U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
'Jim' Finney Sr.
85, Farmer
SHELTON -- James "Jim" Finney Sr., 85, of Shelton, died Friday, June 1, 2001, at the Western County Good Samaritan Center in Wood River.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Shelton with the Rev. Ray Kosmicki officiating. Burial will be in the Shelton Cemetery.
Visitation is from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Sunday with a 7:30 p.m. prayer vigil at the church.
Memorials are suggested to the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Shelton.
Apfel Funeral Home of Wood River is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Finney was born June 11, 1915, south of McCool Junction to Frank and Grace (Gilmore) Finney. He went to District 4 School until the eighth grade in rural McCool Junction. He then attended and graduated from McCool Junction High School. After graduation, he worked the family farm when his father became ill in the 1930s.
He married
Vera Murrell in 1940 in McCool Junction during a blizzard. After marriage, the couple lived in Greenfield, Iowa, for two years. They then moved to York and lived with his parents. They bought their first farmland in Fairmont and started farming. In 1957, the couple moved to Shelton where they would farm until retirement. Mrs. Finney died on Dec. 31, 1998.
He was a member of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church. He helped start a Little League and organized the first Shelton Little League Tournament. He enjoyed picnics, visiting with neighbors and golfing.
Survivors include one son, Jim of Gibbon; four daughters, Carole Schneider of Harrisburg, Ill., Cathi Lewis of Shelton, Nancy Hofmann of Escondido, Calif., and Linda Kokoszki of Deerfield, N.Y.; 12 grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; one sister, Sister Margaret Finney of Sioux City, Iowa; and one brother, Gene Finney of Pearl Land, Texas.
Other than his wife, he was preceded in death by two sisters, Sister Dorothy Finney and Mildred McCarthy and two brothers, Gerald and John.
Fred Gilmore
MILLER -- Fred L. Gilmore, 44, of Miller died Thursday, May 31, 2001, at Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Miller Christian Church in Miller. The Rev. David Harder will officiate. Burial will be in the Merna Cemetery.
Visitation is from 5 to 8 p.m. Monday at Iverson Memorial Chapel in Broken Bow and until noon Tuesday at the church.
Memorials are suggested to the family.
Mr. Gilmore was born Sept. 19, 1956, in Pawnee City to George O. and Dolores M. (Mason) Gilmore.
He moved to Merna in 1968 with his mother and brothers. In 1975, he graduated from Anselmo/Merna High School. He worked at New Holland and then in 1979 served in the Air Force as a med air evac until 1985. While enlisted, he was stationed in Japan, Florida and St. Louis. In 1986, he moved to New Jersey, where he was a nurseryman for six years. He returned to Nebraska in 1991 and continued in the nursery business until 1994 when he started working at Marshall Engine. He worked there until October 1999 when he became disabled.
He married
Rhonda Hoes on Dec. 26, 1999.
Survivors include his wife; three daughters, Jaimee, Katie and Winnie, all of Miller; his mother of Merna; his father of Rockwell, Texas; and three brothers, Paul of Tucson, Ariz., Joel of Amherst and Kurt of Miller.
He was preceded in death by a brother, Dale.
Stasia Paprocki
SILVER CREEK -- Stasia Gavlik Paprocki, 84, of Silver Creek died Thursday, May 31, 2001, at the Genoa Community Hospital.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Silver Creek with the Rev. Wayne Pavela officiating. Burial will be in the St. Edward Catholic cemetery in St. Edward.
Visitation is from 9 a.m. until service time Saturday at the church.
Mrs. Paprocki was born April 23, 1917, in St. Edward to John and Kathryn (Kula) Drog. She received her education at District 66 School and graduated from St. Edward High School in 1935.
She married
Alvin Gavlik on Feb. 7, 1939, in St. Edward. Mr. Gavlik died on Sept. 17, 1953.
On Jan. 4, 1964, she married
Berney F. Paprocki.
She was a member of the St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Silver Creek, the Altar Society and the American Legion Auxiliary.
