U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
Elsie Little
OMAHA -- Elsie Little, 92, of Omaha died Sunday, Aug. 26, 2001, at the Lutheran Home in Omaha.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the Ord Memorial Chapel in Ord. The Rev. Melanie Adams will officiate. Burial will be in the Mt. Hope cemetery at Scotia.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral chapel.
Memorials are suggested to the family.
Mrs. Little was born May 8, 1909, in Greeley County to Christen and Janette (Gardner) Gydesen. She grew up in the Davis Creek area and attended rural schools. She later moved to Elwood and then back to Scotia before moving to Omaha where she worked as a riveter at the air base during World War II. She later worked for Northern Natural Gas Company in Omaha and she retired from there when she was 65. She continued to live in Omaha.
Survivors include a daughter Juanita (Penny) and Mike Urkevich of Omaha; three grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; and 11 great-great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by two brothers, Amos and Fred Gydesen and three sisters, Grace Poss, Nellie Wilson and Mabel Polinoski.
'Frank' Nordhues
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Francis "Frank" J. Nordhues, 90, of St. Petersburg, Fla., died Sunday, Aug. 26, 2001, at College Harbor in St. Petersburg.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Greeley. The Rev. Gerald Carlson will officiate. Burial will be in Sacred Heart cemetery at Greeley.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Sacred Heart Church with a rosary at 6:30 p.m.
T. J. Finn and Sons Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.
Memorials are suggested to the Suncoast Hospice in Largo, Fla.
Mr. Nordhues was born March 11, 1911, at Cedar Rapids to Anna and Alex Nordhues. The family moved to Greeley. He attended and graduated from Sacred Heart School.
He married
Illa VanWinkle on March 29, 1942. He served in the United States Army during World War II. Following the war, he worked as a meat market manager for Safeway and Hinky Dinky.
In 1957, they moved to Des Moines, Iowa, were he was a meat market supervisor and buyer for a chain of six grocery stores. He retired in Des Moines and began spending time in Florida were they eventually moved.
Survivors include his wife; a son, Thomas Nordhues of Nevada City, Calif.; a daughter and son-in-law, Jayne and Mark Hollerbaugh of Tampa, Fla.; two brothers, Paul and Alex Nordhues; and two sisters, Ann Johnson and Theresa Fenton.
He was preceded in death by two brothers, John and William Nordhues; and a sister, Elizabeth Scott.
Dorothy Gillespie
A graveside memorial service for Ira "Merle" Gillespie and Dorothy Opal Gillespie will be at 2 p.m. July 21 at Westlawn Memorial Park, Garden of Prayer. The Rev. Dwayne Bennett will officiate.
Survivors include Merle's sister Reba Wiles of Grand Island; Dorothy's sister and brother-in-law, Shirley and Bill Heller of Colorado Springs, Colo.; two granddaughters; and six great-grandchildren.
Melvin Levander
79, Funeral director
ALBION -- Melvin Leroy Levander, 79, died Saturday, July 7, 2001, in his home in Albion.
Services will be 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at the United Methodist Church in Albion. The Rev. Terry Otto will officiate. Burial will be in Rose Hill cemetery with military rites by the American Legion Post No 162 and V.F. W. Post No. 736 of Albion.
Visitation will be from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Levander Funeral Home in Albion. It will resume at 6:30 p.m. with a prayer service at 7:30 p.m. officiated by the Rev. Larry Sydow with Masonic Rites at the United Methodist Church.
Mr. Levander was born June 6, 1922, at Sutton, to William and Ada (Johnson) Levander. He attended school and graduated from Sutton High School in 1940. He then worker for JC Penney Co. in Sioux City.
He entered the U.S. Army in December 1942, served in World War II and was discharged in December 1945. He served as a signal radio operator in the Pacific Theater. He attended the University of Nebraska in Lincoln and then graduated from the St., Louis College of Mortuary Science in 1949.
He married
Lyla Landgren on Sept. 30, 1948, at the First Lutheran Church in Lincoln. The couple lived in Lincoln, Superior, Scottsbluff and Pierre, S.D., due to many job opportunities. In August 1956, they moved to Albion.
The couple owned and operated the Albion Furniture Co. and the Herse-Levander Funeral Home. In 1960, he bought the Meyer's Home for Funerals in Albion and Cedar Rapids to merge them with Levander Funeral Home. After 13 years in the furniture business, he sold the businesses to Mr. and Mrs. Ron Lind. He retired in 1993. His son continues to run the family business. His hobbies include golfing, fishing and amateur radio operating. He also enjoyed woodworking.
