U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
Charles Simpson
CAIRO -- Charles "Bud" Simpson, 72, of Cairo, died Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2000, at the Hamilton Manor in Aurora.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the First Baptist Church in Cairo. The Rev. Eldon Elsberry will officiate. Burial will be in the Mt. Pleasant cemetery in Cairo.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday at the church in Cairo.
Memorials are suggested to the First Baptist Church in Cairo, Cairo Senior Center or the Alzheimer's Association.
Apfel Funeral Home of Cairo is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Simpson was born Dec. 16, 1927, at Fairfax, Mo. He grew up in Dorchester. He was in the U.S. Air Force.
After his discharge he worked for the American Eagle Shows, drove Star Route for U.S. Post Office and later worked for Chief Industries Building division. He retired from Sta-Rite Industries on Jan. 5, 1990.
On Feb. 16, 1963, he married
Doroethy (Lackner) Miller in Lincoln. They moved to Phillips in 1966 and then to Wood River and to Cairo in 1969.
He enjoyed participating in the Awana programs at his church and working with the children. He also enjoyed working in his shop where he built wood products.
Survivors include his wife; two sons, Conrad of Grand Island and Donald of American Fork, Utah; one daughter, Juna Ruzicka of Cairo; one brother, Forrest "Bitter" of Thornton, Colo.; four sisters, Mildred "Kitty" Mateja and Marilyn Johnson of Milford, Eilene "Tootsie" Staritz of Fairbury and Doris "Dolly" Kujath of Beatrice; and six grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by four brothers and three sisters.
Woodrow Richardson
BROKEN BOW -- Woodrow W. Richardson, 83, of Broken Bow died Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2000, at Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday at Sandhills Manor Nursing Home Chapel in Broken Bow. The Rev. Bob Winn will officiate. Burial will be at the Broken Bow Cemetery. Govier Brothers Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.
Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Govier Brothers Mortuary.
Mr. Richardson was born March 5, 1917, at Callaway to Ernest and Amelia (Stevenson) Richardson. He attended country schools in Redfern, Brown, Valley, Cottonwood, Hillside and Callaway. He later farmed and ranched with his parents south of Callaway and Broken Bow.
He married
Violet Jones on Jan. 21, 1948. They lived in Dry Valley north of Weissert for a year and south of Ansley for a year. They later moved to Merna, where Mr. Richardson worked for Fred and Wayne Lyon in farming for 15 years.
After moving to Broken Bow, Mr. Richardson worked for Becton Dickinson for a couple of years, before taking a job in maintenance at the Broken Bow Elks Lodge, where he worked for 14 years. Mrs. Richardson died in 1982. Mr. Richardson then moved to Custer Heights in Broken Bow, where he lived for a few years. He moved to Sandhills Manor Nursing Home in 1986.
He was a member of Our Savior Lutheran Church, and a past member of Broken Bow Elks Lodge.
He enjoyed riding horses, dancing and reading.
Survivors include nieces and nephews.
In addition to his wife, he was preceded in death by an infant daughter; and a sister, Ida Parson.
Nancy Rystrom
STROMSBURG -- Nancy Ruth Rystrom, 64, of Stromsburg, died Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2000, at Annie Jeffrey Memorial county Health Center in Osceola.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday at the United Methodist church in Stromsburg. The Rev. Lester Anderson will officiate. Burial will be in the Stromsburg Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday at Palmer Funeral Home in Stromsburg.
Mrs. Rystrom was born Sept. 5, 1936, at Benedict to John T. and Elizabeth G. (Poor) Seymour. She attended Benedict Elementary school and graduated from Stromsburg High School in 1954.
She married
Delwyn D. Rystrom at Stromsburg on Sept. 5, 1954. The family lived in Wyoming, Colorado and Wisconsin where they lived for 19 years before returning to Stromsburg in 1989 when the Rystroms established a green house, Seymour Acres, west of Stromsburg. Mr. Rystrom died in July 1992 and Mrs. Rystrom continued to operate the business with the help of her son, Sam, until her death.
