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May 22, 2023

Bemerkenswertes Omaha

Nachrichtennachrufe, die im vergangenen Jahr von The World-Herald veröffentlicht wurden. Lisa's Radial Café hat seine Lisa verloren. Lisa Schembri, die großherzige und träumerische Besitzerin des beliebten Midtown-Diners, ist am Mittwoch gestorben

News obituaries published by The World-Herald over the past year.

Lisa’s Radial Cafe lost its Lisa.

Lisa Schembri, the big-hearted, big-dreaming owner of the beloved midtown diner, died Wednesday in her Omaha home. She was 55.

There will be a funeral Mass at 2 p.m. Tuesday at St. Cecilia Cathedral, a short walk from the diner on North 40th Street. Later that day the Radial will open its doors to honor Lisa with food, music and, if daughter Meghan McLarney can snag one, a disco ball. Her mother, known for her pizazz, did not want a mopey wake.

She wanted laughter. She wanted fun. She wanted a party, and her family hopes to deliver.

“We’ll have all her favorite foods, all her favorite music, and we’ll dress in something sparkly and wild to honor her fashion sense,” Meghan said.

Born in San Francisco, Lisa Savin graduated from high school at age 16, moved out of her family’s home and began her big life.

It was not without struggle. Lisa went to culinary school. She had a baby. She was constantly scrimping, figuring out ways to stretch a buck. And she was in a rock band, which is how she met a man who wooed her with his black-and-blue hamburgers. Substitute-guitarist Cliff Schembri could cook, and when the widowed father of two proposed over those burgers, Lisa said yes.

Meghan was an 8-year-old at the time and remembers Lisa’s rock ’n’ roll wardrobe: tattered jacket, black boots with grommets, white leather.

She told her dad that Lisa looked like a lot of fun. And Lisa didn’t prove her wrong.

She dressed with flair. She laughed a lot. She had a ton of energy. She loved Lucille Ball.

She saw her role as cafe owner as mother hen. She hired people who needed jobs, and she opened her restaurant for fundraisers and for college students stuck on campus at Thanksgiving.

“We loved her to death, man,” said Joe Hyland, the kitchen manager. “She was one of those people — what’s the word I’m looking for? Eccentric. She’d always say something you’d never expect or do something you’d never expect.”

And Joe would watch, cringing, thinking, “This could go horribly.” But it never did.

Lisa folded in Cliff’s two daughters from his first marriage and a grandson. She found family wherever she went, and the feeling was mutual.

Lisa Harrison — self-described as “the other Lisa” — described her boss as crazy and fun-loving. And open to suggestions.

When “the other Lisa” walked through the Radial’s green-painted door a dozen years ago in need of a job, Lisa Schembri told her sorry. Maybe next time.

The other Lisa left, but then Lisa Schembri chased her down the sidewalk. A customer had said: You should hire her. So she did.

Lisa Schembri’s life ethos was part “seize the day” and part “save for that day.” She and Cliff ran a restaurant for a spell outside San Francisco.

The hours were long. The kids would sleep in the car. The two-bedroom apartment was cramped. The Bay Area, in the early 1990s, wasn’t getting any cheaper.

Lisa had an aunt in Omaha. The aunt said “Come here.” So the family did. They rented a home, sight unseen, until they could afford to buy one on Cliff’s mechanic’s wages and Lisa’s earnings from a waitressing job at the Radial. She even got Meghan a job there. They worked side by side as the restaurant changed hands until one day, the new owner dismissed nearly all the staff.

Lisa didn’t stay down. She got herself and Meghan jobs at Leo’s Diner in Benson.

When the Radial came up for sale again, she pounced. She and Cliff took out a home loan. Meghan threw in some of her tip money.

Together, the family bought the restaurant in 2000.

Lisa changed the sign, laughing off a mistake the sign company had made making her name the biggest part of Lisa’s Radial Cafe.

Now the neighbors, she’d told her daughters, would know we’re back.

One day in 2003, Lisa’s heart nearly gave out. She told Cliff her neck hurt, and he rushed her to Creighton University Medical Center, where a surgeon told her family that there was an 80 percent chance she would not make it through the surgery. Her aorta had ruptured.

Meghan said they were told then that Lisa had five years, at best. Lisa, unwillingly, was forced to scale back.

“She just didn’t know how to be still and not work,” Meghan said. “We would have to guard her because she’d come in the cafe and want to bus tables, move furniture. We’d have to wrangle her down, into a chair, and make her sit. She didn’t know how to go at half-speed.”

When the family could get Lisa to sit still, she liked to watch “I Love Lucy” reruns, and began papering the cafe with Lucille Ball paraphernalia.

“She was a living Lucille Ball,” Meghan said. “She had the red hair. Was always getting herself into trouble, putting her foot into her mouth. She’s a character, you know? My dad would be like Ricky, just rolling his eyes.”

She was constantly adding knickknacks — and her three daughters, who all work at the restaurant, were constantly trying to declutter.

“We’d get rid of something, and she’d say ‘Hey, where is the Lucy cookie jar?’ ”

Lisa’s Radial Cafe is also a gallery for artists trying to sell their paintings and prints. And it’s a second home to the Cathedralites, Creighton students, Roberts (now Hiland) Dairy workers and others who take comfort in both the grub and in a place as warm, cozy and throwback as your grandma’s kitchen. The mugs are super-thick. The pancakes are super-big. The bacon is super-crispy. The wait staff is super-attentive.

And just like your grandma, if you’re old enough to have a grandma who remembers the Depression, Lisa ran her shop as cash-only. She hated credit card fees and ditched plastic as a way to save.

It was yet another way she could stretch a dollar. Growing up, Meghan said, the family seemed broke, but her mother would save for terrific vacations. She told her children that in life it was important to have something to look forward to.

In recent years Lisa’s health declined, her daughter said. On Wednesday she told her husband she didn’t feel well, and took a nap. When he checked on her around 10:30 a.m., she had died. Family members believe her heart gave out.

“The rest of us are just not ready for her to be gone,” Meghan said. “She was ready, I believe. She’d written us some letters and things to tell us that we should be laughing and having fun and celebrating. And not be sad. And don’t cry.”

Lisa’s Radial Cafe will go on without Lisa. Her husband, Cliff, and daughters, Meghan, Jennifer Maguire and Marie Schembri, will keep it open.

And “the other Lisa” said her boss’s presence will remain.

“Lisa,” the waitress said, “is the cafe.”

[email protected], 402-444-1136, twitter.com/ErinGraceOWH

Omaha native Tim Dempsey successfully played a number of roles: athlete, educator, law enforcement officer, author and just plain dad.

“Wherever he worked he would give everything he had to make that organization a better place,” said Douglas County Sheriff Tim Dunning. “He kept himself involved, and I don’t think he ever quit serving our community.”

Dempsey, 73, died of natural causes Friday at his Elkhorn-area home. Services will be at 3 p.m. today in the Heafey-Hoffmann-Dworak-Cutler Bel Air Chapel, 12100 West Center Road.

A daughter, Monica Dempsey of Omaha, said the family is working with Metro Community College to establish a scholarship in her father’s name. Her father was re-elected in November to the school’s board of governors.

“Tim was a family friend. He touched many lives, and his passing will leave a void in those lives. Over his lifetime, Tim wore many hats and held many titles,” said Ron Hug, the board’s vice chairman. “The ones he valued the most were father, grandfather and husband. My heart and prayers go out to Tim’s family during this devastating tragedy.”

Dempsey graduated from Omaha Central High School in January 1963 after missing a semester because of illness.

At Central, Dempsey played center on a state championship football team that included future Pro Football Hall of Fame member Gale Sayers. Dempsey went on to play football at Omaha University (now the University of Nebraska at Omaha) in 1964 before a knee injury ended his career.

He later obtained his bachelor’s degree in law enforcement and security from UNO in 1972 and his master’s degree in public administration from UNO in 1986.

Dempsey was the first deputy hired in Douglas County under the new sheriff’s merit system in 1970. He served through the ranks and was promoted to chief deputy in 1991 under Sheriff Dick Roth, a position he held until 1995.

Dempsey retired from Douglas County in 1997 after serving as the county’s director of corrections. He was executive director of Nebraska’s Accountability and Disclosure Commission until 1999, when he became Elkhorn’s police chief.

“My dad was a real lead-by-example type of guy,” Monica Dempsey said. “He was somebody you could always admire because he always did the right thing no matter how difficult. He set a great example for us kids.”

After Omaha annexed Elkhorn in 2007, Dempsey fought hard to have his 13 police officers retained by the city. Eventually, six officers joined the Omaha Police Department, but Dempsey was overlooked.

Dempsey sued the city and won a $67,500 judgment. Omaha City Councilman Garry Gernandt said he wanted to hire Dempsey.

“I would have preferred $67,000 worth of Mr. Dempsey’s experience and knowledge benefiting the City of Omaha,” Gernandt said in 2011. “This is a two-pronged loss here. We’re losing some money, and we’re losing Mr. Dempsey’s talents.”

Dempsey, who also worked as a part-time instructor at UNO, wrote three books, all dealing with law enforcement.

He wrote “Well I’ll Be Hanged: Early Capital Punishment in Nebraska,” “Rules Are Made to Be Broken: An Anecdotal History of the Douglas County Jail” and “Dream Scheme,” a fictional story of a deputy sheriff who hunts for answers to solve tough cases.

During his criminal justice career Dempsey served on Nebraska’s Crime Commission, was chairman of the Grand Island Law Enforcement Center’s Planning Committee, was a member of the Juvenile Justice Commission and, most recently, was a member of the board of Nebraska’s Office of Violence Prevention.

Honors for Dempsey included his induction into the Police Officers’ Association of Nebraska Hall of Fame in 2004. In 2007 he was named police chief of the year by his fellow members of the Nebraska Police Chiefs Association.

In addition to his daughter Monica, Dempsey is survived by wife, Jill; daughter Colleen Bradshaw; and son, Joe Dempsey, all of Omaha.

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A celebration of life will be held Tuesday in Oakland, California, for a former Nebraska woman killed last week when a fire broke out during a concert at a warehouse.

Nicole Renae Siegrist, 29, also known as Denalda Nicole Renae, was from Lincoln. She had been living in Oakland for about four years, said her mother, Carol Cidlik of Honolulu.

“She had hundreds of friends here, so we’ll have a celebration of life here,” said Cidlik, who spoke Thursday from Oakland. “I appreciate all the love and support that I’m getting. It’s just so hard right now.”

Siegrist was among 36 people who died as a result of the Dec. 2 fire, which occurred in an Oakland warehouse known as Ghost Ship. It was converted to an artist collective and was hosting a concert promoted by the house music record label 100% Silk. The fire was the deadliest in Oakland’s history.

The celebration of life for Siegrist will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Grand Lake movie theater, where Siegrist worked, her mother said.

Siegrist and Ben Runnels, 32, who also died in the fire, met in the San Francisco Bay Area a few years ago and formed the synthpop group Introflirt.

They named their last album “Temporary Heaven” to describe the fleeting nature of life and the moments of happiness when people feel completely comfortable with who they are, no matter how different from others they may be, said Brendan Dreaper, who helps operate Mixtape, an Oakland-based company that managed Introflirt.

Siegrist and Runnels had gone to the Ghost Ship with five friends “to have fun, dancing, supporting another band,” Cidlik said in an online post to friends and family.

Federal investigators said Wednesday that the fire started on the ground floor of the Oakland warehouse. Smoke billowed into the second level and trapped victims, whose only escape route was through the flames.

Siegrist was close with her mother. As the fire bore down, she sent a text to her.

“I’m going to die now,” she wrote.

Siegrist and Runnels would want the world to remember their music, Dreaper said. They dubbed their sound “croonwave” and made it their mission to create a “soundtrack for the insecure,” according to Mixtape.

“You may feel like an outsider, but that’s your advantage in life,” Dreaper said.

“They were completely comfortable with being themselves. I think they did achieve that. I know people connected to them. The music did that for them, as well. It made them feel happy about themselves.”

Siegrist, who played the synthesizer, was an outgoing “free spirit” who used herself as a canvas, painting black streaks or bold marks on her face to contrast with outfits like a veil, halo of flowers and white dress. Siegrist’s cousin Rhonda Ford of Ashland, Nebraska, described her as someone who could talk to anybody and lived life to the fullest.

This report includes material from the Associated Press.

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The hands of time tick for all of us, waiting for no man — including an old man who has made “Husker clocks.”

Joe Pattavina, a World War II combat veteran, in recent years has passed time partly by assembling the clocks as a hobby. At first he did so for his large, extended family and then for anyone who asked, charging just $20, the cost of the parts.

His wife of 68 years, Lee, called this week and kindly asked if the newspaper could please let people know he won’t be able to fill any more orders before Christmas because, well, Joe died on Sunday. He was 91.

That’s all she asked: “Just say the clock man is no longer making clocks.”

But there’s so much more to say about this Omaha couple, raised in the Great Depression. Joe grew up on Sixth Street in Omaha’s Little Italy southeast of downtown, graduated from the old Tech High and was drafted into the Army in 1943.

The next year he rolled across France, Belgium and Holland in a tank, alternating as a driver and gunner in the 7th Armored Division of Gen. George Patton’s 3rd Army. Joe fought in the Battle of the Bulge, Hitler’s last great effort to break the Allied offensive.

After the war back home, he met Lena “Lee” Robarge on a blind date. A year later, they married on Sept. 5, 1948, and she took the lilting name Lena Pattavina.

Eight years after that, Joe and Lee bought a ranch-style home northwest of the 72nd and Dodge Streets crossroads, before construction of the Crossroads shopping center. “We had cornfields around us,” she said, “and some dirt roads.”

They raised six kids there, and for 38 years Joe was co-owner of Midwest Motor Works at 19th and Leavenworth. His family always said he could fix anything.

Life was good. The couple enjoyed friends and eventually his retirement and took five ocean cruises.

Joe and Lee each had bypass and other surgeries but kept on living life. In 2008, he took an Honor Flight with other WWII veterans to visit monuments in Washington, D.C.

The Pattavinas’ Omaha home has been the site of many happy occasions, including their 65th wedding anniversary in 2013, attended by 100 people — including 24 grandchildren and 27 great-grandchildren.

Two years ago, the family coed softball team at Kelley Field was short one woman, and who stepped to the plate but great-grandma Lee — who hit a single down the third-base line.

Three more hits later by family members, and Lee scored. “I got all the way home,” she told me. “I can’t run like I used to.”

The kids and grandkids presented her with a game ball, which they had autographed.

In his later years, Joe’s signature project became the Husker clocks. The face had an N for Nebraska over “Huskers.” He sent away for the parts, including red dominoes for the hourly numbers.

Joe and Lee agreed that they had been fortunate.

“We had talked about how we’d had such a wonderful family and everything was blessed for us,” she said, “and that we’re up in an age where anything can happen.”

I had mentioned Joe’s clock hobby in an Oct. 8 column, and a few days later everything started to happen. Lee, 88, was driving north on 90th Street and turned her 1998 Buick LeSabre left onto Parker, where a car was pulling out.

Her car was totaled, and she was banged up. Though air bags deployed, she broke a kneecap, two fingers and bones near the wrist. (She was ticketed. Fortunately, she said, people in the other car weren’t seriously hurt.)

The next day, Joe fell at home. They both ended up in a hospital rehab unit at the same time. Lee now wears braces on a leg and wrist.

Joe returned home, she said, “and went downhill,” but with hospice care and frequent family visitors. At least one of their children stayed around the clock, and Joe was surrounded at the end on Sunday.

The visitation is 4 to 6 p.m. Friday at Bel Air Chapel, with a funeral Mass at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church.

As clocks ticked off time through his long life, Joe lived 33,535 days, which calculates to about 4,800 weeks, 800,000 hours and 48 million minutes.

The clock man is no longer making clocks, and his time on Earth has run out. It wasn’t always easy, but he wouldn’t have missed a second.

“We had a wonderful family, we traveled, and we had friends,” Lee said. “We’ve had health all these years, and we did everything. Joe was a wonderful guy. We have no regrets.”

[email protected], 402-444-1132

Loree Bykerk earned a doctorate, wrote two books and served as the first female chair of the political science department at the University of Nebraska at Omaha during her years in academia.

However, the former professor’s first love was not doing research or managing people. Bykerk, who died last week at age 69, loved to teach.

“She was always mentally doing research. She was always collecting articles and such things. But her greatest love was teaching students,” said Cecil Bykerk, her husband of 47 years.

Loree Bykerk died Nov. 30 after a nine-year battle with lung cancer. Her funeral was held Wednesday at Morning Star Lutheran Church.

Bykerk worked for 32 years at UNO, teaching classes on political philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle and the role of women in politics. She played a leadership role in pushing for the creation of UNO’s Women’s and Gender Studies program.

In addition, many readers and others in Nebraska will recognize her as the political expert journalists often turned to when they needed help trying to understand or break down national and statewide political news.

In 2004, she was elected chair of the political science department.

“She was elected chair by acclamation — everybody wanted Loree to be chair,” said Randall Adkins, who is the current chair of the department.

Bykerk held the chairmanship position until 2009.

The cancer had spread considerably by the time of the diagnosis. Bykerk, who did not smoke, continued to teach for several years before she retired in December 2013.

She then turned her attention to gardening and sewing.

“She lived almost nine years after she was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer, which is a pretty incredible accomplishment,” Cecil Bykerk said. “She was able to see three grandsons born and, even when she was in pain like she was over the last year, she would always light up when the grandsons came.”

Bykerk was born and raised in Nemaha County. There were eight people in her graduating class at Bratton Union High School in 1965. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln before earning a master’s and doctorate in political science from Columbia University in New York.

In 1982, she was hired as a part-time instructor at UNO. About three years later, she won a full-time position.

As head of the department, Bykerk was known for encouraging her colleagues to attend academic seminars and to seek grants and fellowships to further their experiences and advance the department.

Bykerk was also known for her kindness and generosity with her colleagues, said Adkins.

“She and her husband, Cecil, were always very good about opening their home for the department and its functions, creating a sense of collegiality for the people who worked in the department,” said Adkins.

In addition to her husband, Bykerk is survived by two daughters: Andrea Christopherson of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, and Jean Gutheil-Bykerk of Valley.

[email protected], 402-444-1309

As a longtime educator, Sister Catherine Rupp was especially good at helping students who were struggling.

Whether their problem was educational or personal, Rupp knew how to help young people find a solution, friends say.

“Through teaching them or counseling them, she’d help them get things back together,” said Sister Mary Gehringer, prioress of the U.S. community of the Servants of Mary based in Omaha. “She wanted to put their world back together.”

Rupp, a member of the Servants of Mary, died Tuesday at Immanuel Fontenelle Nursing Home, where she was in hospice care. She was 94.

She was born and raised in Cherokee, Iowa, one of 10 children. She entered the Servants of Mary in 1941 and made her final profession of vows in 1948. The religious order founded and runs Marian High in Omaha.

Early in her career she taught elementary school in Denver and then taught elementary and high school in Detroit. She returned to Omaha and served as principal of Christ the King Catholic School in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

From 1967 through 1990, she ministered at the College of St. Mary in Omaha where she served as a professor of English and also led the humanities division and English department.

After leaving the College of St. Mary, she moved to Rome and served in a number of leadership roles at the international headquarters of the Servants of Mary. She also served leadership roles with the order in the United States and Omaha.

Gehringer said Rupp also was an active volunteer with local organizations, including working as a certified hospice volunteer at the Hospice House.

Her funeral Mass will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Our Lady of Sorrows Chapel at the Servants of Mary convent, 7400 Military Ave.

[email protected], 402-444-1122

Harlon Hain loved to fly.

And he never met an airplane he didn’t like, friends said. The retired Air Force colonel flew spy planes for the government and then raced around the world in smaller planes when his military service was finished.

Hain’s family tried to count the number of different planes he had piloted throughout his life. They reached 75 before deciding that “countless” was perhaps the best descriptor.

Hain died Wednesday. He celebrated his 90th birthday last month.

A farm boy from Missouri, Hain joined the Army Air Forces and later served in the Air Force.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Hain flew the SR-71 Blackbird. The sleek rocket plane could shoot high-quality photographs of secret sites and travel twice as high and more than three times as fast as commercial jet aircraft.

“Flying was his line of duty and his passion all the years of his life,” Hain’s family wrote in his obituary.

