U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
Wilma Thomson
BURWELL -- Wilma Jean Thomson, 70, of Burwell died Tuesday, July 14, 1998, at Valley County Hospital in Ord.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Eberle-Hitchcock Funeral Home in Burwell. The Rev. Mike Blatchley will officiate. Burial will be in Cottonwood cemetery in Burwell.
Visitation will be from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, July 16, at the funeral home.
John Smith
AUBURN -- John Stanley Smith, 83, of Auburn, formerly of Shelton, died July 7, 1998, at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Lincoln.
Services were on July 11 at Auburn Eagles Post 3767. The Rev. Frank Zimmerman officiated.
Graveside services will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Shelton Cemetery.
Hemmingsen Funeral Home in Auburn was in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Smith was born on June 15, 1915, at Shelton to William and Nona (Boyce) Smith. He spent his childhood in Shelton and attended school there.
He married
Bernice Ebel. He served during World War II in the U.S. Army Infantry, 35th Division, Company A.
He married
Lorna Read on Sept. 14, 1946, at Smith Center, Kan. While in the Shelton and Wood River area, he farmed and worked as an implement mechanic and operated a grain elevator. She preceded him in death.
He married
Mary Burmood on June 15, 1979, in Duluth, Minn.
He was a 50-year member of American Legion Post 314 at Wood River and a member of Auburn Eagles Post 3767.
Survivors include three daughters, Jean Austin of Edgar, Nona Conley of Hamlin, W.Va., and Linda (Mrs. Roy) Deeds of North Platte; a son, Bill Smith of Duluth, Minn.; a stepdaughter, Linda Razey of Wood River; 18 grandchildren; 33 great-grandchildren; a sister, Barbara Thienel of Shelton; and a special friend, Betty L. Able of Auburn.
He was preceded in death by his wives, two grandchildren, one brother and one sister.
Robert George
SUN VALLEY, Calif. -- Robert J. George, 74, of Sun Valley, Calif., died July 1, 1998, in California.
Memorial services were on July 7 at the Church on the Way, the King's Palace, West Campus, at Van Nuys, Calif. The Rev. Jack Hayford officiated. Burial was in San Fernando Mission Cemetery.
Memorials are suggested to the church.
Mr. George was born on May 18, 1924, in Columbus. He had a vision in 1949 that he was to become Santa Claus. He gave up his barbershop and assumed the identity year-round.
He was invited to join President Eisenhower's White House Christmas ceremonies in 1956. The yearly visits continued through eight presidencies. Health problems prevented visits during the Clinton administration.
Mr. George moved to California in 1962.
He married
Stella Chaney in 1965. The couple lived in Sierra Madre through the 1970s, then Orange County and Glendale. They had lived in Sun Valley since the early 1990s.
He was a longtime member of the Kiwanis Club and the Lions Club. He received numerous humanitarian awards, including citations from the Motion Picture Council and the city of Los Angeles.
A movie based on his life called "A Different Kind of Christmas" aired on the Lifetime channel in 1997.
Survivors include his wife; a daughter, Roxanne Clark of Celeste, Texas; two grandchildren; two sisters, Madeline Kress of Seattle and Frieda Scharfenberg of Sacramento; and four brothers, Ted George of Grand Island, Kenny George of Columbus and Phil George and Fred George, both of Cozad.
Grace Tyson
Willmar, Minn. -- Grace Tyson, 76, of Willmar, Minn., formerly of Grand Island, died Tuesday, July 14, 1998, at Willmar.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at Calvary Assembly of God Church in Grand Island. The Rev. Terry Brown will officiate. Burial will be in Westlawn Memorial Park Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 3 to 9 p.m., with the family receiving friends from 7 to 9 p.m., Wednesday at Apfel-Butler-Geddes Funeral Home.
Memorials are suggested to the donor's choice.
Sister Rosemary Carraher
Sister Rosemary Carraher, 68, of Grand Island died Tuesday, Dec. 15, 1998, at BryanLGH Medical Center East in Lincoln.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Friday at St. Mary's Cathedral. The Revs. Tom Ryan and Jose Chavez and other clergy will officiate.
Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the cathedral.
Additional services and burial will be at a later date at the mother house of the Dominican Sisters in St. Catharine, Ky.
Kleine Funeral Home is in charge of local arrangements.
Sister Rosemary was born on Dec. 19, 1929, at Spalding to Robert L. and Mary (Kinney) Carraher. She grew up in Spalding and graduated from Spalding Academy.
She joined the Dominican Sisters on Sept. 4, 1949, at St. Catharine, Ky. Her date of reception was Aug. 14, 1950, and she was professed as a Dominican sister on Aug. 15, 1951.
She received her bachelor of arts in history/education from Siena College in Memphis, Tenn., in May 1962. She received her master of science in elementary education administration from Kearney State College in August 1967. She received her master of arts in pastoral studies from Loyola University in Chicago in January 1982.
Her positions of ministry were at Cedar Rapids, Grand Island, Memphis, Tenn., Kearney, Omaha, Hastings, Bellevue, Lincoln, Scottsbluff, Lexington, Colorado Springs, Colo., and Chicago. She was regional coordinator of Dominican Sisters and pastoral minister at St. Mary's Cathedral in Grand Island for the past seven years.
She was a member of the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine, Ky., and St. Mary's Cathedral.
Survivors include three brothers, Thomas of Portland, Ore., Martin of Albuquerque, N.M., and Robert of Omaha; and three sisters, Patricia Dobson of Fort George, Utah, Alice DeLancey of Spalding and Cathy Eckland of Columbus.
She was preceded in death by one sister, Bernadette Costello.
Dr. Henry Greving
Dr. Henry F. Greving, 94, of Grand Island, formerly of Central City, died Tuesday, Dec. 15, 1998, at St. Francis Medical Center.
Memorial services will be at 2 p.m. Friday at the United Presbyterian Church in Central City. The Rev. Dale Sallans will officiate.
Memorials are suggested to the church.
Dr. Greving was born on Sept. 20, 1904, in Luctor, Kan., to William and Katie (Dragt) Greving. He attended rural Phillips County, Kan., schools and graduated from Long Island, Kan., High School.
He taught for two years in rural Kansas. He graduated from Creighton University Dental School in 1929 and began his dental practice that year in Central City.
He married
Phyllis O. Smith in 1933, and they lived in Central City. He served in the U.S. Army Dental Corps from 1943 to 1946.
Dr. Greving retired from dentistry in 1974. They moved to Green Valley, Ariz., in 1976 and lived there until returning to Nebraska to live in Grand Island in 1998. Mrs. Greving died in March 1998.
Dr. Greving was a member of the United Presbyterian Church in Central City, where he served as an elder and as church treasurer for many years. He was also on the Central City school board for many years and had been its president. He was a member of Masonic Lodge 36 and had received the Jordan Medal for the oldest living member. He was a 50-year member of American Legion Post 6. Golfing and spending time on the farm were his favorite pastimes.
Survivors include two daughters, Jeanne (Mrs. J.C.) Hauserman of Auburn and Gwynne (Mrs. Bob) Kuhn of Grand Island; guardian daughter, Lana Johnson (Mrs. Mike) Hall of Nebraska City; five grandchildren; one guardian grandson; two great-granddaughters; and one brother, Clarence Greving of Orange City, Iowa.
He was preceded in death by his wife, three sisters and four brothers.
