Obituaries from August 2002

GOTHENBURG -- Irene Dorothy Woodburn, 83, died Wednesday (July 31, 2002) at Hilltop Estates in Gothenburg. She was born Aug. 22, 1918, to Phillip and Eunice Irene (Snyder) Helzer in Mayfield Township on the family farm near Cairo. She graduated from Cairo high school in 1934. She received her cosmetology license in April of 1937. In later years, she ran a beauty shop on wheels for shut-ins...

HAYES CENTER -- Brown LeRoy Sevier, 82, died Thursday (August 1, 2002) at Community Hospital of McCook. He was born June 14, 1920, to James Brown and Lydia Ann (Fugett) Sevier at Sargent. He was a Purple Heart veteran of World War II, serving in the U.S. Army from May 19, 1942, to Dec. 7, 1945. He served in France where he was wounded in action. He rank was sergeant...

OBERLIN -- Maryellen Stephens, 95, died Wednesday (July 31, 2002) at the Cedar Living Center in Oberlin. She was born Dec. 1, 1906, to William Walter and Eliza Jane (Pocock) Weaver in Waverly, Kan. She grew up in Ottawa, Kan. Graduated from Ottawa High School and Ottawa Business College in 1925...

Stanley J. Snyder, 83, died Wednesday (July 31, 2002) at Sunset Haven Nursing Home in Curtis. He was born May 1, 1919, to LeRoy and Carrie (Schmitz) Snyder in Frontier County. He graduated from the Curtis School of Agriculture. He served in the U. S. Army during World War II. Upon his return from the service, he attended the University of Nebraska...

Irene J. Vap, 87, died Wednesday (July 31, 2002) at Community Hospital of McCook. She was born March 25, 1915, to John L. and Jane Marie (Corcoran) Traphagan in Frontier County. She attended St. Patrick's School in McCook and graduated from McCook High School in 1932...

CULBERTSON -- Virgil D. "Red" Hagan, 80, Culbertson died Friday (Aug. 2, 2002) at Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney. He was born Feb. 22, 1922, to Frank and Cora (Wilson) Hagan in Eddyville. He grew up in the Eddyville area. He served in the U. S. Army during World War II. He served under Genral Patton as a tank commander and earned the Purple Heart and Bronze and Silver Stars...

CULBERTSON -- Linda I. Gleason, 56, died Sunday (Aug. 4, 2002) at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Lincoln. She was born July 30, 1946, to Leroy and Ilo (Cottingham) Wilkinson in Hitchcock County. She attended Culbertson High School and later received her General Equivalency Diploma. She was employed at Larry's Cafe in McCook and the McCook Elks Lodge...

EUSTIS -- Alex Ercoli, 83, died Sunday (Aug. 4, 2002) at the Cozad Hospital. He was born Nov. 1, 1918, at West Newton, Pa., to Alexander and Susan Ercoli. He graduated from high school in Pennsylvania and served in the U. S. Army during World War II...

INDIANOLA -- Daniel P. Dolan, 76, died Friday (August 2, 2002) at the Cambridge Hospital. He was born Dec. 30, 1925, to Bernard and Blanche (Nickerson) Dolan in Red Willow County. He attended school in Indianola. He served in the U. S. Navy from April 6, 1943, to February 12, 1946. He worked for Dobson Bros. and Peter Kiewit for seven years on road construction equipment...

Larry E. Forbes, 65, died Tuesday (August 6, 2002) at Bryan LGH East in Lincoln. He was born June 18, 1937 to Ralph Kenneth and Alma Gail (Puckett) Forbes at Sedan, Kan. He grew up in Sedan and graduated from Sedan High School in 1956. He served in the U. S. Navy July 3, 1956 through July 2, 1960, as an Aviation Ordinance man. He moved to McCook in 1962...

BENKELMAN -- Sallie Bet Teeter, 86, died Monday (Aug. 5, 2002) at Sarah Ann Hester Home in Benkelman. She was born Dec. 31, 1915, in David County, N.C., to Samuel and Lola (Cook) Ellis. The family moved to Benkelman in 1920. As a young girl, she attended country school near her family's home northwest of Benkelman...

ARAPAHOE -- Helen Haussler, 87, died Tuesday (Aug. 6, 2002) at Holdrege Memorial Homes in Holdrege. She was born June 14, 1915, to Dietrick W. and Sophie C. (Huxoll) Stover in Furnas County. She was raised in Furnas and Gosper counties and attended country school...