Retired Air Force Col. Charlie Daubs met Hain when they both entered the program to fly the SR-71.

“Failure was not an option for Harlon,” Daubs said. “Every problem could be solved. Every task could be completed.”

Hain was intolerant of people who didn’t think they could get stuff done, his family said. And he didn’t sit still very well.

After 34 years in the military, Hain began a second career at Northrop Grumman and worked there for 20 years. He also raced around the world, country and state in airplanes.

He was involved in numerous community organizations including the Young Eagles and Academic Decathlon and he raised money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. He was also a member of the Optimist International, Quiet Birdmen and Daedalians groups.

He was a pilot instructor, spent 32 years on the Cheyenne Frontier Days Grounds Committee and had several college degrees.

And even two days before his death, Hain went to the gym to ride a bike for several miles. His family said he usually completed 6 miles in 30 minutes.

He settled in Bellevue because the community there supported military families better than any other place his family had been assigned, Hain told The World-Herald in 2007.

In the final years of his life, Hain’s family said they finally saw in him a sense of humor that they didn’t know existed.

It was as if, they said, after all that time he finally got to relax.

Hain is survived by his wife of 64 years, Virginia, three children and four grandchildren.

The funeral was held Saturday and he will be buried in Omaha National Cemetery.

Memorials are to be sent to the Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum.

[email protected], 402-444-1192

Myron Brand loved ice cream — and loved sharing it with his family and friends.

He was known for treating people he knew to ice cream. If a friend was in the hospital, Brand would take the patient a shake. Whenever he helped out with a 4-H activity in his hometown of Fontanelle, Nebraska, he would bring ice cream treats for all the young people.

Before he died Nov. 7 at the age of 88, after a long struggle with Parkinson’s disease dementia, his last meal was a dish of vanilla ice cream.

So perhaps it was only fitting that ice cream was served at his funeral Nov. 11.

“It was a nice tribute,” said his daughter Nancy Schroeder of Hooper, Nebraska. “The best way to celebrate his life was to have ice cream.”

Brand spent his life in Dodge and Washington Counties. He graduated from Fremont High School in 1947. He was crowned 4-H king at the fair that year and became a lifetime supporter of 4-H. In addition to farming land northwest of Fremont, he hauled milk and livestock and was a cattle buyer.

He was married 67 years and is survived by his wife, Anita, and their three children. He enjoyed bowling and softball and was a member of Salem Lutheran Church in Fontanelle, where his funeral was held.

Growing up, ice cream was a constant in the Brand family, Schroeder said.

“We’d go through ice cream pretty steadily,” she said. “We didn’t even have air conditioning growing up, so we would cool off at night with a bowl of cereal or a bowl of ice cream. If mom baked, then we’d have ice cream and cake or ice cream and pie. That’s why none of us are skinny.”

In the last few years Brand’s illness took a physical toll, and he was eventually moved to the Hooper Care Center. Schroeder said her father — who once had a booming voice and stood 6 feet tall at 250 pounds — lost weight, suffered memory loss and was unable to speak.

“His mind was pretty much gone, but he would still kind of perk up if somebody gave him ice cream,” she said.

When Schroeder’s husband, Joel, the pastor at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Hooper, was planning the sermon for Brand’s funeral, he contacted the Fremont Dairy Queen to see how much 125 cups of ice cream would cost, never mentioning it would be for Brand’s service.

Debbie Reynolds, the restaurant’s manager, contacted her parents — the Dairy Queen owners — for advice on what to tell the pastor. Jim and Mary Winterstein, now of Surprise, Arizona, have owned Fremont’s only Dairy Queen for 30 years.

“I had forgotten to ask (Joel Schroeder) who it was for,” Reynolds said. “So my parents asked where the funeral was, and I told them it was in Fontanelle. They said, ‘Oh, that’s for Myron Brand.’ They told me to donate (the ice cream) because he had been coming to us for years.”

The morning of the funeral, Reynolds and three of her staff members formed a shake-making assembly line and filled 125 DQ Mini Blizzard cups with pineapple, strawberry, vanilla or chocolate shakes. It took the group a little more than a half hour to prepare the treats.

They then loaded the filled cups into portable coolers and packed straws, spoons and napkins in preparation for the 10-mile trip to the church in Fontanelle. A family friend picked up the coolers, and Brand’s grandsons distributed the shakes to people during the service.

“We just had a little party right there in the church,” Nancy Schroeder said. “He would have loved (having shakes) at his own funeral, and he would have hated to miss it.”

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Marjorie Harkins Buchanan Kiewit, who worked on global education and nuclear disarmament efforts and was the widow of Omaha industrialist Peter Kiewit, died Nov. 12 at her home in Boston. She was 95.

After Peter Kiewit’s death in 1979, she was a founding trustee and president of the Peter Kiewit Foundation, serving until she reached its mandatory retirement age of 75.

Although she lived elsewhere most of her life, Marjorie Kiewit was a driving force on the Omaha-focused foundation, said Lyn Wallin Ziegenbein, director emerita of the foundation.

For example, Marjorie Kiewit agreed to a grant toward the expansion of Rosenblatt Stadium for the College World Series but only after arranging and supporting a program for inner-city children to attend Omaha Royals daytime games at the stadium during the summer.

That “summer fun” program continues in the form of field trips to places such children might not otherwise visit.

Marjorie Kiewit also is credited with influencing her husband to pledge the foundation’s support for a future organization for girls that would be similar to the Boys Clubs for boys. Girls Inc. became that organization and has benefited from Kiewit Foundation support ever since, Ziegenbein said.

“She was one of the strongest role models in my adult life,” Ziegenbein said. “Her ethics, loyalty and values were steady and transparent.”

Ziegenbein said Kiewit was inquisitive, thoughtful, kind, unassuming, “quietly generous,” loyal and visionary, a voracious reader with a great sense of humor and the courage of her convictions.

Born in Milwaukee on May 28, 1921, Marjorie Kiewit graduated summa cum laude from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, in 1943. She and her first husband, James Buchanan, had four children and lived in Neenah, Wisconsin, where she served on the school board and the Governor’s Commission on Education.

After her husband died in 1964, she finished raising the children to adulthood and then earned a doctorate in educational policy from the University of Chicago.

She was working on the desegregation process for the Dallas Public Schools when she met Peter Kiewit, who was widowed, through their service on a national Presbyterian Church organization. They married in 1978, and he died the following year.

After his death, Marjorie Kiewit worked on nuclear disarmament for nearly 20 years at Stanford University as a research fellow at the Center for the Northeast Asia-United States Forum on International Policy and then the Center for International Security and Cooperation.

She was a friend of Nobel laureate Linus Pauling and served on Stanford’s Board of Visitors for the Institute of International Studies. She traveled with delegations on education and foreign policy in China, Russia and North and South Korea.

She was founder and longtime chairperson of the Helios Foundation, which promotes philanthropy for future generations, eventually moving to Boston to be near family.

Ziegenbein said Marjorie Kiewit advocated lifelong learning and sponsored many scholarships through her personal philanthropy, funding facilities at her alma mater and supporting education for nontraditional students.

Two brothers and a daughter, Linda Jacob, preceded her in death. Survivors include her sister, Barbara Belle of Belleville, Wisconsin; daughters Barbara Aalfs of Sioux City, Iowa, and Nancy McLoughlin of Mystic, Connecticut; son John Buchanan of Appleton; and 10 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

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Even into her seventh decade, Bernyce Paltani reveled in the long hours she worked as the backbone of her family’s restaurant near 45th and Center Streets.

“I’m quite sure that my brother and I weren’t sharp enough to run Paltani’s restaurant without her,” said Tom Paltani of Malvern, Iowa. “My mom did every chore that was there, from waitress, host, cook and everything in between.”

Tom said he opened the restaurant in 1973, serving typical American dishes. Under his brother Don’s direction the restaurant began serving traditional Mexican food until closing in 1991.

Through it all, their mother was the constant that made the eatery a success, Tom Paltani said. She enjoyed her 60-hours-per-week schedule and made sure her children learned an appreciation for hard work.

“She was the glue that kept everything together,” Tom Paltani said. “She was an excellent cook, just like her mother. She could make pies, desserts, gravy, sauces and just everything under the sun. It was incredible what she did for us.”

Bernyce, 97, died of natural causes Monday in her home at Granville Villa in La Vista. A funeral Mass will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at Holy Ghost Catholic Church, 5219 S. 53rd St.

Paltani said his mother grew up in South Omaha as one of 10 children of Polish immigrants, Michael and Mary Ann Rudol. She graduated with honors from South High in 1935, her son said, and married in 1937.

Divorced in the 1950s, Bernyce Paltani worked as a cook at Fred’s Rexall Drugs near 24th and N Streets; Leisure Lanes at 48th and L Streets; and Mr. Chef near 50th and L Streets. At Paltani’s, she enjoyed seeing teenagers blossom into dependable workers.

“She really liked those young kids if they worked hard,” her son said. “She was always talking about what neat kids they were. That’s what she called the hard workers: ‘neat kids.’ ”

Retirement didn’t sit well with Bernyce, her son said. She did find enjoyment following her three favorite football teams: Nebraska, Notre Dame and the New York Giants.

“She passed on her work ethic because all (her children) worked late into our careers,” Tom Paltani said. “I’m pushing 70 and still working 60-hour weeks (at Green Acres Recycling). No matter what she did, she tried to be the best.”

Bernyce also is survived by daughter Charlotte Leas of Las Vegas; sons Edward of Marco Island, Florida, and Donald of La Platte, Nebraska; brother Larry Rudol of Omaha; sisters Helene Lesac and Ann Willis of Omaha; and 14 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.

[email protected], 402-444-1272

Cleveland Vaughn was a people person, but when it came to Nebraska waterfowl, the former federal special agent was all birds. Snow geese. Sandhill cranes. Piping plover. Teal. Ducks. And one beloved magpie.

“Somebody has to stand up for those birds,” Vaughn, a former special agent with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, once said. “I’m the person that has to do that. I love the birds.”

So Special Agent Vaughn would travel around Nebraska, chasing shotgun blasts on hunting season opening days, counting the catch and otherwise making sure Nebraska hunters followed the rules. It’s a job he held for half of a 28-year career with the U.S. Department of the Interior, which began with this distinction: Vaughn said he was the federal agency’s first African-American law enforcement officer. When Vaughn left that job to become U.S. marshal for Nebraska, he was the first African-American in that role, too.

This made him a trailblazer, but that’s not what family members and friends most recall about Vaughn, who died Nov. 4 of stomach cancer.

“He loved people. He loved his church. He loved to help,” said Shirley, his wife of nearly 49 years.

“He was a great dad, a great husband and a really great role model,” said Derek, his son, a Douglas County Court judge.

“He was a mentor,” said Mark Foxall, Douglas County Corrections director.

“He was a public servant whose public service didn’t stop,” said Don Kleine, Douglas County attorney.

Vaughn, 72, was also this: interesting.

He was born on a farm in Earle, Arkansas, skipped a grade in country school and graduated from high school at age 16. He went to college at what is now known as the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and graduated with a degree in agriculture education. But his heart wasn’t in teaching — it was in the outdoors. It was the one place where he didn’t feel the reach of his Jim Crow South.

“I went to a segregated high school, a segregated college, segregated everything,” Vaughn wrote in 1989, in an essay published in this newspaper. “As a kid, I noticed how we could hunt and fish and nobody ever said anything. In the back of my mind, I thought, ‘Boy, I would like to be a game warden.’ But there was no opportunity at that time.”

But opportunity did come for Vaughn in 1967, when he was accepted into a federal law enforcement training program.

“I was the first black,” he wrote. “At the time, I didn’t realize what that meant, that it was a tremendous breakthrough. To me, it was a job. Period.”

His assignments: Minneapolis for training. Then Des Moines. Then Sioux City, Iowa. Then Wichita, Kansas. Then, in 1978, Omaha.

“I love for my telephone to ring,” he wrote in that 1989 essay. “I love for people to call with a complaint about somebody hunting out of season, or killing too many birds. ... Some of the best tips we get come from disgruntled wives and girlfriends. Maybe they are getting a divorce or they’ve just broken up, and the women will call and say so-and-so shot three elk last year in Colorado and they’re in such-and-such freezer.”

Vaughn said the racial imbalance of law enforcement and hunting made his job harder.

“The thing that bothers me sometimes is that I can’t assimilate. In other words, I can’t walk into a bar in some little town and just eavesdrop,” he wrote. “If there are any hunters in there, I’m going to get recognized and a whole bunch of guys will come over and want to talk hunting and fishing.”

So he found another approach: He studied the regulations and changes. He prepared. He then endured the long hours in the cold and wet. And fearlessly called people out. In addition to fowl hunters, he was involved in busts including 98 alligators in Sarpy County, the mounted head of an endangered black rhino that popped up in Omaha and a trio of Indiana men who killed 79 ducks — 49 too many — in Harlan County.

The magpie, however, was an unpopular call. Joe the magpie was a beloved pet of a couple in Red Cloud, Nebraska. A feature story on the talking magpie, who had lived with the couple for 16 years, prompted complaints to Vaughn’s office. Magpies are protected under a 1916 law. So Joe was forced to go live in a zoo in Grand Island. This resulted in a huge outcry. A public petition and entreaties from two U.S. senators returned Joe to Red Cloud.

At the time, Vaughn said he had never had so many phone calls about an issue.

Recalling the incident, his wife said this: “There was a little bit of truth and a lot of fiction in that story. We laughed about that.”

Given the nature of her husband’s job — staking out armed men in the Nebraska wilderness — did she worry?

“Initially,” she said, “but I had to come to grips with that. I prayed God would protect him.”

Besides, Shirley Vaughn said, her husband was happy doing it.

“I couldn’t stand in the way of something he loved so much,” she said, adding that Cleveland didn’t have many problems in Nebraska or Iowa.

“A lot of those farmers are very nice people,” she said.

Derek Vaughn said his father stood his ground but always made a point to listen. He said it was important to let people have their say.

Cleveland Vaughn was active in his church, Zion Baptist, serving as a trustee. He taught people, old and young, how to fish. He was so warm and personable that when Foxall, the corrections director, met him for the first time, he felt like “The Marshal” had known him his whole life.

Vaughn was appointed to the U.S. marshal position by President Bill Clinton in 1993. He stepped down in 1995.

Vaughn was diagnosed with stomach cancer about four months ago and died at Josie Harper Hospice House in Omaha.

A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Monday at Zion Baptist Church, 2215 Grant St.

He and Shirley would have celebrated a 49th wedding anniversary next month. She said he still had so much to do that he’d told her he’d have to live to 100 to do it all.

He was preceded in death by two sisters. In addition to his wife and son, Vaughn is survived by daughters Monica Watson and Janae Vaughn of Omaha; and brothers Roy Vaughn of Memphis, Tennessee, Ellis Vaughn of Kansas City, Missouri, and Wesley Vaughn of Earle, Arkansas.

[email protected], 402-444-1136, twitter.com/ErinGraceOWH

Florence Lakin, the matriarch of a metro-area family known for its philanthropy, died Friday at 96.

Florence and her husband, the late Charles Lakin, provided the crucial funding for the Lakin Human Services campus in Council Bluffs, as well as a new YMCA and a Habitat for Humanity facility in that city. Each will bear the Lakin name.

Throughout southwest Iowa the couple funded scholarships, a coveted annual teacher award, a community center and many other endeavors.

In the 1990s a substantial gift from the Lakins to The World-Herald’s charitable agency, Goodfellows, proved transformative. The donation — in the form of a dollar-for-dollar match of reader donations to the annual fundraising drive — allowed Goodfellows to embark on a new mission of providing year-round emergency assistance, beyond helping just during the holidays.

The Lakins also began funding swimming lessons for low-income children after a child nearly drowned on a field trip. The lessons are offered through Completely Kids in Omaha and Council Bluffs Boys & Girls Club of the Midlands.

Former Council Bluffs Mayor Tom Hanafan said Saturday the Lakin family has had an impact on the area in a positive way that has reached thousands.

“All the things they were involved in, they were an incredible group of people,” he said. “They did things for others while never forgetting where they came from.”

Current Mayor Matt Walsh said the Lakin family focused on helping others and made contributions to the area that especially helped children. “Numerous contributions were made throughout southwest Iowa,” he said. “It’s a loss that will be felt in our communities.”

Charles Lakin died in April at age 94. The couple had been married for 77 years.

The Lakins built their life together through hard work, Tom Pribil, a longtime family friend and general manager of Charles E. Lakin Enterprises, said following Charles’ death.

“When they got married she was cleaning rooms and he was washing dishes in a motel in Texas,” Pribil said.

They spent little time in Texas and quickly returned to their southwest Iowa roots: She was from Malvern and he was from Emerson.

They began building an agricultural empire with a farm south of Emerson. Over the years, holdings included an implement dealership, a fertilizer company, grain elevators and thousands of acres of farmland. At one point Lakin was believed to be Iowa’s largest individual landowner. Other holdings include citrus groves and processing plants in Arizona.

Services for Florence Lakin were pending through Heafey-Hoffman Dworak & Cutler Mortuaries and Crematory.

The World-Herald News Service contributed to this report.

Heather Roberts and her family laughed their way through eight years of brain cancer.

They laughed through all the appointments and the constant travel to a doctor in San Francisco. They laughed through the weird effects of steroids. They laughed through the pain.

“They laughed because it was better than crying,” said Jean Koerten, a longtime family friend. “It’s pretty amazing,” she added.

Roberts, whose family has raised more than $700,000 for brain cancer research and awareness in Omaha, lost her battle with the disease on Nov. 8. She was 37.

“She was just one in a million,” Koerten said.

Roberts, the youngest of Jon and Sue Roberts’ three daughters, was diagnosed with brain cancer in April 2008. Shortly after, the family founded Leap-for-a-Cure. The organization aims to provide a network of support and funding for research for others in Roberts’ position.

“Heather wound up being a stronger person than we ever thought she would be,” said Sue Roberts, her mother. “Or anybody I know.”

Throughout the brain cancer fight, Roberts never complained, her mother said.

Roberts was social and charismatic. She was known for her positivity, her energy and her sense of humor.

As a child, Roberts was always the one making people laugh, her mother said.

She graduated from Millard North High School in 1998 and got her bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 2003.

She worked in marketing for the Omaha Lancers for a time before joining Methodist Health System in 2009. Roberts started as a receptionist and worked her way up to a position she created overseeing the internal medicine department at Methodist Physicians Clinic in Regency.

She loved volunteering at Great Plains Pointer Rescue. She loved the rescue dogs she adopted.

Family was important to Roberts, and the family managed to go on a number of trips even throughout her treatment.

She never made anyone feel sorry for her, Koerten said.

Up until the end, she believed that a cure might come. She was convinced that she could be the one to hang on, Koerten said.

She told her mother, “Mom, you never know if that day’s going to be tomorrow. I can never give up.”

Roberts is survived by her parents; her sisters, Michele and Amy; her boyfriend, Michael Cunningham; her niece, Addison; and aunts, uncles and cousins.

Her funeral will be held today at 11 a.m. at Hope Presbyterian Church, 5220 S. 159th Ave.

[email protected], 402-444-1216

Sometimes when René Orduña walked into a restaurant where he wanted to work, he would apply to be a dishwasher.

He did it because the way the person washing dishes got treated would define if it was a place where Orduña wanted to be. He didn’t want anyone in his restaurant being treated poorly.

That idea colored the Dixie Quicks restaurant he ran with his husband, Rob Gilmer, for more than 30 years in Omaha and Council Bluffs. And that’s why together Orduña and Gilmer created a place that drew customers of all ages and backgrounds like a magnet — for good food, yes, but also for acceptance and respect.

Orduña, 63, died Wednesday after being diagnosed in September with stage 4 kidney cancer. A celebration of his life is planned but details weren’t set Thursday.

Gilmer said he plans to continue running Dixie Quicks. He said Orduña spent months training the staff and teaching the chefs there everything he knew about food.

He knew plenty. Orduña spent his life working in restaurants, beginning as a busboy at his family’s restaurant, Howard’s Charro, in South Omaha.

René Orduña in 2005.

He worked in restaurants in Kansas City and New Orleans, among other places, before moving to New York in 1978 when he was 25 years old. There, he helped open the restaurant in Manhattan’s Grand Hyatt Hotel, owned by Donald Trump.

