U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
Reuben C. Paulson
Reuben C. Paulsen, 90, of Grand Island died Friday, June 8, 2001, at the Tiffany Square Care Center in Grand Island.
Services will be at 3 p.m. Wednesday at St. Paul's Lutheran Church. The Rev. John D. Russell will officiate. Burial will be in the Grand Island City Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Livingston-Sondermann Funeral Home. Memorials are suggested to St. Paul's Lutheran Church.
Franklin Alexander
ST. PAUL -- Franklin "Alex" Alexander, 91, of St. Paul died Saturday, June 9, 2001, at the Howard County Community Hospital in St. Paul.
Services are pending with the Jacobson-Greenway Funeral Home in St. Paul.
Mary Ellen Cowan
ORD -- Mary Ellen Cowan, 90, of Ord died Saturday, June 9, 2001, at the Valley County Nursing Home in Ord.
Services are pending at the Ord Memorial Chapel.
Lavina Foster
retired farm wife
BROKEN BOW -- Lavina Christiana Foster, 96, of Broken Bow died Saturday, June 9, 2001, at Heritage Hall in Broken Bow.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at the United Methodist Church in Broken Bow. Dr. Charles Spence will officiate. Burial will be at the Broken Bow cemetery.
Visitation will be from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday at the Govier Brothers Mortuary in Broken Bow. Memorials are suggested to the United Methodist Church of Broken Bow.
Mrs. Foster was born Oct. 22, 1904, at Leshara to Chris and Sophia (Christensen) Nelson. She moved to Custer County with her family in 1920 and attended schools in Saunders and Custer County. She graduated from Ansley High School in 1922 and then attended Kearney State Teachers College.
She married
Doane Clifford Foster on Aug. 10, 1924, near Berwyn. Both of them taught school and lived on several different farms before purchasing a farm in the Janesville community in the 1940s.
She joined a group of 38 Americans in a tour around the world from Sept. 14 to Nov. 12 of 1968. After she returned home she presented nearly 100 programs and showed slides to different organizations about her trip. She moved to Broken Bow in 1970 after her husband's death.
She was an officer in both District and Conference of the United Methodist Women's organization and taught church school for many years. She was active in the Outreachers of UMC, a book club and was a member of an extension club for 50 years. She also helped organize a book about Berwyn's history.
She enjoyed gardening, canning, working in her flowerbeds, sewing, writing poetry and lyrics to songs, quilting and entertaining.
Survivors include one daughter, Dorothy Gordon of Raytown, Mo., one son, Robert and wife Sondra Foster of Broken Bow; one sister, Grace Loy and husband Chet of Berwyn, sister-in-law Pauline Nelsen of Broken Bow; five grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband; one sister, Roma Bergetta; two brothers, Elmer and LeRoy; and one grandson, Bill Gordon.
Helen Lathrop
BURWELL -- Helen Lathrop, 86, of Burwell died Friday, June 8, 2001, at the Rose Lane Home in Loup City.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the United Methodist Church in Burwell. The Revs. Eldon Davis Jr. and Michael Laing will officiate. Burial will be in Cottonwood cemetery in Burwell.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Hitchcock Funeral Home in Burwell. Memorials are suggested to Rose Court at Rose Lane Home in Loup City.
Leo Wolf
NORTH LOUP -- Leo Wolf, 71, of North Loup died Friday, June 8, 2001, at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney.
Services will be at 9 a.m. Thursday at the Ord United Methodist Church. There will be no visitation as Mr. Wolf was cremated.
'Alex' Ramirez
Ruben "Alex" Ramirez, 2, of Grand Island died Sunday, June 10, 2001, as a result of a vehicle-pedestrian accident.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at Harvestime Baptist Church with the Rev. Robert Inge officiating. Burial will be in the Grand Island City Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 3 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at All Faiths Funeral Home.
Memorials are suggested in his name.
Alex was born on March 13, 1999, to Beckie Sinner at Grand Island. He enjoyed cars, listening to engines and lawn mowers. He also enjoyed going to church, baseball and being with his family.
Survivors include his mother, Beckie Casillas; sister, Hannah, at home; five brothers, Joshua, Jeremy, Angel, Matthew and Anthony "Ray, " all at home; stepfather, Humberto Mendoza; and his grandparents, William and Edith Rodenbaugh of Grand Island and Ruben Ramirez of Mexico.
He was preceded in death by a paternal grandmother.
Wesley Christensen Sr.