She was past Worthy Matron of the Eastern Star, she was past president of the Stromsburg Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Nebraska Nurseryman's Association. She was an active member of her community and enjoyed time with her family.
Survivors include three sons, John, Sam and David Rystrom, all of Stromsburg; one daughter, Beth (Mrs. Mark) Haupt of Fort Worth, Texas; seven grandchildren; one sister, Jan (Mrs. Jim) Conway of Stromsburg; and a special friend, Darrell Bolton of Benedict.
In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by one son, Mike and her parents.
Donna Vanderheiden
BROKEN BOW -- Donna Vanderheiden, 60, of Broken bow, died Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2000, at her home in Broken Bow.
Services are pending with Govier Brothers Mortuary in Broken Bow.
Olga Mills
COLUMBUS -- Olga Sophie Mills, 84, of Columbus died Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2000, at the Columbus Manor.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m., with a family prayer service at 10:15 a.m. Friday, at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Columbus. The Revs. Roland Jank and Richard Bringewatt will officiate. Burial will be at the Columbus Cemetery. McKown Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
There will be no visitation.
Mrs. Mills was born May 28, 1916, at Belgrade to John and Eliese (Kleveman) Oltmanns. She grew up in Timber Creek Township west of Belgrade and attended Timber Creek School.
She married
Helmuth Hellbusch and later married
Guy Mills.
She lived in Cedar Rapids before moving to Columbus in 1962. She worked at Dale Electronics until retiring.
She belonged to Immanuel Lutheran Church.
She enjoyed playing cards, Scrabble and family get-togethers.
Survivors include four sons, Gerald Hellbusch of Cedar Rapids, Gene Hellbusch of Omaha, Gordon Hellbusch of Columbus and Tony Hellbusch of Belgrade; two daughters, Jackie (Mrs. Jerry) Lassek of Omaha and Linda (Mrs. Guy) Brandenburgh of Bellwood; a sister, Anna Belitz of Loveland, Colo.; many grandchildren; many great-grandchildren; one great-great granddaughter; one step-daughter, Colleen (Mrs. Terry) Staack of Columbus; and two step-sons, Jim Mills of Aurora, Colo. and Larry Mills of Brush, Colo.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Helmuth Hellbusch; three brothers, Frederick Oltmanns, Johnnie Oltmanns and Walter Oltmanns; a sister, Elsie Tschudin; a granddaughter; a grandson; and her second husband, Guy Mills.
Gary Cooley
CITRUS HEIGHTS, Calif. -- Gary Lee Cooley, 57, died Nov. 14, 2000, at his home in Citrus Heights, Calif., of cancer.
Memorial services will be at a later date.
Memorials are suggested to the family.
Mr. Cooley was born Sept. 29, 1943, at Loup City to Ivan and Beatrice (Datus) Cooley. He attended school in Westerville and graduated from Ansley High School in 1961.
He married
Doris Wright in 1960.
He attended Grand Island Business College where he graduated fourth in his class as a Junior CPA. He worked for Wilson Concete in Grand Island. In 1962 they moved to California where he worked construction as a concrete finisher and was a licensed contractor for 36 years.
He became a licensed pilot in 1963. He was an avid outdoors person, enjoyed skydiving, bungee jumping, skeet and trap shooting, camping, fishing and hunting and was a certified scuba diver. He enjoyed being with friends and co-workers.
Survivors include his wife; a daughter, Stephanie (Mrs. Dennis) Backman of Citrus Heights, Calif.; a son, Mark Cooley of Citrus Heights, Calif.; his parents, Ivan and Beatrice Cooley of Westerville; a sister, Nancy (Mrs. Joel) Brown , of Littleton, Colo.
He was preceded in death by a brother, Larry.