Gilmer and Orduña met in 1982 at a nightclub — Gilmer was a busboy and Orduña managed the club’s cabaret.

They lived together in New York until 1986. After a trip back to Nebraska to visit Orduña's large family and attend his brother’s wedding, they decided to stay in Omaha. Gilmer remembers Orduña's Mexican-American family embracing him.

“I had bright orange hair and it didn’t faze any of them,” he said. “I was like, ‘They are cool.’”

Orduña started working at Howard’s, then worked at the now-closed French Cafe and Neon Goose. After a soul food restaurant he loved closed, Orduña decided to open his own spot.

Dixie Quicks opened with 10 tables and a small storefront at 15th and Dodge Streets. It was one of the first restaurants in the city to serve brunch in 1996.

“We didn’t have much of a plan. We just did it,” Gilmer said. “It was all word of mouth.”

Orduña did his part to bring new cuisine to Omaha diners, things like chilaquiles and an egg scramble made with prickly pear cactus, traditional Mexican breakfast dishes he’s served for years. Homemade brisket became another favorite. Kids and adults at Dixie Quicks have slurped down bowls of oatmeal and ice cream, a dish Orduña and his siblings invented as kids.

Dixie Quicks isn’t just known for Orduña’s food, but also for its welcoming atmosphere. It’s always been a hot spot for artists, drag queens, musicians and creative types. Orduña and Gilmer, who also ran an art gallery and a vintage store out of the restaurant, cultivated that diversity. The couple also gave sanctuary to younger gay Omahans, offering guidance at a time when it could be hard to find.

Amy Mather remembers how when she moved to Omaha in 2008 she took some out-of-town-friends to Dixie Quicks for brunch and they returned the same weekend for an art opening and dinner another night. The restaurant was then at its second location, near 20th and Leavenworth Streets.

“The community gravitated toward Dixie Quicks, and they loved everyone. And I love that about them,” Mather said.

After Dixie Quicks got a segment on "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” more and more people discovered the small place. A few weeks before his death, Orduña had a phone conversation with the Food Network show’s host, Guy Fieri.

After the restaurant expanded a number of times, it moved to a larger space in downtown Council Bluffs, where it operates now. The crowd still includes artists and creative types, but it grew to include grandparents, politicians and lots of families with children.

“A lot of people ask me what they can do to help,” Gilmer said. “Eat. Come eat at Dixie Quicks.”

[email protected], 402-444-1069, twitter.com/SBHOWH

William E. Ramsey, a longtime public relations man who strove to bring public honor to fellow military veterans in the region, died Saturday at age 86 after a brief illness.

Bill Ramsey was one of Omaha’s top PR professionals for decades, starting at WOW Radio after serving as a Marine Corps infantryman during the Korean War and working at his own Bill Ramsey Associates until just last year.

His son, Mark, of Omaha said Monday that Ramsey developed an infection last week and died at home surrounded by family members. He and Patricia, his wife of 62 years, had five children, 19 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Ramsey, a Council Bluffs native, was a graduate of St. Francis High School, now St. Albert High School, and Creighton University. He was interested in journalism early, working as a part-time sports reporter for the Daily Nonpareil in the Bluffs when he was a teenager.

After his military service he worked at WOW Radio and TV, as a photographer and reporter, and then in public relations for Duchesne College and Academy, Creighton, Boys Town and Bozell & Jacobs before starting his own agency in 1982.

He finished his sixth book, “From Tears to Tributes” — on death and dying — last year. Betty Dineen Shrier was co-author on most of the books.

“There’s nothing so satisfying as writing a book and few things more difficult,” Ramsey once said. “I thank God for this gift.”

Standard Printing of Omaha printed the last few books. Bryan Morhardt, general manager, said the company has printed 22 other books as a direct result of people reading Ramsey’s books or talking with him about self-publishing their writings.

As a father, Mark Ramsey said, “he was gentle, sincere, always outgoing. He made sure we took at least one family vacation a year, and he attended a lot of family events. He lived long enough to see his Cubbies win the World Series. That was his absolute favorite sports team (he attended his first Cubs game at age 14), and he loved watching Notre Dame football.

“He was very proud of his family.”

He was an avid news watcher and interested in current events, casting his ballot in today’s election well in advance.

A recipient of the Purple Heart during his military service — he nearly lost his right arm from a shrapnel wound — he helped sponsor the Veterans Plaza Memorial in Bayliss Park in the Bluffs, as well as other Omaha-area monuments to members of the military.

Bill Williams, who with his wife, Evonne, organized “honor flights” for veterans to see monuments in Washington, D.C., said Ramsey was a valuable adviser who took veterans’ issues to heart.

“He was my role model,” Williams said. “We would ask his advice, where to find the money for these honor flights, and he would give us suggestions. He was a Marine’s Marine.”

Ramsey would act as emcee and give keynote speeches at events honoring veterans and for other causes, including Holocaust survivors, donating his time and expertise, Williams said. “We had so much respect for him. He was a top-flight guy. He was everywhere and always involved.”

Ramsey represented Nebraska at the 2006 dedication of the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, Virginia.

In 2011 Pete Ricketts, now Nebraska’s governor, invited Bill and Pat Ramsey to a Cubs game. The Ricketts family owns the Cubs and arranged for Bill to be introduced to the 39,000 fans at Wrigley Field.

“Today,” the PA announcer said, “we honor a military veteran from Omaha, Nebraska, Bill Ramsey. A Marine Corps veteran of the Korean War, he was wounded in combat and awarded the Purple Heart.”

In response, Ramsey saluted the fans, who applauded long and loud.

Ramsey helped The World-Herald organize a parade honoring Cold War-era veterans in Omaha in 2012, which he said contrasted with his homecoming from Korea in 1951.

His parents were at work that day and left a key in the door, and he remembers walking in, cracking open a beer and offering a toast to the empty house. “Welcome home, Bill,” he said to himself.

The later Omaha parade helped make up for the slim recognition of Cold War veterans, he said.

“Bill was a treasure for Omaha, both professionally and through his volunteer involvement in veteran-related projects,” World-Herald spokesman Joel Long said.

Ramsey was a past president of the Omaha Press Club and of Serra International, an organization that supports the Catholic priesthood.

He was active in the Rotary Club, the Institute for Priestly Formation, the Salvation Army, the Red Cross, Children’s Square, the Nebraskaland Foundation, the National Conference of Christians and Jews, the Boy Scouts, the Anti-Defamation League and professional public relations groups.

Ramsey was public relations director at Creighton when four 1968 presidential candidates — Richard Nixon, Hubert H. Humphrey, Eugene McCarthy and Bobby Kennedy — visited the campus.

Escorting Kennedy to a car after a speech, Ramsey noticed a gold tie bar that depicted the PT 109 boat that his brother, John F. Kennedy, had commanded during World War II, and said he admired the late president.

Kennedy thanked him, took off the tie bar and handed it to Ramsey, saying, “You should have this.” Two weeks later, Kennedy was assassinated.

Ramsey’s work led him to meet and work with other famous people, including actor Spencer Tracy, performer Bob Hope and humanitarian Mother Teresa, whom he considered “the most memorable person I ever met.”

Besides Mark and Patricia, his survivors include son Jim of Denver and daughters Ellen Pagett and Jeanne Grassau of Omaha and Peggy Ehrhart of Erie, Colorado.

Visitation with the family will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church, followed by a wake. The funeral will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the church.

[email protected], 402-444-1080, twitter.com/buffettOWH

* * * * *

Correction: An earlier version of this story had an incorrect middle initial for Bill Ramsey.

Bill Ramsey with his mother, Rose, when she visited him at Oceanside, California, before he left to serve in Korea.

Bill Ramsey, center, while serving with the Marine Corps in the Korean War. This photo was taken in June 1951.

Bill Ramsey in Korea in 1951.

In 1978, Bill Ramsey, left, appeared with Mrs. William Hamsa and then-zoo Director Lee Simmons to announce the results of the Henry Doorly Zoo's membership drive.

Bill Ramsey

Bill Ramsey in 2002, after he'd just started serving his term as president of the USA Council of Serra International, a group that works to attract men to the priesthood.

Bill Ramsey, a Marine Corps veteran, holds the Marine flag before the start of the Cold War Salute parade on July 3, 2012.

Korean War Marine Corps veteran Bill Ramsey laid a wreath with his grandson Army Specialist Michael Pagett, who served in Afghanistan, during a 2013 Wreaths Across America ceremony at Forest Lawn Cemetery.

Bill Ramsey attends the 2013 dedication of a monument honoring Medal of Honor recipient Miguel Hernandez Keith at the park bearing his name near 30th and Y Streets. Keith died May 8, 1970, while serving with the Marines in Vietnam.

Seated in the study of his Omaha home, Council Bluffs native Bill Ramsey holds some of his favorite photographs, including shots of Mother Teresa and Bob Hope.

Local PR man Bill Ramsey

Edwin “Hersh” Rodasky got his nickname from Hershey’s chocolate bars. He lived up to the sweetness of that nickname by inspiring and changing the lives of countless students throughout the Omaha and Council Bluffs area.

Rodasky died Oct. 24 of liver disease. He was 65.

“His impact was immeasurable,” said Michael Yowell, Rodasky’s ex-husband. “He impacted so many students’ lives over the 35 to 40 years that he taught, probably thousands of students. He was able to give confidence to people who didn’t have any confidence, and he encouraged his students to stay on the right path.”

Rodasky was a professor at Bellevue University and Iowa Western Community College. He started his career teaching at a high school in St. Joseph, Missouri, before coming to Omaha, where he taught at the now-closed Cathedral High School and later at Mercy High School. He taught speech, theater and interpersonal communications courses.

“He was the greatest teacher ever,” said Angela Dashner, theater teacher at Mercy High School and Rodasky’s former student. “He was so caring for his students and knowledgeable and creative. He was really a mentor, and he always saw the best in you.”

Rodasky’s heart belonged in theater. He directed and wrote a number of shows for the schools where he taught and for community theaters.

He grew up in Missouri Valley, Iowa, and attended Iowa Western Community College and then Northwestern Missouri State College, where he earned his bachelor’s degree. Rodasky later received a master of arts from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Rodasky was involved in a number of organizations, including the Bluffs Arts Council and the Council Bluffs Civil Rights Commission.

In 2009, he and Yowell were among Iowa’s first gay couples to be legally married. The two spent 30 years together. Yowell said that Rodasky was at the forefront of the gay rights movement.

They adopted daughter Alisha DelSignore when she was 8.

“He was fighting hard to adopt me,” she said. “Back then, in the ’90s, it was really hard for two men to adopt.”

In 2009, Rodasky became a certified wedding officiate and opened his own business, Affordable Heartland Wedding.

“He always had a spiritual side,” Yowell said. “I think he saw once we got married in Iowa, it was the third state with marriage equality, that there were a lot of gay and lesbian couples who came to Iowa to get married. He saw that there was a need for it.”

Rodasky’s other survivors include grandchildren Olivia Tisdelle-Tankersley and Christian Hennessy; and siblings Donald Rodasky of Missouri Valley; Kenneth Rodasky of Cook, Nebraska; Patty Sloth of Boyer, Iowa; Bonnie Stebbins of Council Bluffs; and Marilyn Taylor of Woodbine, Iowa.

Services will be held at the Iowa Western Community College Performing Arts Center on Nov. 12 at 2 p.m.

[email protected], 402-444-3185

Omaha native Stanford Lipsey, who led newspapers owned by Warren Buffett to Pulitzer Prizes in Omaha and Buffalo, New York, died Tuesday morning at his home in Rancho Mirage, California.

Lipsey, 89, was publisher emeritus of the Buffalo News and, before that, owner and publisher of the Omaha Sun Newspapers. During his tenure, the Sun became the first weekly newspaper to win journalism’s top prize, with an exposé of Boys Town’s finances.

Berkshire sold the Sun in 1980, and it stopped publication in 1983.

“We had unbelievable fun together,” Buffett told the News. “We jogged together, we ate ice cream, and we ran the News together.”

In 2011, Central High School named Lipsey to its hall of fame, recognizing his passion for news, his restoration of historic properties, his sponsorship of free jazz concerts and his philanthropy.

He became publisher of the Buffalo News in 1983 and took emeritus status in 2012.

The News reported that Lipsey was widely credited with helping the former Buffalo Evening News survive a circulation war with the competing Courier-Express in the 1980s.

His first newspaper job was as a photographer for the Central High Register. He was yearbook photography editor for the University of Michigan, where he earned a degree in economics, and he worked in sales and public relations before joining the Air Force.

At Offutt Air Force Base, he was editor of the Air Pulse newspaper at the start of the Korean War and then went to the Sun, eventually overseeing its seven paid and five free newspapers.

In 1969 he sold the Sun to Berkshire Hathaway Inc., headed by Buffett, beginning a nearly 50-year relationship between the two men.

When Berkshire’s Blue Chip Stamps division bought the Buffalo Evening News in 1977, Buffett sent Lipsey to Buffalo, eventually making him publisher. During Lipsey’s tenure, the News won a Pulitzer Prize for cartooning in 1990; Adam Zyglis, who won a Pulitzer for cartooning in 2015, also was hired.

Berkshire bought The World-Herald in 2011 and has added other newspapers since then. The News reported that Donald Graham, longtime chairman and chief executive officer of the Washington Post Co., said Lipsey’s success in Buffalo was a factor in Buffett’s decision to buy more newspapers, now grouped under the BH Media nameplate.

Lipsey convinced Buffett that newspapers that focused on their communities could be good business investments, Graham told the News.

Lipsey’s survivors include his wife of 14 years, the former Judith Hojnacki; daughter, Janet; son, Daniel; and two grandchildren.

Ruth Williams was revered as a trailblazer for women in broadcasting.

She ascended to the role of creative director at Omaha’s WOW-TV (now WOWT) in 1972, in a time when the only other female employees in the newsroom were administrative staff. She helped shape the station’s programming and, at times, would even write jingles and play piano for its advertisements.

“She walked into a room, and they knew she was there — she had that kind of presence about her,” said Ann Pedersen, who worked with Williams at WOWT in the 1970s and has remained friends since. “She truly was a pioneer in terms of women in television.”

Williams died Monday at her home after a brief illness. She was 91.

She was born Willa Ruth Lewis in Springfield, Missouri, in 1925, the daughter of a railroad conductor and the youngest of three girls. In high school, she won a national writing award from Scholastic Magazine for a short story about a girl seeing a boy off at a train station during World War II. Writing became a lifelong passion for her.

In 1949, she graduated from William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri, where she had continued to sharpen her writing skills. Among her favorite stories to tell later in life was the time she took a shortcut home from theater rehearsal in college and was shot in the leg by an arrow while passing through an archery range.

“She was a sparkling personality right up to the end,” said her son, Jim. “She was always spotting the odd or unusual side of pretty much anything.”

After college, she taught English at Liberty High School in Liberty. There, she met Thomas E. Williams, whom she married in 1950. Ten years later, they moved to Council Bluffs.

They had two children, Jim and Sara, whom Ruth raised before beginning her career in advertising and, later, broadcasting.

Williams made her mark first as the continuity director and later as the first creative director of WOW-TV, a job that was created for her in 1972. She worked in that capacity at the station until her retirement in the late 1980s.

Williams was active with the Omaha Press Club and the American Advertising Federation’s Omaha chapter, which awarded Williams its silver medal award.

In retirement, she served as a reading tutor at Miller Park Elementary School and volunteered with All Saints Episcopal Church. She continued to write poetry, focusing recently on Shakespearean sonnets.

She is survived by her husband and children, all of Omaha, and two nieces. Her funeral service will be at 10 a.m. today at All Saints Episcopal Church, 9302 Blondo St.

[email protected], 402-444-1734, twitter.com/_ChrisPeters

Correction: William Jewell College was misspelled in a previous version of this story.

Melissa “Missi” Haman had a passion for helping others.

She was the kind of person who would take in friends who needed a place to stay and would go out of her way to cheer up someone, close friends and family said.

After an 11-year-battle with breast cancer, Missi died Thursday. She was 33.

“Even through all of her struggles, she was always there for me — she was always my rock,” said James Kolasky, a longtime friend.

Kolasky reminisced about a day when Missi surprised him with a three-course meal, including a fancy menu with a message to cheer him up when he was going through a difficult time.

“She was going through chemotherapy at the time and she still made this enormous gourmet dinner for me,” he said. “That was just the kind of person she was — she put other people first all the time. The world definitely lost someone great.”

Missi graduated from Westside High School and attended the University of Nebraska at Omaha for a few years before the cancer became too much to handle.

Her father, Larry Haman, said Missi wanted to run a nonprofit someday because she loved helping others and being involved with charities.

She also was passionate about raising awareness about breast cancer. She shared her story in blogs for The World-Herald’s health and fitness website, livewellnebraska.com, and was an inspiration to many.

In July 2015, she was one of two breast cancer survivors to receive $10,000 at the Beat Breast Cancer Mud Volleyball Tournament in Prague, Nebraska.

Organizers of the event said that despite Missi’s battle with cancer, she was always so positive and her joy and zest for life shined through.

In her free time, she enjoyed playing pool. She was a member of the Musette Smurfettes, a local women’s pool team that recently won first place at an international tournament in Las Vegas.

“She had many, many, many setbacks, but she always seemed to come back stronger,” her father said. “She was just a very genuine person — always hugs and kisses no matter what.”

Missi also enjoyed kayaking and traveling. Her last big trip was in April to Japan with her best friend, Katie Bartusiak.

“We had the time of our lives,” said Bartusiak, who met Missi about five years ago while they worked together for Guckenheimer, the catering company at the Holland Performing Arts Center. “I wouldn’t have wanted to share that experience with anyone else. She meant the world to me. She meant so much to everybody.”

Bartusiak said she’ll forever cherish the moments she spent with Missi floating down the Elkhorn River, hunting for mushrooms and camping.

“She wanted to make an impact on the world,” Bartusiak said. “And I think she did.”

Missi is survived by her mother, Linda; father, Larry; siblings, Debra Pugel of Lawrenceville, Georgia, David Gomez of Tempe, Arizona, and Desiree Beck of Ralston. Her celebration of life service was held Monday at 10 a.m. at Forest Lawn Funeral Home, 7909 Mormon Bridge Road. Friends and family also gathered at 5 p.m. at the Poop Deck bar near 60th and Grover Streets. Missi requested that memorials go to the nonprofit Pink Bandana.

COUNCIL BLUFFS — Arthur Richard “Dick” Gross, 88, of Richland, Michigan, a longtime publisher of the Daily Nonpareil of Council Bluffs, died this month at Rose Arbor Hospice Residence in Kalamazoo, Michigan, after a brief illness.

Gross, a Wisconsin native, was appointed publisher-general manager of the Nonpareil in 1969, four years after the newspaper had been purchased by Thomson Newspapers Inc.

He continued as the Nonpareil’s publisher and general manager until his retirement in April 1988.

Tom Kean, who served as the Nonpareil’s advertising manager for 11 years during Gross’s tenure as publisher, remembered Gross as a man who was dedicated to the newspaper and the community it served.

Kean recalled that Gross’s attitude was that projects that were great for Council Bluffs were great for the Nonpareil.

He said Gross and The Nonpareil were involved from the outset with Pride Week, the annual spring celebration that is now called Celebrate CB.

“He was a detail-oriented person who demanded high standards for all of the Nonpareil’s departments,” said Ed McGrath, who was hired by Gross and served as the Nonpareil’s managing editor for seven years.

“He was one who would promote anything that was good for the community,” said Sue Hendricks, who was Gross’s secretary for six years. “He was very family-oriented and an avid supporter of the Nonpareil’s Goodfellows program to assist less fortunate residents of the city with food for families and gift certificates for children at Christmas.

“He was a word person, an avid reader and very involved in a local book club,” she said.

Before coming to Council Bluffs, he had been publisher of the Austin (Minnesota) Daily Herald from 1966 to 1969.

Gross earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1950 and a Master of Business Administration in 1953 from the University of Wisconsin before beginning a career in hospital administration in Madison. He later took a position in newspaper management with Thomson Newspapers in Chicago.

While in Iowa, Gross was active in the Iowa Newspaper Association, serving as president of the statewide organization in 1986. The associated honored Gross with its Master Editor-Publisher award in 1985.