Survivors include her husband, Berney Paprocki of Silver Creek; one daughter and son-in-law, Nancy Ann and Don Delozler of Columbia, Mo.; three sons and daughters-in-law, Lawrence Gavlik and Richard and Susan Govlik, all of Arlington, Texas, and Edward and Jackie Gavlik of Columbus; four sisters and brothers-in-law, Irene and Sylvester Laska of St. Edward, Virginia and Werner Gunther of Columbus, Evelyn and Don Schott of Silver Creek and Lorene and Ben Cheloha of Columbus; eight grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.
Other than her first husband, she was preceded in death by four brothers, Adolph, Edmund, Edwin and Leo Drog; one sister, Wanda Valasek; and an infant sister.
Lawrence Smith
GREELEY -- Lawrence E. "Fat" Smith, 75, of Greeley died Thursday, May 31, 2001, at St. Francis Medical Center in Grand Island.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Sacred Heart Church in Greeley. The Rev. Gerald J. Carlson will officiate. Burial will be in the Sacred Heart cemetery in Greeley.
Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday at the church with a rosary service at 7 p.m.
Memorials are suggested to St. Francis Cardiac Care Unit, AIDS Foundation or the family's choice.
Curran Funeral Chapel in Grand Island is in charge of arrangements.
Dale Bellairs
81, Retired
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Dale L. Bellairs, 81, of San Jose, Calif., died May 24, 2001, at his home.
Memorial services will be at 11 a.m. Friday, June 15 at Westlawn Memorial Park cemetery in Grand Island. The Rev. John Cook will officiate. Burial will be in Westlawn Memorial Park Cemetery.
Darling & Fischer Chapel of the Hills of Los Gatos, Calif., is in charge of arrangements.
Survivors include two sons, Jack of Calgary, Canada, and Bill of Grand Island; two stepsons, Lewis Beck of Saratoga, Calif., and Joe Beck of San Jose, Calif.; 13 grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by one son, Danny; three brothers, Eldon, Gerald and Lyle; one sister, Mayleen Knopp; and one grandchild.
Richard Erickson
Richard S. Erickson, 78, of Grand Island died Tuesday, July 4, 2000, at the BryanLGH East Campus of Lincoln.
Services will be at 1 p.m. Friday at the Apfel-Butler-Geddes Funeral Home Chapel in Grand Island. The Rev. George Wheat will officiate. Burial will be in the Westlawn Memorial Park cemetery in Grand Island.
Visitation will be from 3 to 9 p.m. Thursday at Apfel-Butler-Geddes Funeral Home.
Memorials may be made to the family.
Mr. Erickson was born on Nov. 11, 1921, to Matt and Sigrid (Nyman) Erickson at Fruitdale, S.D. He grew up in the Fruitdale-Belle Fourche area, attending grade school in Fruitdale and receiving his high school diploma from Belle Fourche High School.
He served in the U.S. Army during WW II in the European theater and was honorably discharged on Feb. 14, 1946. He graduated from the University of South Dakota at Vermillion in 1947.
He married
June Graves on May 27, 1948, in Sioux City, Iowa, where they lived. In 1948, he received managerial training from Montgomery Ward in Falls City. The couple moved to Belle Fourche, S.D., in 1949. In February 1952, they moved to Grand Island where he was employed by Rain Chief as office manager until 1964.
In 1964 he became self-employed. In 1966, he was employed by New Holland as a shipping clerk until 1972 at which time they moved to St. Onge, S.D., where he and his wife owned St. Onge Grocery Store. In 1987, the grocery store was sold and he retired. They returned to Grand Island where he was employed at the Grand Island Municipal Golf Course.
He enjoyed golfing.
He was a member of the United Church of Christ in St. Onge, S.D., and the American Legion. He was a past member of the United Congregational Church of Grand Island and chairman of the building committee when the United Congregational Church was built.
Survivors include his wife; a son, Richard S. of Lincoln; a daughter, Barbara Prasch of Grand Island; three grandchildren and a brother, Wallace L. of Spearfish, S.D.
He was preceded in death by one brother.
