U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
'Bill' Davis
PRIMROSE -- William "Bill" D. Davis, 85, of Primrose died Wednesday, April 18, 2001, at Wolf Memorial Good Samaritan Center in Albion.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Presbyterian Church in Primrose with the Rev. Mary Avidano officiating. Burial will be in the Dublin cemetery in Primrose.
Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at Levander Funeral Home in Albion.
Henry Gembala
FAIR OAKS, Calif. -- Henry Gembala, 90, of Fair Oaks, Calif., died Sunday, April 15, 2001.
Memorial services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Reichert Funeral Home in Citrus Heights, Calif. Burial will be in the Montecito Memorial Park in San Bernardino, Calif.
Memorials are suggested to the Matthew Gembala Medical School Trust Fund.
Reichert Funeral Home of Citrus Heights, Calif., is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Gembala was born August 23, 1910, in Tarnov to Joseph and Veronica (Silver) Gembala. He grew up on a farm near Loup City, graduating from Loup City High School in 1928. He studied civil engineering at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln from 1928 to 1933, and was cadet officer in the Army ROTC program.
After college, he joined the U.S. Civil Conservation Corps as a civil engineering leader and transferred into the Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service program, living and working in many South Central Nebraska towns. He held several engineering and management positions with SCS including serving in North Africa during the mid- and late- 1960s, assigned to the U.S. Agency for International Development. He retired from the USDA in 1973 at the Lincoln Nebraska Regional office and moved to Rialto, Calif.
He then consulted for White Engineering Corp. as a civil engineer and performed soil and water engineering studies and did hydrology engineering consulting for the governments of Haiti, Jamaica, Indonesia, Burma, Mauritania and Afghanistan during 1974 to 1980. He fully retired in 1981, and moved to Fair Oaks in 1994 to be near his family.
Survivors include his wife of 66 years, Ruth G. (Brown) Gembala of Fair Oaks, Calif.; one son, Roger, also of Fair Oaks; one daughter, Barbara Ann (Mrs. Terry) Miller of Colorado Springs, Colo.; six grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; two brothers, Raymond of Kearney and Jim of Loup City; and two sisters, Irene Klausen of Rockville and Eleanor Wilson of Loup City.
He was preceded in death by one son, Eugene R. Gembala in 1993; brothers, Edward, Joe and Ernest; and sisters, Rose Kornmeyer and Clara Krolikowski.
Claude Noble
DENVER, Colo. -- Claude Noble, 83, of Denver died Sunday, March 25, 2001, at Denver.
Graveside memorial services will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Elmwood cemetery in St. Paul. The Rev. Larry Lepper will officiate.
Memorials are suggested to the St. Paul Library Foundation.
Jacobsen-Greenway Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Noble was born August 28, 1917, at Whidbey Island, Wash., to Ernest and Bessie (Sexxon) Noble. He attended school in Whidbey Island.
He married
Olga Ambrose in August 1953 in Las Cruces, N.M. They lived most of their married
life in Denver, where he worked as a comptroller for Safeway and owned a liquor store.
Survivors include one brother, Ernest of Washington state, and one sister, Betty Waldron of Langley, Wash.
He was preceded in death by his wife and one brother.
Alice Waldmann
LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Alice C. Waldmann, 91, of Los Angeles, Calif., died Sunday, April 15, 2001, at Los Angeles.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Ord with the Rev. Bob Rooney officiating. Burial will be in the Geranium cemetery west of Ord.
Visitation will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday with a rosary at 7 p.m. at Ord Memorial Chapel.
Memorials are suggested to the donor's choice.
Donald Cates
Donald W. Cates, 89, of Grand Island, died Friday, Oct. 27, 2000, at Lincoln.
Services will be 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at Apfel-Butler-Geddes Funeral Home Chapel in Grand Island with the Rev. Cheryl Lamb officiating. Burial will be in the Westlawn Memorial Park cemetery in Grand Island. Visitation will be from 1 p.m. until service time on Tuesday.
Memorials may be made to the family or the donor's choice.
Mr. Cates was born March 20, 1911, to Charles and Caroline (Matson) Cates at Cameron, a small town near Wood River. He lived in Grand Island as a small child and graduated from Grand Island Senior High.
He married
Jean Gardiner on Sept. 12, 1936, in Omaha. The couple lived in Grand Island, where Mr. Cates and his late brother, Clarence, were co-owners of Cates Tire Co. until Mr. Cates retired in 1974. Mr. and Mrs. Cates celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary this year.
He was a member of First Presbyterian Church, Elks, Platt-Duetsche and Riverside Country Club. He also was an avid outdoorsman and golfer.
Survivors include his wife, Jean of Lincoln; a son, Jim of Denver; two daughters, Donna (Mrs. Bud) Gillis of Ashland and Kathy (Mrs. Allen) Moore of Lincoln; four grandchildren; and a great-grandson.
Mildred Johnson
Mildred C. Johnson, 86, of Grand Island, died Friday, Oct. 27, 2000, at Lincoln.
Services will be 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at Peace Lutheran Church in Grand Island with the Rev. William Voelker officiating. Burial will be in the Westlawn Memorial Park cemetery in Grand Island. Visitation will be from 3 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at Apfel-Butler-Geddes Funeral Home.
Memorials may be made to Peace Lutheran Church.
Mrs. Johnson was born May 16, 1914, to Joe and Emma (Hansen) Sternecker at Elba. She received her education in the rural Elba school and grew up on a farm near Elba.
She married
Ches Johnson on Sept. 20, 1933. The couple lived in St. Paul. Mr. Johnson died in 1983. Later, Mrs. Johnson worked at the Heritage Living Center in St. Paul. She was a volunteer at the Grand Generation Center.
Survivors include a daughter, Lila Cooper of Lincoln; a son, Gary Johnson of Minatare; seven grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; one great-great-granddaughter; and a sister, Mable Layher of Alexandria, Va.
She was preceded in death by her husband and a brother, Howard Sternecker.
Donna Luther
Donna Jean Luther, 61, of Grand Island died Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2000, at St. Francis Skilled Care Center.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday at St. Mary's Cathedral. The Rev. Father Jose Chavez will officiate. Mrs. Luther's remains were cremated.
Memorials are suggested to the St. Francis Hospice or the Overland Trails Council.
Kleine Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Luther was born Jan. 1, 1939, to Clifford and Amelia (Gerdes) Ambroz at St. Libory. She was educated at St. Paul, graduating from St. Paul High School in 1957.
She married
Robert Luther on Aug. 15, 1959. They lived in Cairo and later moved to Grand Island. She was a homemaker, making her family her priority. She was a Girl Scout leader and a Boy Scout leader. She was a lifetime member of the Jefferson PTA.
She enjoyed gardening, knitting, crocheting, and sewing. She collected ducks and angels, and spent quality time with her grandsons.
Survivors include her husband; one son, Garrett Luther of Grand Island; two daughters, Melanie (Mrs. Marc) Buettner of Wood River and Robyn Luther of Grand Island; seven grandsons; and one brother, Gary Ambroz of St. Paul.
She was preceded in death by her parents and an infant sister.