Under Gross’s leadership, the 1970s saw the introduction of new technology at the Nonpareil, with computers and a unit to justify lines of type. The printing composition process transitioned from a hot-metal system to a photographic process. The 1800s Linotype machines were replaced by phototypesetting.

More than a quarter of a million dollars was invested in state-of-the-art equipment and remodeling of the building. Later, despite a national recession in 1981, the company invested in a new offset press and computerized typesetting with a price tag of about $1 million.

McGrath and Hendricks recalled Gross as being active in Rotary during the years that he lived in Council Bluffs, during which he and his wife hosted a foreign exchange student from France.

Gross, who was a Rotary Paul Harris Fellow, continued his involvement with Rotary after his retirement.

Along with his wife, Virginia, Gross is survived by three daughters, Katherine (Gary Mittelbach) Gross of Richland, Anne (Jeff) Allen of Columbus, Ohio, and Elizabeth (Doug Fenn) Gross of Louisville, Kentucky; two sons, Richard (Laura) Gross of Morgantown, West Virginia, and David (Tracy Martin) Gross of East Hardwick, Vermont; eight grandchildren; a great-grandson; and his brother, Philip (Helene) Gross of Phoenix. He was preceded in death by his parents; his sister, Jeanne Kalupa; and a brother, Peter Gross.

A memorial service to celebrate his life will be held in Richland.

The funeral service for Phillip Hennig, the farmer who was killed after an anhydrous ammonia leak from a pipeline north of Tekamah, will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday at First Presbyterian Church in Tekamah.

Hennig, 59, died Monday night when he drove through a cloud of anhydrous ammonia that had escaped from the pipeline near his property.

After Hennig graduated from Tekamah-Herman High School in 1975, he joined his father in the family farming operation. In 1978, he married Sandra Lynne Gammel. They had three daughters and a son.

Hennig was a 4-H leader, superintendent and active 4-H parent for more than 35 years. He was a lifelong member of the Riverside Baptist Church in rural Tekamah, serving many roles in the church, including treasurer.

An obituary posted on the website of Pelan Funeral Services in Tekamah said he spent countless hours cheering for his children at their competitions, driving them to events and preparing animals for the show ring.

“He was a patient, kind- hearted family man who had a passion for International tractors, Harley motorcycles and deer hunting,” the obituary reads. “He was hard-working, able to fix just about anything and a dedicated farmer who was passing on his legacy to the next generation.”

Survivors include his wife, Sandra Hennig of Tekamah; daughters, Christina Knajdl of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Erin Knajdl of Kearney and Lena Beckner of Oakland; son, Thomas Hennig of Tekamah; two grandchildren; parents, Erwin and Velma Hennig of Tekamah; brother, Alan Hennig of Tekamah; and sister, Pam Stinson of Ferndale, Washington.

Chances are, if you met Jim Smith, he remembered you. And he likely considered you a friend.

“He could remember a person he’d met years before,” said Arlene Smith, his wife of 63 years. “He could walk up to them and call them by name. He loved people, and it was easy for him to do that.”

Smith, a former president of the Omaha stockyards and marketing administrator for the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, died Oct. 9 after a brief illness. He was 87.

Smith’s career with the United Stockyards Corporation led him to oversee the 100-year anniversary of the Omaha market. He also served as president of Milwaukee and Sioux Falls markets.

After he left the stockyard industry, he worked as the administrator in the marketing division of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture. Smith traveled all over the world — Mexico, China, Russia and several countries in South America — promoting crops grown in Wisconsin.

“He was a salesman at heart,” Arlene Smith said.

Smith was born June 15, 1929, in Walthill, Nebraska. He moved many times as a child, but he returned to Walthill and met his future wife. The two married in 1953.

Smith served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War and earned a bachelor’s of science degree in animal husbandry from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1957. He worked in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, after graduation.

He retired in 1995, and he and his wife moved to Springfield. Although the family had moved around a lot, Omaha was always home, Arlene Smith said.

Jim Smith was a long-time member of Dundee Presbyterian Church and a Habitat for Humanity volunteer.

Smith was particularly proud of his two daughters, whom he spoke with almost every day.

“He was a great father, and he enjoyed life,” Arlene Smith said.

Survivors include his wife, daughters Alysia Ryan and Deanne Smith, two grandchildren and brother Burke Walter. A service was held at Dundee Presbyterian last week.

[email protected], 402-444-1216

Tim Cacioppo showed courage and faith in his battle with ALS and didn’t let the disease hold him back from being a dad.

He died Sunday at his Omaha home at age 46. He was diagnosed in May 2013 with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a progressive neurological condition also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

His wife, Natalie, said he developed pneumonia last week and, because of his weakened condition from ALS, was unable to fight it.

A World-Herald story in May explored his resolve in the face of ALS not to put his family’s life or his role as a father on hold. He also was determined that he would share as much as he could with his four children during his time left, whether it was how to drive or how to cook his favorite recipes.

[Read also: Omaha dad with ALS is imparting life lessons now and preserving some moments for later]

“He relished being a husband to Natalie and a father to those four kids,’’ said the Rev. Ryan Lewis, chaplain at Gross Catholic High School and the former pastor at the family’s parish, St. Thomas More Catholic Church.

Soon after his diagnosis Cacioppo began recording a video cookbook to share with his children who are in grade school and high school. Using a video camera on a tripod, he filmed more than a dozen videos of him making the family’s favorite dishes: chicken dumpling soup, smoked chicken sandwiches, T-bone steak and made-from-scratch peanut butter brownies.

Cacioppo made other videos. In one set, he offers words of love, support and congratulations to his children on their high school graduations. In another video, one meant for his grandkids, he reads aloud “The Giving Tree,” his favorite children’s book.

At the time of his diagnosis, he was a stay-at-home dad to four children under age 12. As he fought the disease, he attended dozens of his children’s hockey and soccer games, track meets, Girl Scout ceremonies and other events. Even as he grew weak from the disease and had trouble breathing, you could spot him along the sidelines or in the bleachers.

Lewis said Cacioppo carried a deep faith, which gave him courage as he faced the disease.

“He gave us all a beautiful example of approaching suffering with faith,’’ Lewis said. “(He had) a bedrock belief that he will be alive forever with Jesus.”

His wife agreed. “He was ready,’’ she said. “He was looking forward to heaven.”

Along with his wife, survivors include his children, Salvatore, Vincent, Sebastian and Anna; his parents, Patti and Richard Cacioppo of Omaha; and two sisters, Brietta Cieslik of Papillion and Michelle Personelli of Kansas City, Missouri.

Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. with a vigil service at 7 p.m. Thursday at Heafey Hoffmann Bel Air Chapel, 121st Street and West Center Road in Omaha. The funeral service is 10:30 a.m. Friday at St. Thomas More Catholic Church.

[email protected], 402-444-1122

In decades of bringing Broadway shows, travelogues and nationally known speakers to the Omaha area, Dick Walter became known as our local “Mr. Showbiz.”

The buoyant impresario, who warmly greeted theatergoers in the lobby of the Orpheum and other venues, died Saturday at 96. The family will hold a private service.

“He was super,” said daughter Sonia Worfold of Lincoln, who lives half of each year in Australia. “He introduced our family to the love of travel to other countries and to being open-minded.”

A lifelong resident of Council Bluffs, Walter was married for 60 years to Rena, a former nurse who died 12 years ago. They often entertained visiting performers in their hilltop home, which was filled with art and mementos collected during 45 years of travel outside the U.S., often as they led tours.

Dick, who played piano, once said that he and Rena lived modestly, “but we are rich in friends, books and music. And that’s what makes our house special.”

In 1946, Walter brought his first production to Omaha, the Robert Shaw Chorale at the old Tech High School. When the Civic Auditorium opened in 1955 — it is now being demolished — he opened its Music Hall with a ballet.

He brought numerous Broadway shows to Omaha, such as “My Fair Lady, “Evita,” “The Music Man,” “Hello Dolly!” and “My Fair Lady.” He got to know many stars.

Walter founded the Omaha Women’s Town Hall lecture series and for years sponsored the showing of foreign-travel films that attracted hundreds of people. When he brought big-budget stage shows to town, he usually put up his own money.

“It’s a very mercurial thing, trying to predict whether a show will be a success,” he said. “I have lost money I didn’t deserve to lose, but I’ve also made money I didn’t deserve.”

Walter served in the Iowa Legislature and said that one term was enough. “I was glad to get back into the sane world of show business.”

He maintained an interest in politics, but in 1988 he unintentionally became part of a national political story, the vice presidential candidate debate between Sen. Lloyd Bentsen and Sen. Dan Quayle.

The national commission organizing the debate wanted it staged at the Orpheum, but Walter was presenting “Cats.” That’s how the debate ended up at the Civic’s Music Hall.

He sold his booking agency and retired the next year, but in 1992 he brought “Cats” back to the Orpheum. Afterward, he spoke with the enthusiasm that marked his show business career.

“This was my first show out of retirement,” he said at 72. “I can honestly say that when the lights went down and the music started on Friday night, I was thrilled. Helping to make something nice happen for a great many people is really a pleasure.”

[email protected], 402-444-1132

Dr. Steve Hoody never retired. He continued to work until the last few weeks of his life.

Daughter Carol Misner said his purpose in life was work, caring for his patients and caring for his family.

“I mean taking care of his family,” Misner said. “Even if you are 50 years old, he’s still taking care of you. If you are struggling, whatever, he’ll take care of you. That’s just dad.”

Hoody, 89, of Omaha, died of liver and lung cancer at his home Sept. 24.

In 1952 he graduated from Creighton University School of Medicine. Following his residency at Creighton Medical Center, Hoody joined the Air Force as a flight surgeon for two years.

For more than 50 years Hoody worked at Bergan Mercy Medical Center, specializing as a family practitioner. About 10 years ago he was named assistant chief of staff.

Hoody and his wife, Jeanne, celebrated their 68th anniversary in July. She said he was busy and not home much, but when he was, family was most important.

Misner said her dad had a passion for all sports, especially Cornhusker football. He often attended games. Otherwise, he watched them on television with family.

“We would cheer like we were at the game ourselves,” Misner said. “We would scream and yell and have a great time.”

She said even during his recent illness, the family would watch the games and be just as loud as when they were kids.

A funeral service was held Oct. 3 at Christ the King Catholic Church.

Aside from his daughter Carol and wife, Jeanne, survivors include children Nancy O’Connor, Dr. Stephen Hoody, Maureen Dalhoff, Mark Hoody, Jeanne Ewin and Michelle White; 24 grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and sister Frances Olsen Parrish.

[email protected], 402-444-1304

When Joe Barmettler took a gig as city attorney for the tiny, 335-lot village of La Vista in 1963, the three-year-old town was struggling.

“They were barely holding on by the skin of their teeth,” said Jeanne Barmettler, his wife of 58 years.

But Barmettler, a young lawyer at the time, used his calm demeanor, patience and passion for his work to help guide the city from uncertainty to where it is today — a bustling suburb of more than 17,500 people.

Barmettler died Wednesday at age 83. He was a pillar of the legal community, a father of seven and a grandfather of 15.

“Nobody could beat Joe in my book,” said Andy Anderson, mayor of La Vista from 1978 to 2005 and Barmettler’s friend.

Barmettler practiced corporate, public and real estate law for more than 50 years with Fitzgerald, Schorr, Barmettler & Brennan. He was instrumental in the growth of La Vista as city attorney for 40 years.

“He always told me I built La Vista,” Anderson said. “But really he and I built La Vista. Because he never let me do anything that was going to hurt our town.”

Barmettler was born in Omaha and went to Cathedral High School, where he met Jeanne Waller. The pair started dating while they attended Creighton University, and they were married in 1958.

While working for La Vista, Barmettler also was legal counsel for the Metropolitan Community College Board from 1974 to 2002 and for Boys Town from 1992 to 2008.

La Vista Mayor Doug Kindig remembers that during his first year on the City Council, he said to Barmettler during a discussion, “Can’t we just make an exception?”

Barmettler calmly peered at Kindig over his glasses and said, “If you make an exception to a law, you don’t have a law.”

“To be honest, I think of that numerous times every year,” Kindig said.

Barmettler loved La Vista, his work and those he worked with, his wife said.

On warm days, the Barmettlers would invite friends and colleagues out on their boat on the Missouri River.

“To the end, he loved looking out at the birds and the sky and trees,” his wife said. “Those were the sorts of things that filled him with peace and joy.”

He is survived by five brothers, two sisters, his wife, seven children and 15 grandchildren.

His funeral Mass will be Monday at 11 a.m. at St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church.

[email protected], 402-444-1216

Mary Dean (Harvey) Evans, a child of Louisiana who went on to become a tenacious, longtime advocate for children in Nebraska, once said that the Jim Crow South shaped the philosophy she brought to her work: that people, if given the chance, can achieve and elevate themselves.

Evans died Oct. 7 in Cobb County, Georgia. She was 72.

During her years in Nebraska, Evans held a number of positions, from educator to member of then-Gov. Ben Nelson’s staff. In the 1990s, while serving in Nelson’s administration, she and others worked to help pioneer welfare reform, Nelson said.

“It changed the way (Nebraska) was doing things, in terms of welfare,” Nelson said. “And the numbers back then reflected a level of success.”

The idea of a hand up not a handout was Evans’ doing, he said.

“She was really committed. There was never any doubt about how strongly she felt about anything that was discussed,” Nelson said. “She had a lighter side, she had a sense of humor and did not take herself seriously at all. She brought compassion with common sense and recognized that all the good ideas in the world, if they can’t be implemented, won’t get you the result you’re after.”

Nelson credited her with bringing Medicaid costs under control and for redesigning the state’s system for investigating child abuse. Her work in the then-Department of Social Services drew criticism and praise. It was in that context that, in 1995, she discussed her formative years in the South with The World-Herald.

“The mentality in the countryside was that African-Americans were inferior,” she said. “My family simply didn’t buy it.”

In addition to serving in Nelson’s Cabinet she was a teacher and administrator in Omaha Public Schools for 17 years. Her work at OPS included serving as principal of Lewis and Clark Middle School, as assistant principal of Nathan Hale Middle School and as a teacher for seven years at Central High.

She also served as a leader of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Omaha. During her tenure as executive director of Girls Inc. of Omaha she created a mentoring program for girls.

Evans moved to Georgia in 2005 after being appointed by that state’s then-governor, Sonny Perdue, as director of the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services.

Funeral services will be Friday at Shaw Temple AME Church in Georgia.

LeRoy Evans, her husband of eight years, said his wife never met a stranger because her heart was open to all people.

Her son, Marcus Harvey of Omaha, said his mother’s long hours at work sometimes meant he didn’t see her as much as he wanted.

“I always said that I shared my mother with multiple other kids across Omaha,” Harvey said. “I was glad to do so. People have been calling me, saying, ‘You know, your mom was like my mom.’ ”

Other survivors include stepdaughters Anana Evans of Palmetto, Georgia, and Salisha Evans of Atlanta; stepson Malik Evans of Smyrna, Georgia; and sisters, Hassie Hunter of Marietta, Claudia Taylor of New Orleans and Leona Davis of Detroit.

[email protected], 402-444-1276

Karl Kosloski, a retired University of Nebraska at Omaha professor whose research focused on family caregiving, has died.

Kosloski and his research partner, Rhonda Montgomery, created a concept called “caregiver identity theory.” The theory considered the way that a relationship gradually changes when a spouse or child must provide care for an ailing loved one, recognized the stress and depression that can result, and advised on the need for support for the caregiver.

Kosloski, 66, died Sept. 28 at the Nebraska Medical Center of multiple system atrophy. The disease rendered him unable to speak. He had been a professor of gerontology at UNO from 1994 to 2013 and was chairman of the department for a couple of years. Kosloski, who earned his doctorate in social psychology from the University of Nevada-Reno, had worked as a faculty member and researcher at College of St. Scholastica in Minnesota, Wayne State University in Detroit and the University of Kansas.

He retired in 2013 as the disease began to affect his voice, said his wife of 44 years, Donna.

UNO flew its “O” flag at half-staff Tuesday in memory of Kosloski.

Montgomery, an emeritus professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, said she and Kosloski scratched out notes on napkins, whiteboards and once on a refrigerator. They wrote many articles together and, with a third author, wrote a chapter in the 2016 book “Handbook of Theories of Aging.” Montgomery has created a Wisconsin startup company, Tailored Care, that uses some of their findings in providing support for caregivers.

Kosloski was an excellent statistician who helped make sure their research was scholarly and scientifically sound, Montgomery said.

“We were a team,” she said. “We were always a team.”

Lyn Holley, a gerontology professor at UNO, said Kosloski wasn’t formally her mentor as she pursued her doctorate in the late 1990s. But they were in the same building, and Holley could call on him.

“He was always there for advice and for technical help,” she said. “So I could just run down (the hall) when I had a problem.”

Donna Kosloski said her husband was far more than a serious researcher. He interacted equally well with professors and janitors, she said, and he loved quips.

Once, she said, her sister commented on how askew his hair was when he went downstairs for his first cup of coffee in the morning. “He pointed to it and said, ‘I worked on this all night,’ ” she said.

He carried that delight into his work, she said. “He very much loved being in the classroom.”

In addition to his wife, Karl Kosloski is survived by their daughter, Lisa Bilek of Omaha; brother Glen of Trophy Club, Texas; sisters Coleen of Plymouth, Minnesota, and Sharon Stendahl and Diana Borchardt, both of Maple Grove, Minnesota.

Services in Omaha have taken place. Services in Minnesota will start with a visitation at 9 a.m. Saturday at Holy Name of Jesus Church in Wayzata, and the Mass of Christian burial at 10 a.m.

[email protected], 402-444-1123, twitter.com/rickruggles

John G. Liakos, an Omaha attorney, spent much of his life working with nonprofits and was dedicated to improving Nebraska’s organ donation process.

He died at home, surrounded by family, on Sept. 27 after likely suffering a heart attack. He was 76.

Liakos attended the University of Nebraska in Lincoln for his undergrad and law degrees. He was a member of the Delta Upsilon fraternity, where he received a lasting nickname, “Greek,” because of his Greek heritage.

After graduating from law school in 1967 he spent several years working in New Orleans. He moved to Omaha in 1971 and worked for a local law firm. In 1973 he founded his own, Liakos & Associates, now Liakos & Matukewicz LLP.

“He was a tireless worker,” said Fritz Ware, a former colleague from Nebraska Organ Recovery System. “He was an assertive person who did not take adversity lying down.”

Liakos was involved with the Kidney Foundation of Nebraska. As one of his colleagues from the foundation was going through dialysis treatment and was in need of a kidney transplant, the two became involved in a steering committee through Clarkson College.

A number of the members collaborated and founded Nebraska Organ Recovery System in 1977. The organization serves as the main point of contact in tissue, organ and eye donation services throughout Nebraska and a portion of Iowa.

Liakos served as president of the nonprofit and has been on the board of directors since its founding. Ware called Liakos the “legal eagle,” as he wrote the organization’s bylaws and helped to create national standards related to organ donation.

While his children were in school, Liakos served on multiple PTA boards. He was a passionate gardener and would start an extensive collection of seedlings in his kitchen each January before moving them outside. His two sons, Andrew and Charles, continue to bring that passion to life in their own gardens.

“Whatever pursuit that my dad would engage in became infectious to everyone around him,” Andrew Liakos said.

He loved cooking, which he often did with his wife, Elisabeth, who is the founder and co-owner of the local restaurant Market Basket. They enjoyed entertaining and would host elaborate, multi-course dinner parties.

The family will visit with friends this evening from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Bel Air Chapel, 12100 West Center Road.

Aside from his wife and sons, Liakos is survived by grandchildren Jonathan, Victoria, Jenna, Hannah, Mallory and Eleanor Liakos and Katherine Albers; and sister Angeline Liakos.

His family remembers his love for classical music, fishing and Nebraska football. Many more remember him for his work with those in need.

Dr. Paul Pearson, founding director of the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Munroe-Meyer Institute, died Sept. 8. He was 95.

Pearson became the first director of the institute in 1968 when the University of Nebraska took over leadership of the Meyer Therapy Center, which offered physical, occupational, psychological and speech therapy along with medical services for children with developmental disabilities. He served in this role until 1982, when he became professor emeritus of pediatrics at UNMC.

“He was very, very adamant about working with other people. He had an amazing work ethic,” said Lisa Fosler Kelly, Pearson’s granddaughter.

