U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
Mable Miller
BURWELL -- Mable M. Miller, 78, of Burwell died Saturday, Sept. 4, 1999, at the Sargent Nursing Home in Sargent.
Services will be 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at the United Methodist Church in Burwell. Burial will be in the Cottonwood cemetery in Burwell. The Rev. Michael Laing will officiate. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Monday at the Eberle-Hitchcock Funeral Home in Burwell. Memorials are suggested to the United Methodist Church or the Burwell Ambulance Supply Fund.
Roma Read
AURORA -- Roma Read, 69, of Aurora died Friday, Sept. 3, 1999, in a Lincoln hospital.
Services will be 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Aurora United Methodist Church. The Rev. Heung-Gyu Kim will officiate. Burial will be in the Aurora Cemetery. Visitation will be from 3 to 5 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Monday at the Higby Mortuary in Aurora.
Mrs. Read was born on a farm near Aurora to Marlow and Grace (Maw) VanHorn on Nov. 1, 1929. The family moved to California for a few years, then returned to the Aurora area, where she received most of her schooling and where she continued to live until her death.
She married
Ralph Read Jr. at Aurora on July 20, 1948. They lived in Aurora, where Mrs. Read was a driver for kindergarten children for District 4-R for 20 years. She also helped her husband in their trucking business for 25 years and later was a homemaker.
Mrs. Read was a member of the Aurora United Methodist Church.
Survivors include her husband, Ralph "Bub" Read Jr., a daughter, Edna (Mrs. Allan) Heiden of Hampton; a sister, Carol (Mrs. DeMar) Burns of York; her mother, Grace VanHorn of Aurora; and three grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her father, Marlow VanHorn.
Rosie Whyte
Rosie M. Whyte, 70, of Grand Island died Thursday, Oct. 28, 1999, at St. Francis Medical Center.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church. The Rev. Frank Hoelck will officiate. Burial will be in the Grand Island City Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 4 to 9 p.m., with a 7 p.m. rosary, at the church.
Memorials are suggested to the church, the American Cancer Society or the American Heart Association.
Livingston-Sondermann Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Whyte was born on Oct. 15, 1929, in Nance County to Frank and Barbara (Uzendowski) Kiolbasa. She began her education in Nance County and graduated from Grand Island Senior High in 1946. She worked as a secretary for the chamber of commerce.
She married
John T. Whyte Jr. on May 2, 1950, at Grand Island. Mrs. Whyte also worked as a cook at the Bosselman-Eaton Café and then worked as a housekeeper/companion for the Sartin family in Grand Island.
She loved flowers and her family.
She was a member of Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church and the Blessed Sacrament Altar Society.
Survivors include her husband; three daughters, Mary Kay Hescock of Grand Island, Deborah Jess of Tobias and Margaret R. Pollock of Fairbury; one son, Tom Whyte of North Platte; 10 grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; five step-grandchildren; four stepgreat-grandchildren; three brothers, Dr. Edward Kiolbasa of Stillwater, Minn., Frank Kiolbasa of Grand Island and Gene Kiolbasa of Iowa City, Iowa; and two sisters, Jeanette Kemper of Northglenn, Colo., and Margaret Stuckey of Omaha.
She was preceded in death by one son, Michael Whyte in 1992; one sister, Sylvia Kuber; and two brothers, Raymond Kiolbasa and Chester Kiolbasa.
Roger Crawford
ALDA -- Roger C. Crawford, 48, of Alda died of cancer Wednesday, Oct. 27, 1999, at St. Francis Medical Center in Grand Island.
Services will be at a later date in Garrison, N.D. The Thompson Co. is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Crawford was born at Minot, N.D., to Charles and Gladys (Swayze) Crawford. He lived and worked in North Dakota until he moved to Grand Island in March 1986. He worked at Chief Industries at the time of his death.
Survivors include four sisters, Janice Claussen of Shelton, Wash., Joan Slobojan of Kearney, Joyce Nelson of Cleveland and Sandra McCoun of Grand Island; two brothers, Jack Crawford of White Shield, N.D., and Bill Crawford of Columbia Falls, Mont.; and a special friend, Linda Shunkwiler.
He was preceded in death by his parents and a sister, Marilyn Kerzman.
Rolland Freeland
CENTRAL CITY -- Rolland L. Freeland, 68, of Central City died Thursday, Oct. 28, 1999, at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Omaha.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Monday at Palmer's Funeral Home in Palmer. The Rev. Richard Henderson will officiate. Burial with military rites will be in Rose Hill cemetery at Palmer.
