U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
Leslie Tighe, 73
Leslie Tighe, 73 of Blair died Wednesday, Aug. 27, 1997.
There will be visitation Thursday from 2 p.m. - 8 p.m. at Hadan Golden Reichmuth Mortuary in Bennington with a prayer service at 7 p.m. Graveside services will be private.
He was a 34 - year employee of Omaha Public Power District. He was a three - year veteran of World War II and a long - time member of the Omaha Musicians' union.
Survivors are his wife, Karen; sons, Les of Bennington and Rick and Mark of Blair; a daughter, Sharon Kugel of Wahoo; 13 grandchildren; one great - grandchild; a brother, Ed of North Platte, Neb. and a sister, Janet Taylor of Omaha.
Clifford Updike, 71
4/9/26 - 8/24/97
Clifford D. Updike, 71, of Fremont died Sunday, Aug. 24, 1997 at Methodist Hospital in Omaha.
There was no funeral service as the body was cremated.
Clifford Updike was born April 9, 1926 in Herman to Wilbur and Beulah (Anderson) Updike. He grew up at Lyons, Neb. and attended school there. He served in the United States Army during World War II. After his discharge, he returned to Lyons. He moved to Fremont in 1950 and lived there until moving to Boulder, Colo. He then lived in Blair and Arlington before returning to Fremont in 1961.
On Jan. 14, 1950, he married
Bonnie R. Fankhouser at Winslow. He was a retired mason and had worked for Carlstrom Brothers Construction.
Survivors are a son, Brad Updike of Aurora, Colo.; two daughters, Lavonne (Mrs. James) Furstenau of Fremont and Anne (Mrs. Randy) Cole of Tilden, Neb.; a brother and sister - in - law, Donald and Helen Updike of Lyons, Neb.; a sister, Blanche &40 Mrs. Les ) Knop of Lake Placid, Fla.; and three grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Bonnie on May 4, 1997; his parents; a daughter, Patricia Updike and brothers, Melvin Updike, Kenneth Updike and Robert Updike.
Memorials may be given to Bethany Lutheran Church in Lyons.
Moser Memorial Chapel in Fremont was in charge of arrangements.
Haley Focht
7/29/97
Mike and Terri ( Vogt ) Focht of St. Peters, Mo. are the parents of a daughter, Haley Elizabeth, who was born July 29, 1997 in St. Charles, Mo. She weighed seven pounds, eight ounces and was 21 inches long.
Her grandparents are Les and Carole Focht of Fremont and Harris and Alice Vogt of Nickerson.
Rodney Block, 37
2/15/60 - 8/11/97
Rodney Steven Block, 37, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa died Monday, Aug. 11, 1997, due to complications from a year - long battle with stomach cancer.
Services were Aug. 13 with burial in the Blair Cemetery.
Rodney Block was born in Huron, S.D. and was raised in Blair. He graduated from Blair High School in 1978. He attended Ozark Bible College in Joplin, Mo., for 1 1/2 years. He received an associates degree in radio and television communications from Brown Institute of Minneapolis, Minn. in 1984. On Nov. 3, 1984, he married
Ann Lillard.
Survivors are his wife, Ann; four children, Tammany, Gabrielle, Hall and Wilson; his mother, Pearl Block of Blair; sisters, Janice Farrell of Gulfport, Mo.; Emily Nappolini of Blair; Lois Kuhr of Washington, Utah; Corinne Gearhart of Missouri Valley, Iowa and Robin Henderson of Yorktown, Va.; and brothers, James of Morrieta, Calif.; Roger of Omaha and Michael of Camano Island, Wash.
He was preceded in death by his father, Emil and a sister, Geraldine, who died in infancy.
Frank Elstun, 73
Services were Saturday, Aug. 16, 1997 at All Saints Episcopal Church in Omaha for Frank R. Elstun, 73 of Omaha.
Frank Elstun was a pharmacist and co - owner of Blair West Pharmacy for many years in Blair.