Giving a speech in 1964 to a regional conference of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Pearson said the goal of treating people with such conditions is to help them reach their maximum potential.

“In many cases the (patient) can become a productive citizen instead of spending a life of deterioration in an institution,” he said, according to World-Herald files.

Dr. Michael Leibowitz, a former director of the institute who worked with Pearson, said he was an excellent physician who also understood how to secure funding for his institutions and programs.

He shared his work as well as his passions with his family. Kelly remembers him playing classical music for her. Todd Fosler, his grandson, said Pearson taught him how to approach a task with pride and commitment.

“He had a way of thanking you that was a very clear acknowledgment of what you had done and how he was proud of you,” Fosler said.

Pearson was born Feb. 18, 1921, in the former Belgian Congo in Africa. He lived there until he was 12. He served in the Army Medical Corps from 1947 through 1949 in Yokohama, Japan.

Pearson is survived by his wife, Violet; sister, Barbara; daughters Kim Pearson, Wendy Newton, Leigh Ford, Deborah Thompson and Linda Olsen, and son, Tom Thompson; 11 grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by son Paul Jr. and former wife Gladys.

A memorial service will be 2 p.m. Monday at All Saints Episcopal Church, 9302 Blondo St.

Memorials are suggested to All Saints Episcopal Church, Josie Harper Hospice House or the University of Nebraska Foundation.

[email protected], 402-444-3131, twitter.com/blakeursch_owh

Jackie Hill, a proponent of breast cancer awareness who started an organization with that mission, died Thursday.

Hill’s group, My Sister’s Keeper, assisted women with breast cancer diagnoses, provided education about the disease and celebrated survivors. The organization, started about 15 years ago, put special emphasis on helping black women in northeast Omaha. My Sister’s Keeper puts on a yearly gathering, the Celebration of Life, with a guest speaker and a ceremony for those who have survived and those who have died.

Hill, 73, died Thursday of cardiac arrest at the Nebraska Medical Center.

“The thing that I will always remember is that we never turned a person away,” said Gwendolyn Watson, 78, who co-founded My Sister’s Keeper with Hill. Both were breast cancer survivors.

Watson, who wept at some of the memories, said Hill would field calls from women late at night and provide counsel and solace. Watson said the organization also assisted women with the disease in paying their rent or utilities if they were struggling financially.

Hill, who had bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing, worked at the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Center for Reducing Health Disparities.

Her supervisor there, Wayne Houston, said Hill also worked with women in weight management and with patients suffering with diabetes.

To women fighting breast cancer, “She was just like a big sister,” Houston said.

Dr. Edibaldo Silva, a UNMC professor of cancer surgery, said he received a five-year Komen Foundation grant to train “navigators” to sit in doctors’ appointments with women with breast cancer. Hill was one of his first volunteers for the program, Silva said.

The navigators served as support and helped the women understand what the doctor was telling them about their disease and treatment.

The grant also enabled them to set up informational meetings in churches, at health fairs and other places. Hill knew the African-American community thoroughly and was a terrific asset, Silva said. Also, she could relate to the patients and vice versa, he said.

Initially they focused on underserved communities, but eventually they realized that other women would benefit from the service, too, Silva said.

Cynthia Hume was another of those navigators and a breast cancer survivor herself. “I think the thing that stands out is her passion for service,” Hume said of Hill. Hume said Hill and Watson were the dynamos behind My Sister’s Keeper.

“It was those two — just trying to serve a population that really needed it,” Hume said. “You can’t replace someone who had what Jackie had.”

Seven years ago, Hill received a Women Who Get it Right Award from the National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund.

Watson said she was working in the office at North High and Hill was a nurse there about 20 years ago when Hill received her breast cancer diagnosis. Hill learned that Watson already had fought the disease.

The two ultimately decided to form My Sister’s Keeper to assist other women.

The Celebration of Life includes a ceremony in which survivors light candles and a bell tolls for those who have died. The event will take place late this month at the Scott Conference Center.

Asked whether My Sister’s Keeper could continue without Hill and with Watson approaching 80, Watson said it would. There are plenty of others willing to pitch in and keep the mission alive, she said.

Hill is survived by her son, Bryon, of Omaha; brothers Roger Lewis of Omaha and Daniel Ware of Evans, Georgia; and sister Andra Harrison of Houston.

Services hadn’t been scheduled as of Friday.

[email protected], 402-444-1123, twitter.com/rickruggles

Susan Enyart Conine, former owner of the J. Bragg’s women’s clothing stores and a longtime Omaha community volunteer, died Thursday at home.

Described by friends as an energetic, committed volunteer with a wide and beloved circle of friends, Conine, 81, had a fall and was recovering from pneumonia when she was diagnosed with cancer about two weeks ago, said daughter Anne Baxter.

Conine spent her final hours among family members and with her rescue dog, Patches, close by.

Sue, as she was known, was spirited and independent, traits that served her well but once led her astray on a trip to Botswana hosted by the then-Omaha zoo director, Dr. Lee Simmons.

“She’s fearless, but after dark you’re supposed to call one of the staff to escort you down to your tent,” Simmons said.

“And Sue had the habit of striking out on her own. One night she left the dining room to go back to her tent and ran face to face with a big bull elephant with an attitude. She retreated back to the dining room.”

Conine grew up in Des Moines and competed nationally as a diver during her high school years. She attended Vassar College and returned to Des Moines, where she married Edwin Conine, who worked for the Younkers department store chain.

In 1962 the couple moved to Omaha, where he was a vice president with Kilpatrick’s department store, which had been purchased by Younkers. In 1965 he joined Nebraska Clothing Co. as a vice president.

He opened the first J. Bragg’s store in Lincoln in 1973, followed by two stores at the Regency Fashion Court, as it was known at the time, and two in Des Moines.

The stores offered personalized service, sometimes ordering clothes specifically for regular customers. The stores were named after family ancestor Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg, also the namesake of Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

When Edwin died suddenly of a heart attack in 1993 at 62, Sue became the sole owner. Baxter, who had worked side-by-side with her father, took over management. The last of the stores closed by 1998 as consumers’ retail habits changed, Baxter said.

In recent years Conine belonged to a book club, an investment club and regularly went to movies with friends Ruth Keene and Marian Andersen, widow of former World-Herald Publisher Harold Andersen.

Andersen, who lived next door for more than 35 years, said Conine was the ideal neighbor, an avid gardener who delighted in caring for her home in the Fairacres area, including sweeping leaves from the home’s flat roof and trimming the giant hedges.

“She was 90 pounds of vim and vigor,” Andersen said.

Conine also was an avid golfer, playing twice a week until a few months ago and watching the professionals compete on TV a few days ago.

“She was small but mighty,” Baxter said, adding that her mother often was frustrated that she couldn’t hit drives very far but was adept at the “short game” of chipping and putting.

She was on the altar guild for decades at All Saints Episcopal Church and was active with the Salvation Army, the Nebraska Humane Society, the Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben, the Omaha Symphony, Heartland Family Services, the Omaha Children’s Museum, Joslyn Art Museum and the Junior League of Omaha. “When she was into an activity, she just couldn’t understand why everyone else wasn’t as committed to it,” Keene said. “She was always doing the nitty-gritty, handing out food or helping clean up. The things she was passionate about, she enjoyed, and was a big-time donor.”

Conine loved the inside workings of the community and had a wide network of friends, Keane said. “She entertained beautifully. She was outstanding in her looks and dress, and she came by that very naturally.”

Simmons, former director of the Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium and now chairman of the Omaha Zoo Foundation, said Conine was an early supporter and volunteer for the zoo, serving as chairwoman for its membership drive one year but mostly working behind the scenes on fund drives and other projects. “She was a worker bee,” Simmons said. “She was not a social bee. She got in there and produced.”

A lifetime trustee of the zoo, Conine went on a Simmons-led trip to Tanzania in February, even though she had broken two ribs in a fall just before the group left. “She’s the toughest lady I ever knew,” Simmons said. “She was absolutely determined, and a hoot to travel with,” ready to take part in every activity. She later hosted a photo-reunion of the travelers at her house.

“She was universally polite and kind, and everybody liked her,” he said. “She was one of the most genuinely nice people you’ll ever meet.”

Conine also is survived by daughter Julie Koeplin of Denver, son James of Dallas and six grandchildren. Final details are pending for an Oct. 8 funeral at All Saints Episcopal Church.

[email protected], 402-444-1080, twitter.com/buffettOWH

Robert “Bob” Kelly Sr., a former law library director and associate law professor for the Creighton University School of Law, dedicated his life to helping those around him.

Kelly died Wednesday at 94 of heart complications.

He grew up in Chicago, initially attending the University of St. Mary of the Lake for seminary school. As he neared the end of his schooling and was preparing to become a priest, he became severely ill with tuberculosis. A priest suggested that Kelly look into getting a degree related to libraries because he was considered too ill for the priesthood.

He received his master’s in library sciences from Rosary College, now Dominican University, where he met his late wife, Elizabeth. Kelly pursued a law degree from DePaul University, where he was a librarian. He finished second in his class.

Kelly became the director of DePaul University’s Law Library in 1950. In 1973, he became the law library director at Creighton. Elizabeth also was offered a position, and she became the associate director of the law library.

“They were keenly aware of the students who would come in there every day and pull their hair out — the students who were acting very lost or overwhelmed,” son Bob Kelly Jr. said. “The students would talk to them and say that they didn’t think law school was for them or it was too much, and they would always listen and encourage them.”

Bob Kelly Sr. also was an associate professor of law until retiring at age 70.

His son said his father was always looking out for people who needed guidance or support. He would sometimes provide them with legal services. He went out of his way to show them patience and kindness, even when others had given up on them, his son said.

Kelly was a devout Catholic and attended Mass every day. He split his time between St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church and St. John Catholic Church.

“He had an incredible respect for every day of his life,” his son said. “I think faith and his community of family and friends within the church sustained him, and that’s why he was able to live as long as he did.”

Kelly spent much of his free time volunteering, supporting the American Heart Association and other causes.

Visitation will be Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m. followed by a wake service at the John A. Gentleman 72nd Street Chapel, 1010 N. 72nd St. A funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m. Monday at St. John Catholic Church at Creighton University.

Aside from his son, he is survived by daughter Mary Kelly; and grandchildren Sarah Kielion, Robby Kelly III, and Sean, Trevor and Kaitlin Kelly. Wife Elizabeth and son Joseph Kelly preceded him in death.

Four crisply folded flags. Four slow, white-gloved salutes. Twenty-one rifle shots. And the sounding of taps.

One ceremony, simple but moving in the military tradition, on Tuesday marked the first of what will be many thousands of burial services at the brand-new Omaha National Cemetery.

The ashes of four veterans — Marine Cpl. John “Frank” Ernst of Omaha, Army Spc. Michael Brabec of Fremont, Air Force Sgt. James Edgell of Council Bluffs and Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Russell Rosberg of Omaha — were buried with full military honors at the new cemetery, near Highway 50 and Schram Road. So were those of Frank’s wife, Ruth.

“We celebrate the fact that the Omaha National Cemetery is here and it’s operating,” said Cindy Van Bibber, the cemetery director, in her brief remarks at the service. “Long after we’re gone, these headstones will still be here, representing the sacrifices these people made.”

One veteran was chosen from each service branch, from a list of more than 220 whose families have requested burial in the brand-new cemetery, Van Bibber said.

More than 30 members of the veterans’ families attended the burial service. Several described their veterans as humble men, proud of their service.

United States Navy Lt. Vance Branton, right, presents an American flag to Saundra Rosberg of Omaha, the wife of United State Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Russell A. Rosberg, as the brand-new Omaha National Cemetery holds its first burials Tuesday.

Marine Sgt. Demaidre Travis, left, and Army Sgt. Taylor Siebrandt, right, stand at attention as the brand-new Omaha National Cemetery holds its first burials.

Saundra Rosberg of Omaha holds a photograph of her husband, United States Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Russell A. Rosberg, along with the American flag she was presented as the new Omaha National Cemetery holds its first burials.

The Nebraska Army National Guard fires three-rounds at the Omaha National Cemetery on Tuesday during a ceremony there for its first burials.

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Cassandra Miller, Navy Senior Chief Machinist Mate Jeff Krebs, Marine Sgt. Demaidre Travis and Army Sgt. Taylor Siebrandt stand at attention during the ceremony at Omaha National Cemetery.

Staff Sgt. Daniel Thrower of the USAF Heartland of America Band performs taps on his trumpet at the Omaha National Cemetery on Tuesday.

Dave Ernst, receives a flag in honor of his father Marine veteran Corporal John F. Ernst from Marine Staff Sgt. Abraham Libby as the brand-new Omaha National Cemetery holds its first burials as four veterans are buried with full honors during a single ceremony in Omaha, Nebraska, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2016. The new 236-acre cemetery will serve the burial needs of more than 112,000 veterans. BRENDAN SULLIVAN/THE WORLD-HERALD

Family members of U.S. Army Spc. Michael C. Brabec, including ex-wife Cheryl Fidler, right, of Wahoo; daughter Traci Tweedy of Fremont; and her husband, Kerry Tweedy, carry an American flag in his honor at the Omaha National Cemtery.

Army Sgt. Taylor Siebrandt, right, presents the family of Army Spc. Michael C. Brabec with an American flag at the Omaha National Cemetery on Tuesday.

Staff from the brand-new Omaha National Cemetery receive urns containing the ashes of four veterans as the cemetery holds its first burials during a single ceremony Tuesday.

Rosberg’s widow, Saundra, said her husband was born in Bloomfield, Nebraska. He enlisted in 1952, one of five brothers to serve in the Navy. Russell Rosberg, a gunner’s mate, spent four years on active duty and four more in the reserves.

Back home, he worked as a barber and later as a construction worker and cement finisher. In 1980, friends talked him into re-enlisting in a Navy Reserves construction battalion. He finally retired in 1993.

“He was just as proud of his Seabee time as his regular service,” his wife said.

He died in 2013, at 78, from congestive heart failure. She was sure he would be thrilled to part of Tuesday’s ceremony.

“He’s got to be smiling up in Heaven,” Saundra Rosberg said.

Before his death in 1996, Frank Ernst predicted that Omaha would one day have a military cemetery. He made his son, John F. Ernst Jr., then an Army officer, promise that Frank and Ruth would someday be buried there.

It took 20 years to fulfill the promise.

“It’s quite an honor to see this happen,” John Ernst Jr. said. “Dad would be tickled pink.”

Frank Ernst was a fourth-generation Marine, born in West Virginia.

He quit high school during his senior year, in 1943, to serve in World War II.

He fought in the Pacific at Saipan and Tinian. He watched the B-29 “Enola Gay” take off with the atomic bomb that would be dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, heralding the end of the war.

John Ernst Jr. said his father returned home in early 1946 and married his high school sweetheart, Ruth. He later worked as a casualty manager for Aetna and was transferred to Omaha. The couple loved Nebraska and decided to stay.

“Everything he did was focused on work and family,” John Ernst Jr. said. “He was very laid back and low key. You never would have guessed that he was a hard-bitten Marine.”

Like Frank and Ruth Ernst, James Edgell grew up in West Virginia. He was a high school football player who joined the Air Force in 1964. He served eight years, much of it working on weaponry at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, said his daughter, Melissa Edgell.

James Edgell lived in the Omaha area after leaving the military, and he worked 38 years as a forklift operator at the Tenneco plant. In his spare time, his daughter said, he liked working on cars and was devoted to his wife, Joan, two daughters and four granddaughters. Despite his West Virginia roots, he remained a devoted Nebraska football fan until his death, of cancer in 2010.

Joan Edgell, who lives in Council Bluffs, visited a national cemetery and was impressed with the beauty and order. She decided that her husband should be buried there.

“It was my mom’s idea,” Melissa Edgell said. “I really think that he would be proud and appreciate the honor.”

Cheryl Brabec Fidler accepted her ex-husband’s folded flag 48 years to the day after the two were married in Weston, Nebraska.

Born in Omaha, Michael Brabec grew up on a farm near Wahoo. He joined the Army in 1969, a few months after his wedding. He left for Vietnam on his wife’s 20th birthday. He came back a changed man, daughter Traci Tweedy said.

“He said there were a lot of things he had seen that no one should ever see,” Tweedy said.

Brabec left the Army in 1972. He and his wife later divorced. He lived in Arizona for many years and moved to Fremont in 1989. He drove a truck and worked as a mechanic for a chemical company. He loved gardening and Harley-Davidson motorcycles, his daughter said. He died in 2008, at age 58.

“This is a very big honor for him,” Tweedy said. “He’s finally laid to rest.”

Though it is just now opening for burials, Omaha National Cemetery already has a history. In the early 2000s, Bellevue businessmen Steve Johnson and John Richard Thompson started a group called Memorial Ridge of the Midlands to lobby federal, state and local officials for a cemetery in Sarpy County.

The effort took years longer than they expected and required legislation in Congress. Construction eventually began in mid-2015.

Most of the current facilities are temporary ones, said Van Bibber, the cemetery director. Work will continue for another year on permanent headquarters, maintenance and honor-guard buildings, a visitors center and the first 5,500 sites for casketed and cremated remains.

“Even the flagpole is a temporary flagpole,” she said.

The cemetery is expected to accommodate burials of Nebraska and Iowa veterans, and their spouses, for the next 100 years, Van Bibber said.

More burials are scheduled for Thursday and Friday. Up to five funerals can be held each day.

[email protected], 402-444-1186

*****

Born: May 26, 1925, Wheeling, West Virginia

Died: June 17, 1996, Omaha

Military Service: Corporal, Marine Corps, 1943-46 (World War II veteran) Buried along with his wife, Ruth Ernst, who died in 1998

Born: June 2, 1949, Omaha

Died: April 18, 2008, Fremont

Military Service: Specialist, Army, 1969-72 (Vietnam War veteran)

Born: Oct. 12, 1934, Bloomfield, Nebraska

Died: May 23, 2013, Omaha

Military Service: Petty Officer 1st Class, Navy/Navy Reserves 1952-60; 1980-93 (Korean War veteran, Gulf War-era)

Born: Aug. 20, 1945, Shinnston, West Virginia

Died: Nov. 22, 2010, Council Bluffs

Military Service: Sergeant, Air Force, 1964-72 (Vietnam-era veteran)

* Spaces can’t be reserved in the cemetery, director Cindy Van Bibber said. But burial arrangements may be made for deceased veterans or their eligible family members by calling the National Cemetery scheduling office at 800-535-1117.

Dr. Richard W. Steenburg was a pioneer in kidney transplants, establishing a transplant program in Maryland in the 1960s and then in the 1970s in his native Nebraska.

More than 500 patients benefited from the surgeon’s work.

Now, decades later, many of those patients and their families are mourning the death of Steenburg, who not only gave them a new kidney, but a new life as well.

Steenburg, 91, died Sept.19 of metastatic prostate cancer in his home in Stuart, Florida, said his son, John R. Steenburg of Sagamore Hills, Ohio.

No services were held, at Dr. Steenburg’s request.

Steenburg was born and raised in Aurora, Nebraska. He graduated from Stanford University and Harvard Medical School and completed his surgical training at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston.

He was a faculty member at Johns Hopkins and chief of surgery at Baltimore City Hospital.

Steenburg was board certified for general, vascular, urologic and gynecologic surgery, and had completed two-thirds of his neurosurgery training, but was drafted into the Army, serving in Germany after World War II, his son said.

The senior Steenburg became interested in kidney transplants when the treatment was first developed in Boston. And he wanted to push the method forward, his son said. At the time, people with kidney failure were kept alive on dialysis until they could not afford it anymore, John Steenburg said. His father wanted to offer them more, he said.

He performed his first kidney transplant in Maryland in 1964 and developed the state’s first renal transplant program.

In 1970, the University of Nebraska Medical Center wooed him back to his home state, where Steenburg created a transplant program at both the med center and the former Clarkson Hospital.

He worked for about a decade at Clarkson with Dr. Ward Chambers, who offered his colleague as an example of top-flight physicians working in Nebraska who also spent their youths in the state. He recalled Steenburg as an extraordinary doctor.

“He was as bright and hardworking a physician as I’ve ever seen,” Chambers, a cardiologist at UNMC, said.

Steenburg performed 501 transplants while in Omaha and 40 or 50 others while in Maryland, his son said. He retired in 1987 at age 62 and moved to Stuart.