NORTH PLATTE -- Sharon K. Hamilton, 63, died Tuesday (Aug. 6, 2002) at Great Plains Regional Medical Center in North Platte. She was born Oct. 12, 1938, in McCook to Floyd and Norine (O'Connell) Carr. She graduated from Palisade High School. She served in the U. S. Air Force. She had resided in North Platte for the past 20 years where she had worked at Linden Manor as a dietitian and Best Western Circle C South. For the past 12 years she had worked at Wal-Mart as a sales associate...

OBERLIN -- Edith M. Richards, 99, died Thursday (Aug. 8, 2002) at the Decatur County Good Samaritan Center in Oberlin. She was born March 20, 1903, to Boyd Allen and Nora (Cody) Holliday in Decatur County. She attended school in Bellville, Kan. until third grade and then moved to Cedar Bluffs...

BARTLEY -- Vernon L. Rosier, 88, died Wednesday (Aug. 7, 2002) at his home in Bartley. He was born Dec. 20, 1913, to Issac and Nellie (Karchner) Rosier near Wilcox. The family moved to Red Willow County in 1922. In 1940, he married Leona Wight at Maryville, Mo. The couple farmed north of Bartley, retiring in 1980. In 1990, the couple moved into Bartley...

Kevin Ross Karre, 25, of Aurora, Colo., died Saturday, Aug. 10, 2002, as a result of an automobile accident. He was born Feb. 14, 1977, in Grand Island to Lonnie and Lora (Koker) Karre. He was baptized as an infant and received Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior in his preteens. His passions including living in Colorado and wearing his Husker gear faithfully among the Colorado fans. He also enjoyed numerous outdoor sports such as hunting, snowmobiling and dirt bike riding in the mountains...

SELDEN -- Leona Vaughn, 77, died Wednesday (Aug. 14, 2002) at Hays Medical Center in Hays, Kan. She was born Feb. 25, 1925, to Bernard and Louise (Baalman) Korte in Angelus, Kan. She was raised in Angelus. She was educated in Torrington, Wyo. On Jan 27, 1948, she married Edward "Bill" Vaughn in Selden. She was a homemaker...

HAIGLER -- Ena Pauline Phipps, 90, died Tuesday (Aug. 13, 2002) at Hillcrest Care Center in Wray, Colo. She was born Feb. 20, 1912, to Claude and Alma (Bernard) Frasier north of Benkelman. She attended country school near the family's home. She graduated from Wauneta High School in 1929. She attended the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and studied dietetics for two years. She taught at Ash Grove near her parents farm after she left college...

Wayne Goodenberger, 82, died Thursday (Aug. 15, 2002) at Community Hospital of McCook. He was born on Feb. 16, 1920, at Ocean Beach, Calif., to Bert A. and Grace (Nelson) Goodenberger. The family came back to Nebraska soon after his birth. He grew up in the McCook area and graduated in 1939 from McCook High School. ...

KEARNEY -- Velma Marie Schuman, 80, died Wednesday (Aug. 14, 2002) at St. John's Good Samaritan Center in Kearney. She was born March 24, 1922, to Joseph and Rose (Kutcher) Vlasin in rural Hayes County. On April 6, 1945, she married Maurice Albert Schuman in Atwood. The couple farmed west of Hayes Center until their retirement...

BEAVER CITY -- W. Clark Wanner, 77, died Sunday (Aug. 18, 2002) at Cambridge Memorial Hospital at Cambridge. He was born March 13, 1925, at Oxford to Leo and Florence (Cunningham) Wanner. He was raised on a farm east of Beaver City. He attended Beaver City Schools through the 11th grade and graduated from Oxford High School with the class of 1942. ...

OBERLIN -- Grace Hoppas, 84, died Saturday (Aug. 17, 2002) at Cedar Living Center in Oberlin. She was born March 23, 1918, to Walter and Gertrude (Oxley) Castle at Pleasant Dale. She grew up in Oberlin and attended Hillsdale Country School before graduating from Decatur Community High School in 1937...

Milton J. Sytsma of McCook passed away on Saturday (Aug. 17, 2002) following a lengthy battle with heart disease and Parkinson's. He was 83. He was born Feb. 7, 1919, in a sod house on the family farm south of Brady to Henry and Ivie (Brown) Sytsma, the second of five children, and the only son. ...

LIBERAL, Kan. -- Erek Alexander, 7, died Saturday (Aug. 17, 2002) at Hutchinson Hospital in Hutchinson, Kan. of a sudden illness. He was born June 11, 1995, to Kevin and Julissa Alexander at Liberal, Kan. He was attending 2nd grade at McKinley Elementary School in Liberal. He had attended 1st grade at Southlawn Elementary and Kindergarten at Turpin Grade School in Turpin, Okla...

