U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
Zoe Higgins
Services for Zoe Higgins, 95, of Gregory, S.D., formerly of Naper, will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Gregory. Burial will be in the Stuart Cemetery. A wake will be at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the church.
She died Saturday, Jan. 7, 2006. Koterba Funeral Home of Gregory is in charge of arrangements.
Gladys Miller
CLARKSON - Services are pending at Miller Funeral Home for Gladys Miller, 79, of Columbus. Mrs. Miller died Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2006, at Colonial Manor Nursing Home in Clarkson.
Robert Schurman
SCHUYLER - Services for Robert C. Schurman, 69, of Schuyler will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Schuyler. Burial will be in the Schuyler Cemetery.
Visitation will be at Svoboda Funeral Home North Chapel in Schuyler on Wednesday from noon to 8 p.m., with a 7 p.m. prayer service, and resume Thursday at 9:30 a.m. at the church.
He died Sunday, Jan. 8, 2006, at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Lincoln.
Gary Ward
EWING - Services for Gary J. Ward, 66, of Ewing will be Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Ewing with burial in St. Peter’s Cemetery.
Visitation will be at the church from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday with a wake at 7 p.m. Arrangements are by Snider Memorial Funeral Home of Clearwater.
He died Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2006, at his home following a lengthy illness.
Stella Beckman
PETERSBURG - Services for Stella Beckman, 81, of Petersburg will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday at St. John’s Catholic Church in Petersburg with burial in the parish cemetery.
Visitation will be Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m. at the church, with a wake at 7:30 p.m., and resume at 9 a.m. Friday at the church. Levander Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
She died Monday, Jan. 9, 2006, at Willows Assisted Living in Neligh.
Garold Butler
BASSETT - Services for Garold M. Butler, 84, of Bassett will be Thursday at 2 p.m. at Valley Grove Community Church at Bassett. Burial will be in the Stuart Community Cemetery.
Visitation will be at Hoch Funeral Home in Bassett from 1 p.m. Wednesday until service time.
He died Sunday, Jan. 8, 2006, at Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney.
Memorials go to Valley Grove Community Church or to the family.
Shirley Darling
ALBION - Services for Shirley Darling, 65, of Albion will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Zion Lutheran Church in Albion with burial at Rose Hill Cemetery. Visitation will be Tuesday from 4-8 p.m. at Levander Funeral Home in Albion.
She died Sunday, Jan. 8, 2006, at Boone County Health Center in Albion.
The daughter of Theodore and Millie Bannister Schafer was born July 29, 1940, at Albion. She attended school at Boone County School District 24 near Dennison and graduated from Albion High School in 1958.
On June 1, 1958, Shirley was united in marriage to John H. Darling Jr. at Zion Lutheran Church in Albion. They resided at several places including Albion, Fullerton, Gordon, Scottsbluff, Norfolk and Arvada, Colo. In 1996, Shirley and John moved back to Albion. Shirley worked as a bookkeeper at the Fullerton and Albion livestock markets, the water district at Scottsbluff and as a payroll clerk at Hansel Phelps Construction in Denver.
Shirley was a member of Zion Lutheran Church in Albion and the church choir. She also served on various committees at church. She was a member of the hospital auxiliary, and she and John belonged to various square dancing clubs.
Shirley is survived by her husband, John of Albion; son, Kevin Darling and wife Tami of McCook; daughter, Teddi Dubas and husband Paul of Bennet; six grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; brother, Gary Schafer and fiancee Lynn of Columbus; sister, Renalle Loshbaugh and husband Bob of McCook; along with many nieces, nephews and friends.
She was preceded in death by her parents and great-granddaughter, Kaya Hunt.
Clayton Higgins
NIOBRARA - Services for Clayton Higgins, 91, of Niobrara will be Thursday at 10:30 a.m. at the Niobrara Lutheran Church with burial in L’Eau Qui Court Cemetery.
Visitation will be Wednesday from 4 to 7 p.m. at Brockhaus Funeral Home in Niobrara.