Besides his son, survivors include his wife of 32 years, Julia Reynolds Steenburg of Stuart; daughter, Andrea J. Steenburg Simmers of Halifax, Pennsylvania; two granddaughters; and two great-grandchildren.

World-Herald staff writer Emerson Clarridge contributed to this report.

As a ninth-degree black belt in taekwondo, K.H. Kim preached use of wit, quick movement and intelligence to thousands of students in his Omaha martial arts school.

“Growing up, we couldn’t go anywhere without seeing students he had taught,” said daughter Joanne Kim of Omaha. “He was kind, patient and wonderful in his instruction, and the students loved him.”

Since 1968, Kim operated taekwondo studios first at 48th and Dodge Streets and later at 72nd and Cass Streets. The school closed in 2015 after Kim suffered a stroke.

“Master Kim” died Monday of natural causes, his daughter said. He was 76. The family will receive friends from 5 to 7 p.m. today at the Bel Air Chapel, 12100 West Center Road. The funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday in the chapel.

Kim was born in Seoul, South Korea, and won his sport’s Korean national championship in 1963 and 1965. He served in the Korean Army and became chief instructor in its Tiger Division. His biography lists a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s in biochemistry from Kyung Hee University in Seoul.

Taekwondo was a demonstration sport at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and Kim “was very proud to appear in the first exhibitions,” his daughter said. It became an Olympic medal sport in 2000. Kim once told The World-Herald that in many ways, taekwondo is “a spiritual and emotional sport that helps students to be in tune with themselves at all times.”

In addition to his Omaha schools, Joanne Kim said her father taught students in Shenandoah, Red Oak and Glenwood. Kim also taught at Offutt Air Force Base and the Omaha Police Department, she said.

“He really truly gave every student individual attention, which is really difficult when you have that many students,” she said. “During the week, a lot of his time was spent in the school, but he was also a very loving father who supported all of our activities. He was always there for every recital and milestone event.”

Kim was proud of his service on community boards for race relations and housing, his daughter said.

Some students were the third generation of families Kim had instructed. At its height, the school enrolled between 200 and 300 students from ages 5 to 85. “He felt very strong about giving back to the community,” Joanne Kim said. “When there were students who couldn’t afford the tuition, they would receive quote, ‘scholarships,’ unquote.”

Physically, Kim was known for his speed and board-breaking power in a sport that relies heavily on leaps and spinning kicks, as well as punches and blocks. “Master Kim is like a superman, one of the strongest people I’ve ever met — physically, emotionally and mentally,” Jim Norton, the former lead instructor at Kim’s school, told The World-Herald in 2015. “But when you meet him, you think he’s the nicest, sweetest person. He is such a confidant to so many people.”

Former Husker and pro football player Rik Bonness, an Omaha attorney, lauded Kim’s spiritual strength. Bonness said his two sons were Kim’s students and that generations have respected and learned from him.

“I have just stood in awe of him,” Bonness said in 2015. “It’s more than his skill. His meditative and spiritual components draw people of all ages. Even at his age, Master Kim is so — masterful.”

In addition to his daughter, Kim is survived by his son, Eugene; the children’s mother, Hasook; and sisters Soon-Ja, In-Ja and Hee-Ja.

[email protected], 402-444-1272

LINCOLN — Under the glare of the television cameras, to a nationwide audience on C-SPAN, then-freshman U.S. Rep. Bill Barrett touted the benefits of Nebraska’s nonpartisan, unicameral legislature.

“I come out of a State Legislature which is technically nonpartisan. I served four years as speaker of that institution. I know that bipartisanism can work,” Barrett told reporters during a scandal involving the House post office in 1992.

That was Bill Barrett, said those who knew the Lexington, Nebraska, native.

He served 10 years in the U.S. House and 12 in the Nebraska Legislature.

As a Republican, and former state GOP chairman, he had his views. But he was willing to listen to other viewpoints and work together to solve problems, friends and colleagues said.

“He understood that you could have good-faith differences of opinion and that people of good will could compromise and could accomplish an enormous amount,” said Senior U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf, a longtime friend. “He thought the job is to get stuff done. Not to fight.”

Barrett, 87, died Tuesday night at an assisted living center in his hometown.

A celebration of life service is scheduled for 11 a.m. next Wednesday at First Presbyterian Church in Lexington, where both he and his wife of 63 years, Elsie, served as deacons. A visitation is set for Tuesday from 5 to 7 p.m. at Reynolds Love Funeral Home, also in Lexington.

Flags across Nebraska were ordered to be flown at half-staff on the day of his service, and tributes flowed in from politicians across the state.

One of Barrett’s children, Elizabeth Barrett of Gothenburg, said her father died of natural causes. Only a month earlier, she had accompanied her parents on a trip to the mountains of Colorado. “I think it was just his time,” she said.

Barrett was a Navy veteran and graduate of Hastings College. He played stand-up bass and trombone in traveling dance bands until he met and married his wife while stationed in New London, Connecticut.

The Barretts eventually returned to Lexington, where Bill sold real estate and insurance. He served on the Republican National Committee during the 1960s and was the chairman of the Nebraska campaign for Gerald Ford’s presidential run in 1976.

In 1979, then-Gov. Charley Thone appointed him to a vacancy in the Nebraska Legislature.

Barrett didn’t plan to run for re-election but grew to like the job, and he stayed for 12 years, the final four as speaker, the top leadership post in the 49-seat Legislature.

While there, he was instrumental in the hiring of a young attorney from Lexington, Richard Kopf, to represent the Legislature during hearings over the $65 million collapse of Commonwealth Savings Co. in Lincoln.

Former State Sen. Dennis Byars of Beatrice said that as a politician, Barrett was sometimes wrongly portrayed as being “hard core.” But when it came to the needs of the handicapped, a major concern for Byars, Barrett listened.

“He was always interested in the dollars, but he cared,” said Byars, now a Gage County Board member. “Bill Barrett had a big heart.”

He was ready to end his political career in 1990 when then-U.S. Rep. Virginia Smith decided against seeking re-election as representative for central and western Nebraska in the House. Barrett bested five other Republicans in the primary and edged then-State Sen. Sandi Scofield, a Democrat, in the general election.

In Congress, he was elected president of his freshman congressional class, a group that included Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, who eventually became speaker of the House. Barrett held monthly lunches in his office with his class. He also presided over a bipartisan prayer breakfast that met weekly, and he eventually was appointed chairman of the National Prayer Breakfast, a yearly spiritual event that draws thousands of people to Washington.

Barrett rose to vice chairman of the Agriculture Committee but may have been best known for co-authoring the 1996 Freedom to Farm Act.

Former U.S. Rep. Doug Bereuter, R-Neb., who served in Congress with Barrett, said that despite the “partisan emotions and acrimony” in Washington, he never heard Barrett “say a nasty word about anybody or their motives.”

“Bill Barrett is the kind of person we need in public affairs,” Bereuter said.

Anna Castner Wightman, a longtime aide to Barrett in Washington, said her boss was most proud of his work in helping constituents untangle the red tape of bureaucracy. She recalled one case in which Barrett and others were able to get government benefits to the family of a worker killed while cleaning the Washington Monument. Another case involved clearing the way for a Nebraska family to adopt a girl from Romania.

“He was very happy and very committed to being the best representative for the 3rd District, and didn’t care about publicity,” said Jeri Finke, Barrett’s chief of staff in Congress. “He did not care about a ‘60 Minutes’ interview. He would always ask me, ‘Does this help the 3rd District?’ ”

Castner Wightman said Barrett told her that one of his biggest disappointments in Washington was not getting a campaign finance bill passed to prohibit non-disclosed “soft money” contributions and return “elections to the voters by reducing the role of special-interest money.”

Eventually, Barrett grew frustrated with the bitter partisan wars that grew after a new and more aggressive wave of Republicans, led by Newt Gingrich, was elected and became the majority in the House.

Barrett was not averse to crossing the House chamber to talk to Democratic friends on “the other side of the aisle,” those interviewed said. But that was a gesture of friendship that was increasingly falling into disfavor.

Barrett, at the time, wrote that it was a privilege and honor to serve in public office, but the work had become “hard, humbling and frustrating.”

“I decided I needed more time for my No. 1 priority — my family,” Barrett said. “I’m at a point in my life where I’d rather start my day with ‘good morning, Grandpa’ instead of ‘good morning, congressman.’ ”

In a 2000 story in The World-Herald, then-U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey, D-Neb., described Barrett as totally trustworthy.

“He’s not a screamer. He doesn’t pound the table,” Kerrey said at the time. “But whatever he tells you he’s going to do, he’ll do.”

Kerrey added that when he served as Nebraska governor, Barrett, as speaker of the Legislature, was an important ally in overcoming a big budget deficit during the farm crisis of the 1980s.

Kerrey said Barrett could have made political hay out of the state’s budget problems and the painful budget cuts and tax increase that followed, but he didn’t.

“He didn’t vote for everything. But he understood that some pretty drastic things had to happen, and he helped me out,” Kerrey said.

Bruce Rieker, a former Barrett aide who works for the Nebraska Farm Bureau, said his boss “always said Washington was 10 square miles surrounded by reality. He never got Potomac fever.”

Congress was a big contrast from the Nebraska Legislature, Barrett said in a 2000 interview. Elected officials were good friends in Lincoln, he said. “It’s part of an overall basket of reasons why it’s time for me to leave,” he said. “I don’t have to put up with this.”

In addition to his wife and daughter Elizabeth Barrett, other survivors include a sister, Marjorie Hewitt of Lincoln; sons William Barrett of Cupertino, California, and David Barrett of Omaha; daughter Jane Marie Sarnes of Lincoln; and three grandchildren.

[email protected], 402-473-9584

He woke up early every morning to sip coffee, play shuffleboard and shoot the bull with regulars at the bar. His bar.

Sam Piccolo, who operated Piccolo’s at 13328 Millard Ave. for 49 years, died Saturday surrounded by his children and grandchildren. He was 90.

“He was a great man. He was my best friend, and he lived a long, good life,” said his son, Tim Piccolo, who owned the bar with his dad.

“Sammy” Piccolo was the youngest brother of Anthony Piccolo, owner of Piccolo Pete’s restaurant, which closed earlier this year.

Family meant everything to Piccolo, his children said. He was a devoted patriarch who often handed out money and candy to his children and grandchildren, said daughter Monica Haecker. He could always be found in the stands at the kids’ baseball games or dirt bike races.

He was proud of his family’s Sicilian heritage and dreamed of visiting Italy, Haecker said.

Piccolo served in the U.S. Army during World War II, earning two Purple Hearts. One of them, Haecker said, came from shrapnel wounds he sustained when the man next to him was blown up. He was sent back to the United States to recover, and then returned to keep fighting.

“He did tell me that no 18-year-old person should ever be sent to war,” Haecker said. “It was a tough experience for him.”

In 1967, Piccolo opened his bar in Millard. He continued to operate the bar until just a few months before his death. As he entered old age, his children told him he should start taking it easy.

“He loved tending bar. He loved it,” Haecker said. “He liked the people and being busy.”

Piccolo was born in Omaha on Feb. 16, 1926. He attended Technical High School.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Jane Piccolo; daughter Kathleen Reiss; and son Patrick Piccolo.

Other survivors include daughter Elizabeth Muenster; special friend, Mary Lee Hogan; sister, Josephine Fischer; six grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.

A visitation will begin at 5 p.m. and a wake at 7 p.m. Wednesday at John A. Gentleman Mortuaries and Crematory, 1010 N. 72nd St. Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at St. Pius X Catholic Church, 6905 Blondo St.

[email protected], 402-444-3131, twitter.com/blakeursch_owh

Her name was never on the storefront, but behind the scenes, Margie Swanson always made sure customers of Ernie’s in Ceresco were taken care of.

Swanson, who helped found the Ceresco, Nebraska, business with her husband, Ernest “Ernie” Swanson, was known as the popcorn lady at the furniture and appliances store.

“She’d be there with her sleeves rolled up, always helping customers with a bag of fresh popcorn,” said Dean Swanson, her son and current president of Ernie’s in Ceresco. “She was always wanting to make sure customers were taken care of properly. If they weren’t, she’d hand them a sack of popcorn and, believe me, the rest of us heard about it.”

Margie Swanson died Friday at her home in Ceresco. She was 95.

The title of “popcorn lady” was fitting, Dean Swanson said, because his mother was always eager to serve people — whether it was teaching Sunday school at the Ceresco Evangelical Covenant Church for 20 years or filling up her 1956 Ford station wagon with kindergartners and driving them to school.

“Right to the end she was worried about how others were doing, not herself,” Dean Swanson said.

She was especially passionate about caring for veterans. Swanson served as state president of the American Legion Auxiliary for Nebraska and as volunteer coordinator at the Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Lincoln. She and other volunteers would visit veterans in the hospital every weekend.

“She worked really hard for veterans. It was very important to her that they weren’t forgotten,” Dean Swanson said.

Margie Swanson was born in Omaha on Aug. 22, 1921. She graduated from Ashland High School in 1939 and went on to work at the Nebraska Ordnance Plant in Mead before she married Ernie Swanson in 1942. Soon after, the couple founded a small grocery store in downtown Ceresco.

Ernie was interested in selling more than just groceries, so he branched out to RCA television sets and eventually appliances and furniture, Dean Swanson said. The store, which has expanded several times as other downtown merchants have closed, will celebrate 70 years in business this year.

Margie Swanson is also survived by her daughter, Mary Pack, of Lincoln; five grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren. Ernie Swanson died in 1987.

Services will be Thursday at 10:30 a.m. at Ceresco Evangelical Covenant Church, 208 Pine St. in Ceresco.

Duane Acklie, who built one of the nation’s largest privately owned trucking companies and was a behind-the-scenes force in Republican politics for two generations, died Saturday afternoon in Lincoln.

Acklie, 84, was chairman of Crete Carrier Corp. when he died of complications from a number of health problems, said his son-in-law Tonn Ostergard, the company’s chief executive.

His funeral will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at First-Plymouth Church in Lincoln.

An adviser to presidents, supporter of candidates at all levels and friend of truck drivers, Acklie brought a commitment to integrity to both politics and business, said Ostergard, who is married to Acklie’s daughter Holly.

“He was a true gentleman and someone who really wanted to make sure he did it the right way and with integrity,” Ostergard said. “The relationships he built in business were really a testament to that. He had the respect of his peers, all the people he did business with. He was highly regarded.”

A native of Madison County, Nebraska, Acklie earned bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of Nebraska — graduating from law school in 1955 — and later a doctorate in law from Nebraska Wesleyan University.

After college he served two years as an Army officer, stationed in Germany for 20 months, and seven years in the Army Reserve. He never forgot the experience.

“When you’re overseas, you really lose contact with a lot of people,” he said in a 2012 interview. “I had to do a lot of scrounging to find the job that I wanted.”

He got the chance to help other veterans adjust to civilian life. Crete Carrier, a nationwide concern with 5,000 trucks, 13,000 trailers and more than a dozen truck terminals from Pennsylvania to Arizona, became a veteran-friendly employer.

“We want to do everything we can to help that service person coming back, to make sure that they have an adequate job available to them,” Acklie said.

The company began in 1966 using six leased trailers to haul Alpo dog food from a plant in Crete, Nebraska. At the time, Acklie was an attorney practicing with the Nelson, Harding, Acklie & Tate law firm.

He helped company founder Ken Norton incorporate the trucking company and later represented Norton in a pending sale in 1971.

When the deal fell through, Acklie and his wife, Phyllis, decided they would buy the business. Over the next eight years the company opened a new headquarters in Lincoln and made six acquisitions.

“We spent $135,000 for approximately 5 acres of hard-surface parking around the terminal,” Acklie said, according to a company history. “It was almost unheard of to spend that much money for just a place to park trucks. Our whole family pitched in, and we received no salary in 1973.”

Besides expanding the trucking business, Acklie had longtime investments in banking, insurance, agriculture and other enterprises. He also served on several corporate boards, including Behlen Manufacturing, FirsTier Financial, Aliant Communications, Central Freight Lines and Hunt Transportation.

He was Crete Carrier’s CEO until 1991. Phyllis served as vice president, secretary and board member. They had been married for 62 years.

When the company reached its 50th anniversary in June, Acklie was there to enjoy a gala celebration at the Pinnacle Bank Arena.

As his business career grew, so did his political involvement, starting from joining the Young Republicans in college.

“He was identified early as a leader in the party, just through his hard work and tireless efforts on behalf of the party,” Ostergard said. “It earned him a lot of recognition and responsibilities that he enjoyed over the years.”

Acklie was a longtime national committeeman representing Nebraska and, for a time, was vice chairman of the Republican National Committee. He was an adviser to both Bush presidents but also helped local candidates and those seeking and holding statewide offices.

“He was a tireless worker for Republican politics on the local, state and national level,” Ostergard said. “There wasn’t anything he wasn’t willing to work hard for. To him, every candidate was important.”

Acklie was appointed chairman of the International USO, chairman of Sallie Mae and a senior adviser to the United Nations. He helped Sallie Mae, the Student Loan Marketing Association, become a private entity.

He had been chairman or board member of the American Trucking Association, the Lincoln and Nebraska Chambers of Commerce, the Nebraska State Highway Commission, the Nebraska Economic Development Commission, the American Transportation Research Institute, the University of Nebraska Foundation and the George W. Bush Presidential Center.

The Acklie Charitable Foundation is a founding benefactor of the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center at the Nebraska Medical Center.

His awards included the U.S. Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service, the highest such recognition for a civilian. In 2010 presidential adviser Karl Rove was among those who came to Nebraska to honor Acklie at a GOP event.

Acklie may have thought about running for office, Ostergard said, but he had a business career.

“He was equally or even more effective behind the scenes,” Ostergard said. “Sometimes he was a person who could help get things done, and maybe he was more effective than someone in elected office.”

Getting along with people was part of his character in business, too, Ostergard said.

“He was an adviser to both Bushes as president, but Duane also had a common touch with our drivers. He had that unique ability to just connect and be genuine with people at all levels. He had a deep compassion and empathy for our drivers. Duane treated everybody the same, with dignity and respect.”

Acklie and his wife spent many winters at a vacation home in Naples, Florida. The two enjoyed traveling, and in earlier years enjoyed snow skiing and taking fishing trips with friends.

Shortly before his death, the company hung a portrait of Duane and Phyllis Acklie in its boardroom. The photo was taken for the 25th anniversary of the company and had hung in their home.

“I told him the other night ‘This is the picture everyone sees when they come into the boardroom,’ ” Ostergard said. “ ‘You’re our chairman now and you’ll always be our chairman.’ That made him smile, to think he would have that enduring presence in the organization.”

Acklie also is survived by daughter Dr. Laura Schumacher and her husband, Jeff; grandchildren Andrew and Grant Schumacher, Halley Kruse and Winston Ostergard; and great-grandchildren Avery and William Ostergard.

Visitation is on Wednesday from 2 to 7 p.m. at Roper & Sons Funeral Home, 4300 O St. Memorial donations can be sent to the Wyuka Historical Foundation.

[email protected], 402-444-1080, twitter.com/buffettOWH

J. Brooks Joyner, the former executive director of the Joslyn Art Museum, has died.

His death Thursday at his home in Hellertown, Pennsylvania, followed a one-year battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease, said Louise Joyner, his wife of 33 years. He was 71.

Brooks Joyner served as the Joslyn’s executive director for eight years until 2009. When he arrived, he faced a $1.5 million deficit and ended his tenure with a surplus.

Under his leadership, the museum hosted several major exhibitions, including “Millet to Matisse: Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century French Painting from Kelvingrove Art Gallery, Glasgow” (2003), “Mir Iskusstva: Russia’s Age of Elegance” (2005), “Illuminating the Word: The Saint John’s Bible” (2006) and “Diego Rivera: Masterworks from the Museo de Arte del Estado de Veracruz” (2008-2009).

Joyner also oversaw the Joslyn’s 75th anniversary celebration in 2006 and the $10 million addition of the Peter Kiewit Foundation Sculpture Garden, completed in 2009, which spans 1.2 acres and includes four distinct outdoor galleries.

“It was the highlight of his career as a museum director,” Louise Joyner said.

Jack Becker, the Joslyn’s current executive director and CEO, said Joyner had a marked impact on the direction and development of the museum into the 21st century.

“He was an exceptional art historian, but also keen on developing the museum’s exhibitions and programming with an eye to invigorating attendance,” Becker said.