66, Truck driver
ST. EDWARD -- Wesley E. Christensen Sr., 66, of St. Edward died Sunday, June 10, 2001, at Methodist Hospital in Omaha.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at Faith Lutheran Church in St. Edward with the Rev. Vernon Knight officiating. Burial will be in the Rosenborg cemetery in rural Lindsay with military rites by Crosier American Legion of St. Edward.
Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Miller-Levander Funeral Home in St. Edward.
Mr. Christensen was born Oct. 19, 1934, near Lindsay to Peter and Emma (Krogh) Christensen. He was baptized and confirmed at St. Ansgar Lutheran Church in rural Lindsay. He attended Platte County School District 64 through the eighth grade and then Boone County District 40 School. He graduated from Newman Grove High School in 1951.
He served in the United States Army and was stationed at Frankfurt, Germany. Following discharge, he lived in Newman Grove.
He married
Karen L. Ward on Aug. 16, 1955, in Newman Grove. They lived and farmed south of Lindsay. Mr. Christensen moved to St. Edward in 1972.
He married
Joycelynn Zabka on Nov. 26, 1973, at Albion. They lived in St. Edward. He owned Wes' Bar & Grill in St. Edward and drove a truck for 46 years. He began driving trucks for Lindsay Manufacturing and was self-employed. He then worked for Werner Trucking in St. Edward and later for Behlen Manufacturing of Columbus.
He was a member of St. Ansgar Lutheran Church from 1934 through 1975, when he became a member of Faith Lutheran Church in St. Edward.
Survivors include his wife; two sons and daughters-in-law, Wes Jr. and Brenda Christensen of Grand Island and Brian and Kari Christensen of Norfolk; four daughters and sons-in-law, Cheryl and Scot Bailey of Anita, Iowa, Debra and Dave Peterson of Norfolk, Karri and Marty Cheyney of Stanton and Lynn Christensen of Norfolk; one stepson and stepdaughter-in-law, Steve and Debra Zabka of St. Paul, Minn.; four stepdaughters and stepsons-in-law, Lynette and Don Young of Crete, Janell and Brent Vernon of Greenup, Ky., Charlene and Marty Reznicek of North Bend and Jolene Taylor of Lincoln; 24 grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and one sister, Vera Brauner of Lindsay.
He was preceded in death by one son, Paul D. Christensen, and one stepson, Rick L. Zabka.
'Dick' Johnson
75, Retired
AURORA -- Warren R. "Dick" Johnson, 75, of Aurora, died Sunday, June 10, 2001, at Memorial Hospital in Aurora.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Presbyterian United Church of Christ in Aurora. The Rev. Mary McQueen will officiate. Burial will be in the Aurora Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 3 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Higby Mortuary.
Mr. Johnson was born Jan. 2, 1926, at Shickley to Reuben V. and Winnie (Killion) Johnson. He grew up in Shickley and graduated from high school in 1943.
He worked at Bruning Air Base for a year after high school. He joined the Navy in 1941 and received his training at Farragut, Idaho. He was then transferred to gunnery school in San Diego. He was assigned to the SS Mandarin and was sent to the South Pacific. He then transferred to the USS Indiana at San Francisco. He was discharged on June 4, 1946, at Bremerton, Wash., with the rank of yeoman 3rd class. He returned to his hometown of Shickley.
In 1947, he traveled to California, where he lived with his grandparents, the Frank Killions, and worked for the city of Glendale Light Department. He returned to Nebraska and moved to Aurora in 1953, where he worked for Consumers Public Power.
He married
Margaret Carnes on Feb. 5, 1954, at the Federated Church in Aurora. He worked for the Farmers Co-op Creamery until it closed in 1969. He then went to work for Berthelsen's Century Manufacturing until his retirement in January 1990.
He was a member of the Hamilton Merrick ARC and Presbyterian United Church of Christ, where he served on the building and grounds boards. He also had been a member of the American Legion and VFW.
He enjoyed all sports. He coached his daughter Linda's softball team under the name of Larry's Electric and also helped coach with Glade Snoberger's team, Aurora First National Bank. He was a Chicago Cubs fan. He enjoyed selling tickets for the Aurora alumni basketball tournament, He also enjoyed his pet schnauzer, Maggie.
Survivors include his wife; one son, Larry W. Johnson of Grand Island; one daughter and son-in-law, Linda and Bob Petzoldt of Grand Island; one stepgranddaughter; two sisters and brother-in-law, Clara Mae and Rodger Dishington of Redondo Beach, Calif., and Jackie Lund of Lincoln; and one brother and sister-in-law, Dale and Beverly Johnson of Beatrice.
He was preceded in death by his stepgrandson.
