U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
John Conant
John H. Conant, 89, of Grand Island died Thursday, July 15, 1999, at St. Francis Medical Center.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at St. Mary's Cathedral with Bishop Lawrence McNamara and the priests of the Grand Island Diocese officiating. Burial will be in Westlawn Memorial Park Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 4 to 7:30 p.m., with a rosary recited at 7:30 p.m. by the Rev. Tom Ryan, Sunday at Apfel-Butler-Geddes Funeral Home.
Memorials are suggested to the family's choice.
Mr. Conant was born on May 24, 1910, at Albion to Daniel and Agnes (Hyland) Conant. He grew up in Cedar Rapids and worked at the Cedar Rapids Leader. He went from there to the True Voice in Omaha until May 1942.
Mr. Conant entered the U.S. Army on May 15, 1942, at Fort Crook, Neb., and served during World War II. He was discharged on Oct. 7, 1945, at Fort Snelling, Minn.
He came to Grand Island in December 1946 and went to work at The Grand Island Independent as a reporter. He was later promoted to news editor.
He married
Martha Scholz on Dec. 31, 1952, in Grand Island. He worked for The Independent for 29 years until retiring in 1975.
He was a member of St. Mary's Cathedral, Knights of Columbus, American Legion and the Great Plains Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society.
Survivors include his wife; one son, John "Jack" Conant of Grand Island; two grandchildren; three half sisters, Mary Ann Lorence of Cherokee Village, Ark., Peg Malander of Fullerton and Carolyn Frederick of Gretna; and two half brothers, Richard Conant of Nehawka and James Conant of Gretna.
He was preceded in death by one brother, Thomas Conant; and one half brother, Joseph Conant.
Eleanore Yilk
Eleanore E. "Ellie" Yilk, 80, of Tiffany Square Care Center, formerly of Hastings, died Thursday, July 15, 1999, at Tiffany Square.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at St. Michael's Catholic Church in Hastings. The Rev. David Bourek will officiate. Burial will be in Parkview cemetery at Hastings.
Visitation will be from noon to 9 p.m. Sunday and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday at Brand-Wilson Funeral Home in Hastings. Further visitation will be one hour before the rosary at 7:30 p.m. Monday at St. Michael's.
Memorials are suggested to Mary Lanning Memorial Hospital Hospice or St. Francis Medical Center Hospice.
Mrs. Yilk was born on Sept. 8, 1918, at Blue Hill to Frank and Emma (Huppert) Kuhn.
She married
Charles Yilk on Nov. 23, 1938. She worked at Schweser's in Hastings as a sales clerk. Mr. Yilk died in 1993.
Mrs. Yilk was a member of St. Michael's Catholic Church and Altar Society, Catholic Daughters of America and had been a member of St. Cecilia's Catholic Church for many years.
Survivors include four daughters, Sunny K. Melichar of Wichita, Kan., Connie R. Thomazin of Grand Island, Mickey L. Lawson of Wadena, Minn., and Charlie A. Durbin of Brunswick, Maine; 14 grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchildren; and three sisters, Mary Alber of Hastings, Middy Brennan of Des Moines, Iowa, and Lenora Walters of California.
In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by three brothers and one sister.
Verna Anderson
HASTINGS -- Verna C. Anderson, 91, of Hastings died Thursday, July 15, 1999, at Perkins Pavilion in Hastings.
Graveside services will be at 10 a.m. Monday at the Kearney cemetery with the Rev. Barbara Hart officiating.
O'Brien-Straatmann-Apfel Funeral Home of Kearney is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Anderson was born in Harrisburg to Arthur and Ida (Kellogg) Welton. She attended school in Scottsbluff.
She married
Clyde Anderson. She had lived at the Hastings nursing home since 1991.
Survivors include one son, Glen Anderson, and one daughter, Phyllis King, both of California.
She was preceded in death by her husband, two sisters and two brothers.
Corinne Stewart
ORD -- Corinne M. Stewart, 75, of Ord died Thursday, July 15, 1999, at her home.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at Ord Memorial Chapel with the Rev. James B. Miller officiating. Burial will be in the Ord City Cemetery.
There will be family visitation only.
Memorials are suggested to the American Cancer Society.
Mrs. Stewart was born on Oct. 14, 1923, at Burwell to Wilford and Leonora (Schefsky) Haines. She was raised in Burwell and graduated from Burwell High School.
She married
Wayne E. Stewart on Dec. 11, 1941, at Grand Island. They farmed near Ord. They moved to Los Angeles in 1948 and returned to Ord to farm in 1950. They moved back to California in 1953.
After Mr. Stewart retired, they moved to Kernville, Calif., where they lived for 22 years. They returned to Ord in 1992.
Mrs. Stewart was active as a Girl Scout leader, Sunday school teacher and in Son's Baseball Auxiliary. She was president of TOPS and belonged to Westchester Methodist Church in California. She enjoyed baseball, especially the Cubs, Braves and Dodgers. She played Yahtzee and liked completing crossword puzzles.
Survivors include her husband; two sons, Phillip E. Stewart of Billings, Mont., and Paul W. Stewart of Lake Oswego, Ore.; one daughter, Peggy M. Souther of Thousand Oaks, Calif.; eight grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; and one sister, Helen McQuay of Alpine, Ariz.
She was preceded in death by two brothers, Bernard and Harold Haines.
'Betty' Divis
BREWSTER -- Elizabeth P. "Betty" Divis, 77, of Brewster died Thursday, July 15, 1999, at Jennie M. Melham Memorial Medical Center in Broken Bow.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Monday at St. Anselm's Catholic Church in Anselmo. The Rev. Mark Maresh will officiate. Burial will be at 4 p.m. in Assumption Catholic cemetery at Dwight. The Rev. Loras Grell will officiate.
Visitation will be from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday at Govier Brothers Mortuary in Broken Bow. The rosary will be recited at 7 p.m. Sunday at the church.
A memorial has been established to the Brewster EMTs.
Mrs. Divis was born on Nov. 9, 1921, at Dallas. She grew up in Dallas. After graduating from high school, she entered the military in 1943 and served in the Women's Army Corps during World War II.
She married
Joseph J. Divis on Aug. 1, 1944, in the Armored School Chapel at Fort Knox, Ky. She was discharged from the service on Feb. 6, 1945. They moved to Lincoln in 1946.
They moved to Brewster on Aug. 4, 1950, and Mr. Divis became the Blaine County attorney. He died on Jan. 30, 1989. Mrs. Divis continued to live in Brewster.
She was a member of St. Anselm's Catholic Church, the American Legion Auxiliary and BPO Does.
Survivors include one son, Joe J. Divis of Lincoln.
In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by one brother and three sisters.