Visitation will be from 3 to 6 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home.
Mr. Freeland was born on July 20, 1931, in Nance County to Louie and Gladys (Verplank) Freeland. He grew up in Nance and Merrick counties and attended country schools. He farmed with his father. He served in the U.S. Army from 1952 to 1954. He then worked as a carpenter and had a lawn mowing service.
He was a past member of the American Legion in Loup City.
Survivors include eight sisters, Euveda Wilson of St. Paul, Zella Faye Lubken of Central City, Mabel (Mrs. Ernest) Burkhardt of Palmer, Betty (Mrs. Ron) Beck of Grand Island, Minnie (Mrs. Edwin) Rasmussen of Omaha, Wanda (Mrs. Fred) Rother of Wolbach, Ruby (Mrs. Richard) Henderson of Hastings and Lois (Mrs. Norman) Petersen of Grand Island; and one brother, Harold Freeland of St. Paul.
He was preceded in death by two sisters, Shirley Abbott and Opal Oswald.
Robert Kirkpatrick Sr.
AURORA -- Robert Gail Kirkpatrick Sr., 77, of Aurora died Thursday, Oct. 28, 1999, at Hamilton Manor in Aurora.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Monday at the Assembly of God Church in Aurora. The Rev. Jim Garfield will officiate. Burial will be in the Harvard Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday at Higby Mortuary in Aurora.
Mr. Kirkpatrick was born on July 11, 1922, at Grand River, Iowa, to William A. and Martha E. (Smith) Kirkpatrick. He grew up in Aurora and left an at early age to work as a cowboy in Torrington, Wyo. He was drafted from Hamilton County in March 1943 to serve in World War II. He served in England, France, Austria and Germany. He participated in the Battle of the Rhineland and Central Europe, including the Battle of the Bulge.
He married
Hattie Cook on Dec. 16, 1946, in Mankato, Kan. They lived in Aurora for six months and then spent 22 years traveling and living in different places while Mr. Kirkpatrick was in the Army. In 1966, they moved back to Aurora, where he worked as custodian at the county courthouse. In 1969, they moved to Kearney so he could work as a counselor at the Boys Training School until retiring from the state in 1983. They returned to Aurora in 1985. Mrs. Kirkpatrick died on Oct. 12, 1992.
Mr. Kirkpatrick was a member of the American Legion and the Disabled American Veterans. He enjoyed traveling and camping.
Survivors include one daughter, Martha Farber of Gresham; one son, Robert Jr. of Harvard; one stepdaughter, Doris Burns of Sunnyvale, Calif.; one stepson, Derald Siebert of Pleasanton, Calif.; 11 grandchildren; 19 great-grandchildren; three sisters, Rosie Doell and Doris Preston, both of Aurora, and Gertrude Birkinbine of Yakima, Wash.; one brother, Jim Kirkpatrick of Sheridan, Wyo.; and a special friend, Edie Decker.
Other than his wife, he was preceded in death by one brother and three sisters.
Robert 'Bob' Kruger
SHELTON -- Robert L. "Bob" Kruger, 69, of Shelton died Friday, Oct. 29, 1999, at his son's home in Hastings.
Memorial services will be at 2 p.m. Monday at Godberson Mortuary in Gibbon with the Rev. Richard Maciejewski officiating. Burial will be in the Shelton cemetery with military graveside rites by Shelton American Legion Post 297. There will be no visitation.
The family requests memorials to the Shelton Fire Department and Rescue Unit.
Mr. Kruger was born on June 23, 1930, in Clearwater to William and Flora (Mueller) Kruger. He graduated from Clearwater High School in 1948. He joined the U.S. Army in 1949 and served in Korea, where he earned three Bronze Stars and the Korean Service Medal.
He married
JoAnn Angus in 1954 in Inglewood, Calif. They lived in Hartington and Creighton. Mr. Kruger had lived in Shelton since 1968.
He married
Janet Pember on Feb. 23, 1979, in Shelton. She died in 1981.
Mr. Kruger was a member of the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars of Shelton. He enjoyed fishing, hunting, cards and golf.
Survivors include two sons, Tom of Grand Island and Alan of Hastings; two daughters, Crystal Kruger of Grand Island and Letha Mueller of Elba; 12 grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; two brothers, William of Clearwater and John of Lincoln; and two sisters, Ruth (Mrs. Benny) Prater of Clearwater and Carol (Mrs. William) Timm of Kearney.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Janet; an infant brother; and a sister, Bonnie.