Mr. Higgins died Monday, Jan. 9, 2006, at Alpine Village in Verdigre.
Geraldine Sterner
MADISON - Services for Geraldine M. Sterner, 80, of Madison will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at Trinity United Methodist Church in Madison. Burial will be in Crown Hill Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Resseguie Funeral Home.
Mrs. Sterner died Sunday, Jan. 8, 2006, at Faith Regional Health Services.
Memorials may be directed to Trinity United Methodist Church in Madison.
Geraldine was born Jan. 12, 1925, in Madison, the daughter of James and Meta (Andre) Kilgore Sr. She was raised in Madison and graduated from Madison High School in 1943. After her education, Geraldine worked as a switchboard operator for the telephone company in Madison. She later worked for several hotels in Norfolk and in Lincoln as a switchboard operator.
On Oct. 17, 1947, Geraldine married
Willis A. Sterner in Madison. The couple lived in Lincoln before returning to Madison in 1948. They have lived in Madison for the past 57 years. Geraldine was a member of Trinity United Methodist Church in Madison at the time of her death.
She enjoyed reading and canning what their garden produced. She especially enjoyed her family and her grandchildren.
Geraldine is survived by her husband of nearly 58 years; her children and their spouses, Wesley and Lynda Sterner of Las Vegas, Nev., Gregory and Julie Sterner of Norfolk, James Sterner of Mineral Springs, Tenn., Eugene and Laura of Muddy Pond, Tenn., and Julie Ann and Gregg Gunderson of Aurora; 12 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren; and one brother and his wife, James and Doris Kilgore Jr. of Madison.
She was preceded in death by her parents, one brother and one sister.
Gary Ward
CLEARWATER - Services for Gary J. Ward, 66, of Ewing are pending at Snider Memorial Funeral Home in Clearwater. He died Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2006, at his home following a lengthy illness
Oscar Carlson
Services for Oscar Carlson, 88, Norfolk, will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Johnson-Stonacek Funeral Chapel in Norfolk. Burial will be in the Laurel City Cemetery.
Visitation will be 3-8 p.m. Tuesday at the chapel.
He died Sunday, Jan. 8, 2006, at St. Joseph’s Nursing Home in Norfolk.
He was born March 3, 1917, in Dixon County to Gust Carlson and Elin Kvick. He graduated from Dixon High School.
He married
Donna June Wickett on Aug. 15, 1943. She died July 21, 1960, from cancer. He married
Mabel Elizabeth Stuff at First United Methodist Church, Jamestown, N.D., on Oct. 13, 1963. They took their wedding trip to Winnipeg, Manitoba, and other places in Canada.
He was a member of Jehovah’s Witnesses Kingdom Hall at Norfolk. He was baptized July 19, 1980, at Kingdom Hall.
Oscar was a farmer all of his life in the Dixon and Laurel area. Besides farming, he had a small dairy. He also did custom combining for a few years. In 1983, he and his wife retired and moved to Norfolk. He enjoyed music, reading, medical books, animals, the outdoors and traveling. He has been a resident of St. Joseph’s Nursing Home since Oct. 23, 2004.
Survivors are his wife, Mabel Carlson of Norfolk; three sons, Richard Carlson of Ponca, Robert Carlson of Hebron and Ted Carlson of Brandon, S.D.; daughter, Janet Kavanaugh and her husband, Gary, of Laurel; two granddaughters, Deborah Obermeyer and her husband, Steve, of Wakefield, and Colleen Kavanaugh of Orlando, Fla.; a brother, Victor, and his wife, Arlyce, of Concord; three sisters, Esther Craig of Topeka, Kan., Violet Wickett and her husband, Keith, of Laurel, and Bonnie Green and her husband, Bill, of St. Louis, Mo. He was preceded in death by his parents, first wife Donna on July 21, 1960, two brothers, Carl and Ernest, and one sister, Ruth Kamrath.
Casket bearers are Jon Benson, Ken Halsey, Mark Hyatt, Seth Hyatt, George Thomas and John Vaught.