Longtime friend Rod Jewell of Omaha met Joyner through the St. Cecilia Cathedral and also coached Little League alongside him.

“He was a true Renaissance man. Not a lot of guys in a dugout could talk about Monet and French Impressionism,” he said. “Brooks did a lot of good for Omaha. When he took you through the Joslyn’s galleries, you felt like a friend was giving you a tour.”

Joyner was born in Baltimore. He received his bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in art history from the University of Maryland in 1966 and 1969.

He then spent 40 years championing the visual arts. Prior to joining the Joslyn in 2001, he served as director at numerous arts organizations, including the Nickle Arts Museum in Calgary, Alberta; the South Bend Art Center in Indiana; the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts in Alabama; the Vancouver Art Gallery in Canada; and the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

He also taught art history at the City University of New York, Towson State University in Maryland, the University of Calgary in Canada and the University of Alberta in Edmonton.

In 2010, Joyner became the president and CEO of the Allentown Art Museum, where he oversaw a $15.5 million renovation to the facility. In 2013, he became director of the Nicolaysen Art Museum in Casper, Wyoming, where he worked until 2014. He stepped down to become an independent art consultant and author.

In addition to his wife, Joyner is survived by his son, Jonathan, and daughters Isabel and Shelly.

Private services will be held Tuesday at St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Roman Catholic Church in Hellertown. Interment will take place in Baltimore.

NORFOLK — It was in 1992 when Clayton Andrews answered a phone call that would impact the rest of his life — and the lives of countless others, too.

On the line was the Rev. Ray Wilke of Grace Lutheran Church in Norfolk. He wanted to know if Andrews was willing to be a key part of a new effort to help people in need across the world.

“Yes, we can do that,” was Andrews’ reply.

As owner of Andrews Van Lines of Norfolk, Andrews had vast experience in shipping goods and general commodities, as well as moving military families, worldwide. The initial task was arranging for a shipment of donated clothes and quilts to Latvia.

From that successful first shipment, the Norfolk-based Orphan Grain Train humanitarian ministry organization was born.

But on Thursday, the Orphan Grain Train lost one of its co-founders when Andrews died at the age of 96 in Madison, Nebraska. His funeral is set for Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. at Grace Lutheran Church in Norfolk.

Ghazi Sawaged moved to America without knowing anyone. He had few belongings and little support.

“He always said that he hoped others would have health and financial prosperity,” daughter Suhair Sawaged said. “He hoped the best for others even before himself.”

Ghazi Sawaged, 81, of Omaha died of congestive heart failure Sept. 7.

Sawaged left Jordan at age 28 to attend Arizona State University for engineering.

“He was enamored with the thought of coming to America,” Suhair Sawaged said. “He would watch American movies in black-and-white and read in the paper anything about America.”

During his early 30s, he visited family in Jordan. He returned with a wife.

“His mother was very concerned because he was not married,” Suhair Sawaged said. “She didn’t want him to marry someone in America because she feared he would lose his culture.”

A marriage was arranged between him and Amal. Shortly after, she moved to America to start their life together.

Sawaged left school to work more and support his wife as well as his family back in Jordan. He sold tapestries and artwork from the trunk of his car to make a living. The couple later moved to Omaha. They were nearly out of money.

They met a man who suggested Sawaged apply at Western Electric. A few days later, he started working as a quality-control specialist. He retired from the company in 2001.

Sawaged treasured time with his family. He enjoyed playing card games and backgammon, watching classic movies and scoping out the stock market.

He developed early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, and daughter Tamie Sawaged moved home from South Dakota to care for him during the last three years.

“The priest gave a speech about him and called him a saint because of his attributes,” Suhair Sawaged said of the vigil held Sunday. “He looked up the meaning of his name and Ghazi means winner. His impact to the community was really far-stretched and people from all over came to pay their respects.”

Besides his wife and daughters Suhair and Tamie, Sawaged is survived by daughters Tanya Tyrcha, Jacquelyn Scebold, Heather Akers and Lisa Sawaged; son Joseph; nine grandchildren; brother Dr. Ghassan Sawaged; and sisters Dhea, Jolait and Jurgette Tashman.

An 88-year-old Omaha man who was killed in a collision with a suspected drunken driver was “a thoughtful father, a loving husband and a gentle soul,” his son said.

Everts S. Sibbernsen died shortly after arriving at Creighton University Medical Center on Saturday evening.

A motorist who police said was drunk and high ran a red light at 120th and I Streets and collided with the car that Sibbernsen and his wife, Beverly Sibbernsen, 81, had hired.

Everts Sibbernsen had been a passenger in the back seat, and his wife in the front.

Beverly Sibbernsen was taken to Creighton with fractured ribs, police said. The hired driver, Thomas J. Sullivan, 66, of Omaha, suffered general pain and was taken to Bergan Mercy Medical Center. Neither his nor Beverly Sibbernsen’s injuries were considered life-threatening, police said.

The Sibbernsens, married nearly 40 years, had been on their way to the Omaha Country Club for dinner with friends, said their son, Michael Sibbernsen. His father was blind, and his mother had poor night vision, so they hired the driver, the son said.

The sedan they were in, a 2011 Lincoln Town Car, was northbound on 120th Street and passing through the intersection at I Street when it was struck about 7:15 p.m. by an eastbound 1997 Ford F-150, police said.

The pickup, driven by Kenneth J. Williams Jr., 53, of Omaha, drove into the intersection against a steady red traffic light, police said, while the Town Car had a steady green traffic light.

Williams was booked on suspicion of felony motor vehicle homicide. He suffered a minor facial cut, police said.

Funeral services for Sibbernsen were pending.

The Omaha native worked for family lumber and steel businesses before a career at the University of Nebraska at Omaha as program coordinator for community services in the College of Continuing Education. After retirement, he developed blindness from macular degeneration, despite several surgeries, his son said.

Everts Sibbernsen was a charter member and former president of the Omaha West Rotary Club, involved in the Masonic Lodge for more than 60 years and a board member for the Omaha Home for Boys for more than 30, Michael Sibbernsen said. He said his father was an avid golfer when he was younger and had one of the longest continuous memberships at Omaha Country Club.

The senior Sibbernsen also was a devout Husker football fan, a season-ticket holder for about 65 years.

He used to joke that he’d like his body to be cremated and his ashes spread over the 50-yard line at an Oklahoma game, Michael Sibbernsen said.

He said his father’s last conversation, with Sullivan, the hired driver, was about Saturday’s Nebraska-Wyoming game.

Additional survivors include his son James E. Sibbernsen of Ocala, Florida, and six grandchildren.

Omaha labor leader Terry Moore Sr., a tour de force of wit and political dealmaking, hardly sounded like himself on Friday.

The window shades were down. He didn’t want to leave his home. He couldn’t get through a conversation without breaking down.

His son Terry Jr., with whom he’d lived for nearly all of Terry Jr.’s 47 years, had died Wednesday after a heart attack in their living room. It was so sudden and unexpected.

“He and I were just inseparable,” said Terry Sr., who is 73. “Terry is ... was my life.”

Where you saw one Terry, the other was not far behind.

The father is practically a city father, who used his union role to help revitalize downtown. The son was born with what later would be diagnosed as Williams syndrome, a rare developmental disorder that affected how he’d grow and how his brain would work. The father was told the son wouldn’t read, wouldn’t write and wouldn’t do much. The son wound up doing all that and so much more.

The father employed all the skills he had honed as head of the Omaha AFL-CIO to lobby for his son. The son used all the skills he had to endear himself to Omahans, from labor union members to mayors. The father is witty and affable, with the Irish gift of gab. The son was exactly the same. The father hobnobbed with city power brokers. So did the son.

Terry Jr. grew up in Terry Sr.’s world of who’s who in Omaha — but he eclipsed his father with his distinctive personality. He got a job, which he held for over 20 years, as a clerk in the Douglas County Treasurer’s Office. He filed papers and delivered boxes and wore a suit with special lapel pins. In the massive City-County Building, connected to the Douglas County Courthouse, Terry Jr. got to know just about everybody. He could take a lunchtime catnap on a judge’s couch or interrupt whichever mayor was running the city. His access amazed even his father.

“He could walk up into the mayor’s office and say, ‘I want to talk to the mayor.’ I don’t care who it was, Hal Daub, anybody,” Terry Sr. said Friday. “And he’d get in there. Tim Dunning, the sheriff? Tim gave him an honorary small lapel pin. Same thing the police did. The chief of police put one on him. He was THE guy.”

I got to see that for myself in 2013, when I spent a day with Terry Jr. for a story. I found a man several years older than me who had a way better rock ’n’ roll vocabulary. We’d grown up with all the same bands, and though Terry Jr.’s tastes veered sharply into heavy metal — his favorite band was Kiss — he was impressively fluent in Duran Duran and any group that we’d listened to as kids on Sweet 98.

He was an Omaha Benson graduate, a Crossroads regular back when Crossroads was a happening place. And he could drive — which was a feat for someone who had spent seven years of his childhood in a stifling neck-to-tailbone brace.

Terry Sr. gave his son the basics in driving education, then sought a driving instructor who, shall we say, was a bit of a looker. Terry Jr. had an eye for the ladies and Terry Sr. really wanted his son to do whatever the instructor said.

Then, after Terry Jr. passed the test and got his license, Terry Sr. spent a year sitting in the passenger seat while his son drove them both to work in the morning and home from work in the evening. The Terrys did this in rush-hour traffic down Leavenworth Street to work and up Dodge Street to home. When Terry Jr. asked his dad for a lift to the Crossroads one day, Terry Sr. shocked them both by saying: You know how to drive. There are the keys. Call me when you get there.

“That was it,” Terry Sr. said. “At that point on, he was fully independent.”

He still lived at home, though. He still relied on what his father always called his sixth sense for separating friends from foes. Terry Jr. had gotten picked on as a child. Terry Sr. had told him: Buck up. That’s life. But don’t let it turn your heart. Every night they’d pray the “Our Father” together, and the father would tell the son that the line “we forgive those who trespass against us” meant two things: Don’t harbor a grudge; it will just hurt you. But don’t be a sucker, either.

The father found a way to give his son a rich life. The son returned the favor.

“He was so attentive. He loved four things: music, the weather, women and his dad,” said attorney Bill Eustice, who would take Terry Jr. to rock concerts, most recently to see Kiss founder Ace Frehley a couple of weeks ago at the Waiting Room. “His dad was at the top of his list.”

Father and son ate breakfast together. They marched in Labor Day parades together. They went on trips together. They ushered the 8 a.m. Sunday Mass at St. John’s, the Catholic church on Creighton University’s campus, together. They’d go to the Interlude Lounge and have cocktails with some local judges, together. Terry Jr.’s signature drink was a plain Coke with an olive and slice of lemon.

“Every single day, every day he’d get up. He’d come upstairs. He’d say to me, ‘Dad? Give your son a hug,’ ” a choked-up Terry Sr. recalled. “And I’d hug him. He was the most loving person I ever met in my life. He was kind. He was just so close to me and I loved him so much. I can tell you it was devastating after he passed. I was just paralyzed. I could hardly breathe.”

Terry Jr. had slowed down in recent years. He had stopped working and was taking disability. But he was still active and still checked out healthwise.

The Terrys had marched in the Labor Day parade in Omaha on Monday. They had partied at Septemberfest downtown. They had celebrated Terry Jr.’s 47th birthday on Tuesday, with the father scolding the son about carrying around $400 in birthday cash — Terry Jr. had “shook down” all his friends at Septemberfest the day before. Terry Jr. had retorted: It’s MY money.

On Wednesday, they were in their living room about 5 p.m. when son yelled to the father that his arm hurt, that his chest hurt.

Terry Sr. hollered to a nurse who is at the home to take care of Terry Sr.’s wife, Tania — Terry Jr.’s stepmother — who has leukodystophy and can hardly move. She needs a ventilator to breathe.

The nurse rushed in and laid Terry Jr. on the floor while Terry Sr. called 911.

The father watched, helpless, as paramedics shocked his son’s stopped heart back into rhythm. He followed the ambulance to Bergan Mercy Medical Center, where his son died about an hour later. He listened numbly to a phone call that came later that night as an organ donor specialist asked for permission to harvest Terry Jr.’s eyes. And kidneys. And more. He listened as the voice on the other end told him that Terry Jr. was going to help 50 different people.

The father thought how that would have pleased his son.

The father called his son “a bright light.”

The father called himself “lucky.” Lucky to have a child linger at home all these years. Lucky to have such a warm-hearted son, a best friend.

But he didn’t feel so lucky in grief.

Terry Sr. is divorced from Terry’s mother, Mary. He has had to bury a daughter and a granddaughter. He knows that time blunts the pain, but never fully heals it.

“Say a prayer for me if you would,” Terry Moore Sr. said. “You don’t have to pray for Terry. He’s with God. Pray for us who are left behind.”

Contact the writer: 402-444-1136, [email protected], twitter.com/ErinGraceOWH

Read Erin Grace's 2013 column on Terry Moore Jr.

Running an Omaha restaurant was a snap for a woman who as a child had helped the French Resistance during the Nazi occupation of World War II.

Simonne Balogh, 87, spent her last 50 years in Omaha, but grew up in Bourges, France. When France fell to the Germans, Balogh’s hometown of Bourges was occupied by troops, and thus began her role with the French Resistance.

“We lived about 5 miles from the demarcation line,” she told The World-Herald in 1988. “When I was 10 years old I began riding my bicycle, with my milk pail, into the non-occupied zone. I had permission from the Germans to go to a small farm to get milk.”

Balogh also carried money, messages and other things that were useful to the French Resistance forces and which could be concealed under the false bottom of her milk pail or between the inner tube and front wheel of her bike. She said she made the 10-mile round trip two or three times a week.

Balogh’s son said his mother didn’t make a big deal out of her wartime exploits.

“Mom didn’t talk about the war a lot,” said Steve Balogh, an attorney in Rockford, Illinois. “Her dad owned a garage, and she told us some things — like about the time the Germans came to make sure the gasoline tanks were all drained.”

Simonne Balogh died Aug. 29 of natural causes at her home, her son said. She made an anatomical gift of her body to the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

At the time of her death, Balogh was being cared for by longtime friend and former employee Jackie Saunders of Omaha.

“We so appreciate everything Jackie did for mom,” Steve Balogh said. “She would (say) ‘I promised you that I’d take care of your mom,’ and that’s exactly what she did.”

Simonne Balogh’s journey to Omaha started in Indochina. After working a stint in the postal service in Orleans and Paris, she joined the French army, which was fighting to save its colonies in Indochina.

The 95-pound soldier in the signal corps told The World-Herald that she was never wounded, although she was shot at several times, usually when she traveled with a convoy. One time she and a friend missed the convoy and drove five hours to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, only to arrive and find about 50 members of the convoy had been killed in an ambush.

At her next station, in Rabat, Morocco, Balogh met and married Lt. Stephen Balogh of the U.S. Air Force. He was later promoted to major and the family lived in several U.S. cities before arriving at Offutt Air Force Base in 1967.

Steve Balogh said his mother, who became a citizen in 1964, decided to open Simonne’s restaurant in the early 1980s after the couple divorced. She did whatever was necessary, whether as it was as a cook, bookkeeper, waitress, cashier or maitre d’.

“She would also sew and knit constantly,” her son said. “I think she made most of the clothes she wore.

“All three of us kids graduated from Benson High School, and mom was one of those parents that your classmates always wanted to talk to. I think they loved that accent.”

Simonne Balogh also insisted that her three children excel at whatever career they chose. Steve Balogh, the attorney, is admitted to practice before several jurisdictions, including the U.S. Supreme Court. His brother, Dr. Scott Balogh, is an associate professor of medicine at the University of Tennessee in Memphis.

Their sister, Shaula Balogh, was a model and dancer who died three years ago after a long illness.

Their mother was “old school,” Steve Balogh said.

“My mom was just 4-foot-11 but she obviously didn’t take any guff from anyone,” he said. “She always expected the best from us. She’d say ‘I don’t need to tell you I love you because you know that. But I am going to be in your face if you screw up.’ ”

[email protected], 402-444-1272

Prem Paul, sometimes called the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s “vice chancellor for enthusiasm,” died Friday.

Paul, 68, had been UNL’s vice chancellor for research for 15 years. He announced Monday that he was stepping down, and entered hospice care. He had endured a years-long bout with cancer.

Colleagues credited Paul, who was born in India, with having a profound impact on research at UNL. The amount of research support from the federal government, industry and other non-university sources shot up under Paul’s supervision, increasing to a UNL record $147 million in 2015-16 from $63 million in 2001. Eventually the term “economic development” was added to Paul’s title, and he became vice chancellor for research and economic development.

He wanted UNL and its faculty members to think big, one of his colleagues said. That colleague, Susan Fritz, said Paul inspired people with his energy and vision for UNL’s research mission.

“Prem was just incredibly positive, and his enthusiasm was infectious,” said Fritz, who was on the UNL faculty when Paul arrived. She is now executive vice president and provost of the NU system of campuses.

“He took us places that we didn’t even know we could get to,” Fritz said.

Harvey Perlman, who was UNL’s chancellor when Paul was hired, sometimes introduced Paul as the university’s vice chancellor for enthusiasm.

“He had an extraordinary passion and vision for where the university could go,” Perlman said Friday. Perlman stepped down from his role as chancellor this year and now is a faculty member in the College of Law. “Fundamentally, he changed the culture of this place.”

Perlman said Paul spent time in Washington, D.C., knew the program officers in the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health and Department of Defense, and introduced UNL scientists to those people. That’s how the Harvards and MITs do it, Perlman said, and Paul helped build UNL’s culture as a research university that way. This then attracted more scientists to UNL.

Perlman said Paul himself was a fine researcher in veterinary medicine, with special expertise in swine viruses.

Paul had been at Iowa State University in various faculty and administrative roles before coming to UNL. He quickly became a cheerleader and supporter of the UNL Research Fair, which celebrated faculty accomplishments and showcased students’ work.

Fritz said Paul loved to see researchers from different disciplines working together and encouraged collaboration among NU campuses.

Mike Zeleny, UNL’s associate vice chancellor for research and economic development, said Paul had diverse interests including science, health, agriculture, arts and humanities. His wife, Missi, is a painter whose works have been displayed in national shows. The Pauls have two children, daughter Neena of New York and son Ryan of Chicago.

Zeleny said Paul also loved Husker football, women’s basketball and other sports. He worked with former Husker football coach Tom Osborne and current UNL Athletic Director Shawn Eichorst to create a Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior at Memorial Stadium.

This week the office of research and economic development held its annual picnic, Zeleny said. A member of that team, Liz Banset, created new words for the song “There Is No Place Like Nebraska.” The words became “There is no VC like Prem Paul.”

Dozens of staffers and family members sang. Zeleny took the video of the performance to Paul on Wednesday night and showed it to him on his cellphone.

In the video, some of the staffers held a sign that read: “We Love You, Prem!”

Services are pending, the university said. A memorial has been established at the NU Foundation under the name Prem S. Paul Fund for Research Excellence. For information, call the foundation at 402-458-1100.

[email protected], 402-444-1123, twitter.com/rickruggles

Can't see the video? Watch it here.

We deeply mourn the passing of Dr. Prem Paul, VCR of UNL pic.twitter.com/IV4Iwqx5R9

Our hearts are broken. The @u_nebraska family is in mourning and will miss you, Prem. https://t.co/E0IhuD2PUo

@UNLincoln heart aches today. We will forever think BIG b/c of your biggest of Big Red hearts. #PremThinkBIG pic.twitter.com/aAQ0X2QxSS

Gerald “Jerry” Pabst never stopped to take a break.

He worked tirelessly to provide quality art courses to students in the Omaha Public Schools during his 31 years as district art coordinator. He occupied his weekends by hosting auctions and later opening Collector’s Choice Estate Sales 22 years ago.

“He was smart and knowledgeable about so many things,” niece Tami Johnson said. “He didn’t seem old. ... He was someone that knew everybody and had an interesting story about everything.”

Pabst, 79, died Friday after being diagnosed with esophageal cancer in May.

He grew up in Colby, Kansas, where he graduated high school in 1955. He attended Kansas State University for his undergraduate degree and obtained a master’s degree from Fort Hays State University.

After graduating, Pabst moved to Omaha, where he spent four years teaching art in the Omaha Public Schools. He was then promoted to district art coordinator.

