Gale Wayne Wolfe

Gale Wayne Wolfe

Oct, 9, 1939 - July 12, 2024

CAMBRIDGE, Neb. - Gale Wayne Wolfe was the second of two sons born to Howard “Roscoe” Wolfe and Avis (Scott) Wolfe. He was born on Oct, 9, 1939 at home northeast of Wilsonville, Neb. in the same house built by his great-uncle, Asa Wolfe and where his mother had been born.

Gale attended country school, often carrying his rifle in hopes of shooting a rabbit for the family table on his walk from school. They later transferred to town school. In his high school years, he played football, completed numerous projects in 4-H and was a member of the saddle club. He and his family often assisted in moving cattle on horseback, harvested crops, and bucked bales for neighbors. He also pulled too many pranks to list here. Gale graduated Salutatorian with a black eye in a class of three; the Valedictorian also had a black eye.

Gale spent his senior summer digging grain bin footings in Minnesota. That fall, his parents dropped him off in Kansas City with six months paid tuition, six months paid YMCA and meals, and $200. Gale worked full time while going to trade school for diesel mechanics, even wrapping Christmas presents at a department store and building ovens in a factory. He saved enough money to buy a car and move out of the YMCA. Gale was very proud to say he never had to ask others for monetary assistance, even when he was down to half a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter.

After trade school, Gale moved to Denver. There he worked for Ringsby, Old Dominion Truck Line, and the University of Denver. He worked on or helped invent digital clocks (the numerals falling forward as the time changed); bar codes; film readers, which evolved into scanners for bar codes, aviation antennae; and was on several Air Force government contracts. His family can’t tell you what he did, but Gale has been to Hawaii nine times, has been on the bridge of a submarine when crash diving, and dined at a ship captain’s personal table. He was given the rank of major but was never in the service.

It was in Denver that he met Mary Reed Culver from Harrisburg, Pa. They were married on Dec. 27, 1968. Together they decided to move back to Wilsonville. There Gale farmed with his dad and Mary worked as an LPN at the Cambridge Hospital. At one time, they had 200 head of sows, 200 head of cows, and farmed wheat, corn, milo, and alfalfa. Times were tough in the late 1970’s. Because he knew there wasn’t money to see the dentist for a bad tooth, Gale went out to his shop and pulled it himself. It was also during this time that he lost his thumb in a wood cutting accident.

Gale and Mary had four children: Christine Orpha Wolfe-Yeager, Paul Wayne Wolfe, Rebecca Lynn Lemman, Cochran, and Sarah Grace Brown. Dale and his wife moved to Cambridge in 1980 and eventually bought a place one mile west of Cambridge. Gale often worked in McCook during this time for various companies. He would often put in a full day in McCook, come home and rest while supper was cooking, then go work in his private shop earning money until two or three in the morning, then get up at six to go to work again. He did this to support his family. Gale once said that he could build anything you can pay for. His customer once said, if Gale builds it, it will never break. You can’t move it, but it will never break. And if he can’t build it, it couldn’t be built.

Gale was a born again Christian and was involved in Rotary, the Lions Club where he was a district governor, Walk to Emma, and collected supplies to fill Christmas boxes for Operation Christmas Child. He was an active member of the Arapahoe Methodist Church, but also attended church in Elwood. He loved good music, having numerous boxes of records and season tickets at Minden Opera House and others.

Gale was plagued for many years with COPD, chronic heart fatigue, and emphysema from years of welding and smoking. Gale’s mind was clear and he was able to make all of his own decisions while his body and lungs failed. Gale entered into Heaven at 6:20 p.m. on July 12, 2024. He joined his father, Roscoe; mother, Avis; brother, Arlen Wolfe; wife, Mary; and daughter, Christine.

Left to share Gale’s memory and the Story of Jesus showing Hell to Gale are his son, Paul Wolfe of Cambridge; daughter, Rebecca Cochran (Levi) of Lingle, Wyo.; daughter, Sarah Brown of Cambridge; his grandchildren: Amanda Roban Wolfe of Grand Island, Neb., Kassey Lagneau (Christopher) of Hebron, Neb., Jesse Bougher of Oakley, Kan., Joshua Lemman (Devin) of Hays, Kan., Elliott Lemman (Samantha) of California, Ethan Lemmann of Colby, Kan., Zachary Lemman of Hebron, Will Cochran of Lingle, Elizabeth Schutz of North Platte, Neb., and Matthew Asbury of Norfolk, Neb.; and his great-grandchildren. He was very loved by his family. He will be missed by many.

Visitation will be held on Thursday afternoon, July 18, 2024 from 3:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. at Lockenour-Jones Mortuary in Cambridge.

Funeral services are scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on Friday, July 19, 2024 at the Arapahoe Methodist Church with Pastors Joel Rathburn and George Probasco providing words of comfort. Burial in the Fairview Cemetery of Cambridge will follow services.

Memorials, to a charity of the donor’s choice, can be given in Gale’s memory. Online condolences may be left at lockenour.com. Lockenour-Jones Mortuary is entrusted with arrangements.