He is survived by his wife, Helen, Omaha; a son and daughter - in - law, Bruce and Lisa, Denver, Colo.; a daughter and son - in - law, Jean Ann and Todd Wetherlit, Kansas City, Kan.; grandchildren, Raleigh Elstun, Caitlin and Will Wetherlit and a brother, Ed of Omaha.
Crosby Burket Swanson - Golden Colonial Chapel in Omaha was in charge of arrangements.
Raymond Schmidt, 82
4/14/15 - 8/16/97
Raymond E. Schmidt, 82 of Blair died Aug. 16, 1997 at Memorial Community Hospital in Blair.
Services will be 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at First Lutheran Church. Burial will be at 3:30 p.m. in the Sterling cemetery in Sterling, Neb.
Raymond Schmidt was born April 14, 1915 at Sterling to George and Trentje ( Meints ) Schmidt. He was baptized and confirmed at St. John's Lutheran Church and served on the church council there.
On Sept. 17, 1944, he married
Lucile Seele. They farmed on the same farm where he was born and raised until 1978 when they moved into Sterling. They moved to Johansen Manor in Blair in November of 1990.
He was a member of the District No. 22 School Board and Sterling Public School No. 33.
He is survived by his son and daughter - in - law, Rick and Dorothy Schmidt of Blair; two daughters and sons - in - law, Barbara and Keith Janssen of Ottawa, Kan. and Donna and Dennis Awtry of North Platte, Neb., and seven grandsons.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Lucile on Oct. 26, 1995; his parents; four brothers, Albert, Brunke, William and Henry and two sisters, Christina and Fanny.
Memorials may be given to the Diabetes Association.
Campbell - Aman Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Vernon Bellows, 73
6/24/24 - 8/15/97
Vernon Bellows, 73, died Friday, Aug. 15, 1997 at his Omaha home.
Services will be 10:30 a.m. at First Untied Methodist church in Blair. Rev. Kenneth McClain will officiate. Burial will be in Blair Cemetery.
Vernon Bellows was born in Walthill, Neb. June 24, 1924 to Vernon F. and Louise ( Boughn ) Bellows. The family moved to Blair in 1930. He graduated from Blair High School in 1942. He joined the Army after one semester at the University of Nebraska and served in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II for over two years as first sergeant and registrar of the 100th Station Hospital in New Delhi, India. On June 23, 1946, he married
Phyllis Jensen. He attended the Omaha Art School and the Kansas City Art Institute and worked as a commercial artist for over 30 years. In 1951, he painted the mural of the Last Supper in First United Methodist Church's sanctuary.
He is survived by his wife, Phyllis; son, Kent; daughters and sons - in - law, Debra and Douglas Wesselmann and Robin and James Griess; grandchildren, Vincent Wesselmann, Madolin Wesselmann, Hannah Wesselmann, Philip Gress, David Griess and Neil Griess, all of Omaha; brothers, Ray of Tampa, Fla. and Steven of Omaha; sisters, Nancy Gabby of Blair and Cynthia Bird of Wilton, Conn. and many other relatives.
Campbell - Aman Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Kenneth Halsey, Sr., 60
12/14/36 - 8/13/97
Kenneth Vernon Halsey, Sr., 60, of Omaha, died Wednesday, August 13, 1997 at St. Joseph Hospital in Omaha.
Services will be Monday, Aug. 18 at the United Methodist Church in Blair. Burial will be in the Blair Cemetery.
Kenneth Halsey was born December 14, 1936.
He is survived by his wife, Jeanne Halsey, Omaha and formerly of Blair; his children, Steven Halsey of Blair; Patrick Grover of Omaha; Sean Grover of Elkhorn; Jolene Halsey, Omaha; and twins, Kenneth, Halsey, Jr. and Tami Halsey, both of Omaha; brothers, Elvin Halsey, Omaha and Mike Saupp, Texas; one sister, Barbara Kelm, Michigan and 11 grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his mother, Mildred Saupp of Omaha.
