the National Lymphodema Network at 1611 Telegraph Ave., Oakland, CA 94612.
Mercer-Adams Funeral Services of Bethany, Okla. was in charge of arrangements.
Jean V. Stute
Jean V. Stute, formerly of Benkelman, Neb. died Sunday, Dec. 19, 2004 at the Chase County Community Hospital in Imperial, Neb. at the age of 83.
She was born Dec. 13, 1921 at Stratton, Neb. to Lee and Hannah (Russell) Maxwell and attended Stratton High School where she was a member of the graduating class of 1940.
In 1945, Jean was united in marriage to Phillip D. Brown and they made their home in Oregon. Jean returned to Benkelman in 1964 and in 1969, she married
Carl Stute.
Jean loved being on the farm again, working the fields, tending to her garden and doing whatever job needed to be done.
After Carl retired they traveled extensively, visiting 49 states and seven Canadian providences. Visiting the state of Hawaii just never happened. One summer they traveled throughout Nebraska and took pictures of all of the courthouses in the state.
Jean never had any children of her own. When she married
Carl he had one son, Everett and she enjoyed being close to him and his family. She enjoyed having a family that seemed like her own and loved every minute of being a step-mom to all.
Preceding her in death are her parents, Lee and Hannah Maxwell; her loving husband, Carl, who passed in 2000; two sisters, Opal Gallatin and Margie Bailey; one infant sister, Anna; two brothers, Jim and Marion Maxwell; sister-in-law, Doris DeVinney; brothers-in-law, Frank "Junior" Stute and Roy Stute; and one step-grandson, Lyndel Stute.
She leaves behind her step-son, Everett Stute and wife, Dorothy of Benkelman, Neb.; four grandchildren; 11 great grandchildren; 15 great, great grandchildren; sisters, Ruth Brown and husband, Clyde, of Benkelman, Neb., Doris Williams and husband, Robert, of McCook, Neb.; brother, Robert Maxwell and wife, Iris, of Peoria, Ariz.; brothers-in-law, John Stute and wife, Leona, of Ft. Collins, Colo., Larry Stute and wife, Arlene, of Benkelman, Neb., Fred Lewis and wife, Iva Jean, of Arkansas; sisters-in-law, Ardith Stute of Imperial, Neb. and Karol Connelango of Grand Island, Neb.; as well as numerous nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.
Graveside services were held Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2004 at 11 a.m. at the Benkelman cemetery with Roger Parker officiating.
In lieu of flowers, it was Jean's wish that memorials be given in her name to a charity of choice.
Arrangements were under the direction of Forch Funeral Chapel of Benkelman.
Stanley A. Ham
Stanley A. Ham, a lifelong resident of Benkelman, Neb., died Monday, Nov. 22, 2004, at Sarah Ann Hester Memorial Home in Benkelman at the age of 88.
He was born March 30, 1916 on his family's farm in Dundy County, Neb. to Roy A. and Jenny (Roberts) Ham and attended country school near his home. He went on to attend Benkelman High School where he was a member of the graduating class of 1934.
On Nov. 2, 1941, Stan was united in marriage to Thelma A. Mann at Benkelman, Neb. They made their home in Benkelman until 1942 when they moved to California for a short time.
After returning to Benkelman, Stan farmed for several years, and in 1947 he purchased Four-Corners Service Station in Benkelman, and later Stanley's Oil Company. In 1952, Stan acquired Valley Farm Supply Co., the local John Deere dealership in Benkelman. In later years, the name of the company was changed to Valley Farm, Inc.-a company that is still owned and operated by his family.
Stan was a member of the United Methodist Church in Benkelman and recently received his 75-year membership pin. He was a past member of the Justice Lodge No. 180 A.F.&A.M.; of Benkelman.
Stan enjoyed visiting with his friends, neighbors and customers. He was a salesman at heart and took great pride in providing quality equipment, service and supply to the agriculture industry.
In addition to being a businessman, Stan was also a community-minded citizen. He and his family made contributions to the community in many ways, one of which was donating the land for the Benkelman Country Club, and hiring a draftsman to lay out the golf course that so many area residents enjoy today.
Anyone who knew Stan had to acknowledge his devotion to the Nebraska Cornhuskers. When his failing eyesight prevented him from reading articles about his beloved Huskers, Stan's wife, Thelma took it upon herself to read those newspaper and magazine articles to him-which in turn, turned her into a huge fan! After Thelma's passing in 2001, Stan's son, Tom was quick to pick up the practice of keeping Stan well informed of his Huskers.
In later years, Stan enjoyed playing golf and even though he wasn't actively involved in the day-to-day operations of Valley Farm, he enjoyed spending time at the dealership, visiting with all of his friends and customers.
Preceding him in death are his parents, Roy and Jenny Ham; his loving wife of more than 60 years, Thelma A. Ham; sisters, Vernelle and Earnestine; and four brothers, Clifford, Lyle, Byron and Donald.
Survivors include his son, Tom Ham and wife, Marcy of Benkelman, Neb.; daughter, Sherri Pattison and husband, John of Sioux Falls, S.D.; seven grandchildren, Kerby, Stacey, Stanna, Matt, Billie Jo, Rod and Danielle; 18 great grandchildren; brothers, Paul Ham and wife, Kathleen and Lawrence Ham, all of Benkelman, Neb.; sisters-in-law, Eula Ham and Fern Ham, both of Benkelman, Neb., Ruby Ham of Wauneta, Neb., LaVerne Ham of McCook, Neb.; and numerous nieces, nephews, other relatives and many friends.
Memorial services were held Saturday, Nov. 27, 2004, at 10:30 a.m. (MST) at the United Methodist Church in Benkelman, Neb. with Rev. Brian Fong officiating.
Services concluded at the church with a private inurnment being held at a later time.
Memorials may be given in his name.
Arrangements were under the direction of Forch Funeral Chapel of Benkelman.