MINNEOLA, Kan. -- 1st Lt. Nathanial D. Buckley of the United States Air Force, 25, died Wednesday (Aug. 7, 2002) near Caguas in Puerto Rico. He was born Aug. 14, 1976, to David and Debra (King) Buckley in McCook. He was a 1995 graduate of Minneola High School in Minneola, Kan. ...

Margaret "Mickey" Rose Meguire, 69, died Tuesday (August 20, 2002) at Community Hospital of McCook. She was born March 12, 1933, in McCook, to Paul Peter and Marie Matilda Johanna (Wind) Smith. She graduated from McCook High School in 1951. After her parents died in 1951 and 1953, she helped raise her two younger brothers. ...

SARASOTA, Fla. -- David A. Phillipson, D.V.M., 79, formerly of Holbrook, died Thursday (Aug. 15, 2002) at his home. He was born Nov. 4, 1922, at Holbrook to Victor and Leah (Stevens) Phillipson. He grew up in Holbrook and graduated from Holbrook High School in 1940. He attended Hastings State College and Colorado State University, graduating from the school of Veterinary Medicine at Colorado State University in 1944...

LINCOLN -- Margaret B. "Peg" McCallum, 93, died Thursday (Aug. 22, 2002) in Lincoln. She was born July 31, 1909, to Dr. Robert C. and Laura (Sexton) Byers in Nickerson. She graduated from Fremont High School in 1927. She then attended Randolph Macon Women's College in Virginia for one year and went on to graduate from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in 1931...

Herman Trauernicht YORK -- Herman Trauernicht, 83, died Wednesday (Aug. 21, 2002) at his home in York. He was born June 27, 1919, at Anselmo to Herman and Bertha (Farner) Trauernicht. He spent his early years farming south of Eustis. On May 31, 1931, he married Joan Nelson at Gering. He served in the U. S. Army during World War II as a Military Policeman in Washington, D.C...

MESA, Ariz. -- Elmer "Sarge" Brehm, 85, died Saturday (Aug. 24, 2002) in Mesa, Ariz. Elmer was born Aug. 23, 1917, to John and Katie (Willmann) Brehm of Culbertson. He married Doris Perfect on Jan. 23, 1946. He spent four years in the U. S. Air Force as a mechanic, then worked as a contractor in Missoula, Mont., until he retired and moved to Mesa in 1979...

ST. FRANCIS -- Donnie Ray Voeller, 51, died Friday (Aug. 23, 2002) at St. Luke Presbyterian Hospital in Denver. He was born Oct. 9, 1950, in St. Francis to Kenneth and Ellen (Follett) Voeller. He was a lineman for the City of St. Francis. He was preceded in death by his sister, Nancy Blair...

OBERLIN -- Vada Lucile Shaw, 97, died Thursday (Aug. 22, 2002) at Cedar Living Center in Oberlin. She was born June 5, 1905, in Decatur County to Harry Lewis and Lizzie (Wolley) Armstrong. She attended West Liberty School District No. 20 and graduated from Decatur Community High School in 1924...

Thelma W. Baumbach, 83, died Monday (Aug. 26, 2002) at Community Hospital of McCook. She was born Nov. 14, 1918, to William and Magdalena (Klein) Baumbach on a farm in the Ashcreek Community. In 1920, the family moved to McCook. She graduated from Peace Lutheran School. ...

ATWOOD -- Agnes (Kacirek) Kantor, 94, died Tuesday (Aug. 27, 2002) at the Good Samaritan Center in Atwood. A Mass of Christian Burial is scheduled for Friday, 10 a.m., at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church with the Rev. Damian Richards as celebrant. Interment will be at the Mount Calvary Cemetery in Atwood...

CAMBRIDGE -- Robert "Bob" Burke, 52, died Tuesday (Aug. 27, 2002) in Frontier County. He was born Nov. 4, 1949, to Charles and Rachel (Meyers) Burke in McCook. He grew up on the farm north of Cambridge. He graduated from Cambridge High School in 1968...

LUDELL -- Dale Doren Walker, 86, died Tuesday (Aug. 27, 2002) at the Good Samaritan Center in Atwood. He was born Feb. 16, 1916, to Charles and Mary (Beeby) Walker on a farm in the Union Township of Rawlins County. He attended Pleasant View School in Union Township and graduated from Atwood Community High School in 1935. After graduation, he started farming...

APPLE VALLEY, Minn. -- Gene Colson, formerly of Bartley, died Thursday (Aug. 29, 2002) in Apple Valley, Minn. Funeral services will be Tuesday, 10:30 a.m., at Wyuka Funeral Home, 3600 O Street, Lincoln. Memorials may be left at or sent to the Gene Colson Family, c/o Marvin and Charlene Colson, Box 31, Bartley, NE 69020...