He was a member of the United Methodist Church in Albion. He was also a member of Kiwanis Club and the Chamber of Commerce, having served various offices and president of both organizations. He was a 50-year member and past president of the Nebraska Funeral Directors Association. He belonged to the Albion Public School board for eight years.
Survivors include his wife; four daughters and sons-in-law, Kay and Robert Sallach of Charlotte, N.C., Jane and Dr. Ray Schulte of Omaha, Tara and Robert Tess of Omaha and Jenni and Mitch Jones of Holdredge; a son and daughter-in-law, Ron and Mary Levander of Albion; 14 grandchildren; and a brother and sister-in-law, Lloyd and Delores Levander of Hastings.
He was preceded in death by two brothers, Orville and Robert, and two infant sisters.
Clinton Marr
72, Truck owner/operator
DONIPHAN -- Clinton J. Marr Jr., 72, of Doniphan, died Tuesday, July 10, 2001, at his home after a lengthy illness.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Friday at the Doniphan United Methodist Church. The Revs. James Johnson and Denny Silk will officiate. Burial will be in the Grand Island City cemetery earlier Friday morning.
Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Doniphan United Methodist Church.
Mr. Marr was born May 9, 1929, to Clinton J. and Gertie A. (Johnson) Marr Sr. at Scottsbluff. He attended school in the Norfolk area until his family moved to Hastings where he graduated from high school in 1947.
He worked with livestock most of his life. He was a ranch hand and worked as a logger in Colorado and Wyoming until moving back to the Hastings area in 1960. He then helped design and build what is now the Juniata Feed Yard, where he worked for many years.
He married
Betty Silk Pfeiffer on May 13, 1979, in Central City. He enjoyed auctioneering, particularly at the Prosser Auction, for more than 20 years. He was a coast-to-coast truck owner/operator for the last 15 years until his illness forced his retirement.
He was a member of the Doniphan United Methodist Church. He was a 4-H horse project leader for many years.
Survivors include his wife; a brother, Max of Loveland, Colo.; two daughters and sons-in-law, JoElla and Thomas Ruhter of Detroit and Wendy and Mitch Beal of Columbus, and a daughter, Jenny Marr of Laramie, Wyo.; two sons and daughters-in-law, Drew J. and Janelle Marr of Ashland and Jeffery and Paula Yoachim of Kearney; two stepdaughters and stepsons-in-law, Holly and Scott Munger of Juniata and Kimberly and Larry Snavely of Minden; a stepson and stepdaughter-in-law, Mark and Kim Pfeiffer of Trumbull; a stepdaughter, Suzanne Pfeiffer of Doniphan, and a stepson, Kipp Pfeiffer of Trumbull; 16 grandchildren; and one great-granddaughter.
Lester Behring
73, Retired contractor/carpenter
Lester D. Behring, 73, of Grand Island died Friday, June 22, 2001, at St. Francis Medical Center.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Resurrection Catholic Church with the Rev. Jim Schmitt officiating. Burial will be in the Grand Island City Cemetery.
Visitation will begin at 5 p.m. Monday with a scripture wake service at 7 p.m. at Resurrection Catholic Church.
Memorials are suggested to Resurrection Catholic Church Building Fund.
Apfel-Butler-Geddes Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Behring was born on Dec. 20, 1927, at Grand Island to Louis and Rosie (Goehring) Behring. He grew up on a farm in Hall County and attended District 18 School in Hall County.
He married
Mary F. Vodehnal on Jan. 11, 1949, in Grand Island. The couple lived in Grand Island. He was a contractor/carpenter. He built Apfel Funeral Homes in Wood River and Cairo, retiring in 1990.
He was a member of Resurrection Catholic Church, Eagles and Platt-Deutsche.
He enjoyed fishing, woodworking, making his own furniture and dancing. He also enjoyed Bohemian music.
Survivors include his wife; one son and daughter-in-law, Steven and Kathy Behring of Grand Island; two daughters and sons-in-law, Sandra and Gale Hill and Deanna and Arthur Morrison, all of Grand Island; nine grandchildren; and one brother, Raymond Behring of Grand Island.
He was preceded in death by one daughter, Denise; and two brothers, Norman and Herman Behring.