He helped introduce discipline-based teaching to the art program in 1986 with the help of grant money from the Getty Center. The style integrated art history into regular art courses for students from kindergarten to high school. He also advocated for students to receive more time for art classes each week.

Pabst helped to create engaging projects for students, including painting construction boards that were displayed downtown and designing billboards that were featured throughout Omaha.

“He enjoyed being at school with the kids and getting their interest up about art,” Johnson said.

On weekends, Pabst and late longtime partner Bill Bures would hold estate sales. They purchased the former Center Theater 22 years ago and started their business, Collector’s Choice Estate Sales.

“Working was what he loved to do,” said Corey Poulsen, longtime Collector’s Choice employee and friend. “The estate sale business was his hobby. When he was still teaching he would do sales on the side.”

Family and friends say he could be found at the shop every day. He made it to every sale except the most recent two as his health declined.

Pabst grew up around horses and loved them. He enjoyed cooking and gardening. His garden was featured in the Meyer Children’s Rehabilitation Institute garden walk in 1988.

Besides Johnson, he is survived by brother Don Pabst, niece Staci Pabst, and nephews Tod Pabst and Shawn Pabst.

A memorial service will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Lauritzen Gardens, 100 Bancroft St.

Attorney John R. Sodoro spent his life helping the Omaha community.

Sodoro died of a heart attack Sunday at age 62.

“He was the finest human being I’ve ever known,” law firm partner Joseph Daly said. “It’s hard to say this about a lawyer, but I don’t think he had an enemy in the world. If you knew him, you liked him.”

Sodoro graduated from Omaha Creighton Prep and earned his undergraduate and law degrees from Creighton University. He graduated from law school in 1978 and became an attorney at a firm founded by his father, Emil Sodoro. He started as a law clerk there in 1975.

Much of his career at Sodoro Daly Shomaker & Selde PC LLO focused on personal injury claims, but he was also involved in general liability, negligence and criminal defense claims.

“He was compassionate in regard to his clients. Every one was personal to him,” Daly said. “He truly made a difference in people’s lives.”

Sodoro raised field trial dogs and enjoyed hunting and fishing. He also loved spending time with his family, Daly said.

He is survived by his wife, Chris Sodoro; children, Carlee Jordan, Annie Smith and Joseph Sodoro; grandchildren, Mia, Cece, Ben and Drew Jordan and Josie and Alex Smith; siblings, the Rev. Carl F. Sodoro, Michael A. Sodoro Sr., Susan Sodoro Selde, Patrick J. Sodoro, Meghan Sodoro Michelic and Thomas F. Sodoro; and stepmother, Janette L. Sodoro.

Visitation will be held today from 5 to 7 p.m. at Christ the King Catholic Church, 654 S. 86th St. in Omaha. A vigil will follow at 7 p.m. The funeral Mass will be Wednesday at 10 a.m. in the church.

With his cocked eyebrows, flashing eyes and baritone voice, Omaha actor-singer Joseph Miloni was a famous scene-stealer.

“But there was never a sense of one-upmanship,” said fellow performer Jim Boggess. “He was always there for you — just a joy to work with and fabulous on stage.”

The theater community is mourning Miloni’s death at 61. A longtime smoker with a heavy cough, he was found Aug. 18 in an Omaha motel room. A police report said he died of natural causes.

“He’d been having some issues, and friends told me he had labored breathing,” said his sister, Karen Smith of Mesa, Arizona. “He may have had pneumonia.”

Over more than four decades, wavy-haired, often-mustachioed Joe Miloni cut a distinctive and sometimes flamboyant figure on Omaha-area stages, winning numerous awards. He also starred offstage as a costumer from 1986 to 2003 at the Omaha Community Playhouse.

He was laid off amid budget cuts and ran a tuxedo shop for a few years, but friends said it didn’t succeed, and in recent times he had trouble finding work. That’s unfortunate, especially given his lifelong talents.

As far back as his mid-20s, a headline read: “Miloni Dominates Acting Awards.” That year, 1980, he was named Omaha’s best actor in a musical (“H.M.S. Pinafore”) and the best supporting actor in a comedy or drama (“The Mousetrap”).

World-Herald reviewers have called him an irrepressible ham, maniacally funny, comically talented, sly, hysterical and brilliant.

A review of “The West Side Waltz” said he “almost single-handedly saves the play,” and a writeup of “Black Comedy” said, “It is Miloni who carries this show.”

After an opening of “Gigi,” a reviewer wrote: “Score another triumph for Joseph Miloni as the debonair, worldly boulevardier, Honore. His swagger, strong singing voice and French-accent narration are the chief treat of the show.”

For that role, he won the Playhouse’s most prestigious honor, the Fonda-McGuire Award. But on many stages, he also won awards for acting, for singing and for dressing other performers.

Miloni grew up the son of a bar owner, graduated from Creighton Prep and attended Creighton University and the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Partly so he didn’t have to remember names, he enjoyed addressing people as Hon, Kid or Doll.

Carolyn Rutherford Mayo of Manhattan, Kansas, performed with him in Omaha and remembers him as “elegant ... a beautiful figure of a man.”

He had a rather long, pointy nose, she said, and when she portrayed his sister in the bawdy 18th-century “Tom Jones,” she had a makeup artist fashion a long, pointy nose for her, too.

His sharp features may have included a pointy nose, but he also had a sharp tongue. Said his “La Cage aux Folles” co-star Boggess: “He was not afraid to say exactly what he thought at exactly the moment he thought it.”

Joe was a gourmet cook, and when he needed a place to stay for a while, Rutherford Mayo and another actress once let him crash at their place in exchange for preparing meals.

“He was as flamboyant in cooking,” Carolyn said, “as in his performing.”

Kyle MacMillan of Chicago, who wrote for The World-Herald from 1986 to 2000, recalled visiting Joe’s tiny Omaha apartment and kitchen and marveling at how, in a small space, he had created a five-course French meal, with wine for each course.

He also had a great knowledge of movies, Kyle said, with lots of books and a framed photo of his idol, John Barrymore.

During the runs of shows, the drop of the curtain didn’t necessarily mean the night was over.

“Joe loved being out, loved running into people, loved to talk,” Kyle said. “He always had a retort, a comeback you wished you had said.”

Veteran actor Gary Bosanek recalled walking into an Old Market bistro with Joe, and jazz musician Preston Love stopped playing to say, “Ladies and gentlemen, the famous Joseph Miloni!”

If he ran into someone who said, “Joe, we were just talking about you,” he’d reply with a cocky smile: “It’s a fascinating subject, isn’t it?”

He always dressed for the occasion. Bosanek said that when Joe stage-managed “My Fair Lady,” he wore a suit every night except weekends, when he donned a white tie and tails; and for the Sunday matinee, a morning suit and an ascot.

Even for friends like Gary, Miloni as stage manager addressed them formally over the backstage intercom: “Mr. Bosanek to the stage, please.”

Some friends said they had lost touch with Joe. He didn’t perform from 2008 to 2013 while helping care for his dying mother, but returned in Brigit St. Brigit Theatre’s “The Heiress,” set in 1850 New York City.

In February at the Chanticleer Theater in Council Bluffs, Bosanek directed him in numbers from Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic musical plays.

Miloni loved quoting Noel Coward, Oscar Wilde and Shakespeare, so he well knew the Bard’s analogy of theater and life:

“All the world’s a stage, / And all the men and women merely players; / They have their exits and their entrances, / And one man in his time plays many parts.”

Joseph A. Miloni, a scene-stealer and at times a show-saver, delighted audiences with his talent and skill, and received many standing ovations. But his exit from life’s stage was quiet.

The police report listed his home as 1702 Nicholas St., which is the address of the Siena-Francis House homeless shelter. A spokesman there said Thursday, though, that there is no record that he ever stayed at the shelter.

Joe’s true home was on the stage. In death, friends and theatergoers will remember him as bigger than life.

A memorial service was Saturday at Holy Cross Catholic Church. Besides his sister, he is survived by brother Don Miloni of Omaha.

“Joe was delightfully crotchety, always quick with an acerbic remark,” said Warren Francke, who authored a history of the Playhouse. “Every time I saw him on stage, acting or singing, it was vividly memorable.”

Added former Playhouse publicist Betsye Paragas: “I call Joe the quintessential Omaha actor. He was amazing and could do anything on stage.”

Contact the writer: 402-444-1132, [email protected]

Sister Margaret Held, one of the two nuns killed last week in Mississippi, studied nursing at Creighton University in the 1980s.

Creighton is planning a Mass to honor the two nuns. The service is set for noon Friday, Sept. 2, at St. John’s Church.

A former professor who stayed in touch with Held said the nun felt called to serve the poor.

“She talked about the great poverty of the area she was working in,” said Beth Furlong, a retired Creighton nursing professor. “She was committed and compassionate.”

Held and Sister Paula Merrill, both 68 and nurse practitioners, were found dead Thursday morning when they didn’t report to work at a nearby clinic in Lexington, Mississippi, where they provided flu shots, insulin and other medical care for children and adults who couldn’t afford it.

Held, who was from Wisconsin, had been a member of the School Sisters of St. Francis in Milwaukee for 49 years “and lived her ministry caring for and healing the poor,” a statement from the order said. A spokesman for the order said Held spent most of her career in Mississippi.

Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki said whoever killed Held “robbed not only the School Sisters of St. Francis, but also the entire church of a woman whose life was spent in service.”

Held was a student in a one-year accelerated nursing program at Creighton, Furlong said. After she graduated from Creighton with a bachelor’s degree in nursing in 1981, Held worked as a community health nurse for two years with the Visiting Nurse Association in Omaha.

Bridget Young, the association’s chief operating officer, worked with Held and said she was committed to helping people receive medical care and any other assistance they needed.

“She was dedicated to serving the underserved,” Young said.

Held and the other nun were by all accounts some of the most friendly, helpful people in their Mississippi town, cooking and caring for anyone in their poor community — making the slayings all the more puzzling.

Their car was found abandoned a mile away from their home, and there were signs of a break-in.

Mississippi Department of Public Safety spokesman Warren Strain said in a statement Friday night that Rodney Earl Sanders, 46, of Kosciusko, Mississippi, has been charged with two counts of capital murder in the deaths of the nuns.

Lt. Colonel Jimmy Jordan said "Sanders was developed as a person of interest early on in the investigation."

Sanders is being held in an undisclosed detention center awaiting his initial court appearance.

Merrill had worked in Mississippi for more than 30 years, according to the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth in Kentucky. She was from Massachusetts and joined the order in 1979.

Two years later, she moved south and found her calling in the Mississippi Delta community, according to a 2010 article in The Journey, a publication by the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth.

This report includes material from the Associated Press.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1122, [email protected]

Shelton Hendricks fell in love with science as a child and spent his life sharing that passion by inspiring students and faculty.

Hendricks died Monday at age 75 after battling metastasized melanoma for nearly two years.

He began teaching at the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 1969 as an assistant professor of psychology and later became a professor of psychology. He also worked at the University of Nebraska Medical Center as a professor of psychiatry. At UNO, his roles included dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, associate vice chancellor for research, chair of the psychology department and dean for graduate studies.

“He was a model citizen of the university,” said Jeffrey French, professor and director of the neuroscience undergraduate program at UNO.

“He was a spectacular and inspiring teacher and a brilliant researcher. Whenever the university needed someone to fill an administrative role, he was always first in line.”

Hendricks was dedicated to working closely with students and researching behavioral neuroscience.

“He had an uncanny ability to recognize a diamond in the rough,” French said.

“He would accept students to work in his lab, not always but in some cases, that had lower GPAs or exam scores. He had the ability to recognize someone with talent who maybe had something happen in their lives that prevented them from reaching their potential during their undergrad, and a lot of them have gone on to be very successful.”

Hendricks developed the first Ph.D. program at the university while he served as chair of the psychology department.

“He really came to the university very early on and committed himself to the democratization of education and really getting students involved in neuroscience,” daughter Jennifer Hendricks said.

He was active in the American Association of University Professors, where French said he was “a champion for faculty rights” by helping confront issues with rational discussion and compromises.

Before his death he established the Shelton Hendricks Neuroscience Fund at the University of Nebraska Foundation to benefit future students.

He enjoyed running and participated in marathons. He also liked sailing near his cottage at Spirit Lake, gardening and traveling.

Hendricks was active at the First Unitarian Universalist Church, where he helped organize the Holland Lecture series. He was a supporter of the Nebraska ACLU.

His son Michael also is involved in neuroscience and teaches at a university in Montreal.

“We lived near the university, and he had animals in the lab, so he’d have to go over there to take care of them,” Michael Hendricks said. “So as a little kid, we would go with him to the lab and see the animals, and he never pushed me, but I am now a scientist in a similar field. I wasn’t interested in it until the end of my undergrad, but I think it cultivated in me as a kid just to see the way he thought about things.”

He was born in New Orleans and graduated from Tulane University with undergraduate and graduate degrees. In 1968, he married Susan Swan Oderr Hendricks, who died in 2011. In February 2015 he married Andrew Stevenson.

Other survivors are son Steven Hendricks; brothers Thomas, Daniel and William Hendricks; and grandchildren Elinor, Elliott and Malcolm Hendricks.

A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Sept. 10 at the First Unitarian Universalist Church, 3114 Harney St. in Omaha.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1304, [email protected]

Robert Marcotte is remembered by family as a renaissance man — a man’s man with a great sense of humor who could tell a wicked story.

He served as president of Marcotte Insurance in Omaha and national president of Ducks Unlimited, a wetland and waterfowl conservation nonprofit.

Marcotte died of natural causes Tuesday at Bergan Mercy Medical Center. He was 91.

“He was on the boards of so many different organizations,” Marcotte’s son, Robert “Rob” Marcotte Jr., said. But one stood above the rest: “His greatest passion was waterfowl.”

Marcotte was the son of Omaha natives Emily and Lionel Joseph “LJ” Marcotte, who founded Marcotte Insurance. The company still operates from an office on West Dodge Road. The family is no longer connected to the company, but the Marcotte name lives on.

An alumnus of Creighton Prep and Georgetown University, Marcotte graduated from Creighton University School of Law in 1951. He became an accomplished general agent for Mutual of Omaha in addition to being president of Marcotte Insurance from 1957 until retiring in the early 1990s.

Marcotte’s daughter Barbara Marcotte Woodling said her father was most proud of his conservation work through Ducks Unlimited and other organizations.

Marcotte was active in Ducks Unlimited for six decades. He was elected Nebraska state chairman in 1957. He served on the national board of directors and was national president from 1980 to 1981.

Marcotte was dedicated to his passions, which included hunting waterfowl and aviation.

Some of the organizations he dedicated his time to include the Whooping Crane Trust Fund, Boone & Crockett Club, Audubon Society, National Rifle Association, Nebraska Historical Society and Omaha Airport Authority.

Marcotte served in the Army Air Corps as a second lieutenant during World War II when he was an aerial gunnery instructor. He owned planes and would pilot on many hunting and fishing adventures.

Woodling said her father “had an insatiable curiosity.” That curiosity and love of adventure took Marcotte all over the world.

“South America, Africa, Russia — you name it,” said Rob Marcotte, who accompanied his father to Zimbabwe. Marcotte visited China in the 1980s to advise a Chinese wildlife organization about wetland restoration.

He made sure to share his passions and curiosity with his five children. The family would take trips to the Cabin, their property along the Platte River near Yutan, Nebraska.

“He wanted us all to be familiar with how to function in the wild,” said Marcotte Woodling, who attributes her career in natural resources to her father.

His children remember family road trips where dad was a “walking historical marker.” Rob Marcotte said “he was always giving you a history lesson,”

Along with Rob Marcotte and Barbara Marcotte Woodling, Marcotte is survived by daughters Marian “Mimi” McClelland and the Rev. Susan Hazen and sister Laurette Naylor. He was preceded in death by his wife, Barbara W. Marcotte, and daughter Carol Marcotte Fick. A funeral Mass will be at 10 a.m. Monday at Christ the King Catholic Church.

Retired Bellevue Police Sgt. Michael Wayne Laufenberg dedicated his life to making his hometown a better place.

“He was a servant soul to the community,” Police Chief Mark Elbert said. “He spent hours upon hours of his own time and effort to make Bellevue what it is.”

Laufenberg served for 27 years at the Bellevue Police Department and 35 years at the Bellevue Volunteer Fire Department.

“He was a positive role model, he took pride in everything he did, and he loved what he did,” said his wife, Dana Laufenberg. “He was always there for you, he was someone that you could always count on. He wanted to make a difference in the world. He wanted to make Bellevue a better place.”

Laufenberg died Monday of a heart attack. He was 55.

He was born in Topeka, Kansas, but moved to Bellevue during his childhood and graduated from Bellevue East High School.

“He knew everyone, and everyone knew him,” Elbert said. “He was one of the names that’s a staple to the community.”

Laufenberg was a family man and enjoyed spending time with his three children and two grandchildren. He liked camping and spent summers on Linoma Beach in Ashland with his wife.

During his career, Laufenberg was involved in many different divisions of the Police Department.

“Because of all that he was involved in, a lot of the programs that he was working on were just getting started, so he was on the front end,” Elbert said. “His overall professionalism helped to bring us into modern policing. His footprint is a big part of who we are culturally.”

Laufenberg looked forward to experiences where he was able to interact and help community members firsthand, which is why Elbert said he thrived in the role of community policing supervisor.

“He cared really deeply about the town and you could tell that was what brought him the most joy,” Elbert said.

One of his favorite events was Bellevue’s annual Shop With a Cop, where officers were able to interact with children and help buy presents for families struggling financially during the holiday season.

Laufenberg helped train new officers and Elbert said he was regarded highly by his colleagues.

“He was like a father figure,” Elbert said. “He was the kind of person who would give you the shirt off of his back and do anything to help.”

Laufenberg’s outstanding service and dedication earned him multiple awards, including Bellevue Police Officer of the Year in 1990. He retired from the Police Department in 2011 because of health reasons.

Laufenberg spent much of his free time helping out at the fire hall with events and was passionate about fundraising for the department.

His children were inspired by his commitment to helping others and are pursuing careers that follow in their father’s footsteps. His son Micah is a paramedic, daughter Hallie is going into the medical field, and daughter Nikki works at the Police Department and hopes to become an officer.

Besides his wife and children, Laufenberg is survived by grandchildren Phoenix and Maddix; parents Richard and Kay Laufenberg; sister Gail Bollenback; and brothers Keith, James and Terry Laufenberg.

A visitation will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday and 10 to 11 a.m. Friday at Bellevue Memorial Chapel. The funeral service will begin at 11 a.m. Friday at the chapel.

Peter Suzuki, a longtime University of Nebraska at Omaha professor, is remembered as a man who cared for his students across the world.

Suzuki joined UNO in 1973 after teaching at universities in Turkey, Crete and West Germany. He served as chairman of UNO’s urban studies department in the College of Public Affairs and Community Service and retired in 2002. Throughout his educational career, Suzuki was awarded 15 fellowships and grants, including two NATO fellowships and a Fulbright grant.

Suzuki died Monday of complications related to pneumonia. He was 87.

Pat Loontjer was friends with Suzuki for 35 years. She described him as “absolutely brilliant,” “modest” and “the most gracious, kind man.”

Loontjer said Suzuki was a tiny man with a big heart. Most holidays, Suzuki, who Loontjer said was a gourmet chef, hosted foreign exchange students at his large Elkhorn home for meals.

“Students from all over the world were still in contact with him,” Loontjer said.

Former students have been sending letters and emails since Suzuki’s death, recalling “a fabulous mentor,” she said.

Suzuki was born in 1928 in Seattle. When he was 13, Suzuki and his family, who were Japanese-American, were confined in an internment camp by the United States War Relocation Authority for 2½ years.

After World War II, the family eventually moved to New England. Suzuki went on to earn his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in anthropology from Columbia University in New York City. After studying at Johns Hopkins University and Yale University, Suzuki earned a mater’s degree in philosophy and a doctorate in anthropology from Leiden University in the Netherlands.

During his career, Suzuki also served as consultant on projects for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Army and Air Force, and the United Indians of Nebraska.

Suzuki’s wife, Carol, died 18 years ago. The two met when she was studying abroad in Germany and Suzuki was teaching. The couple enjoyed traveling the world together, often going on cruises.

Loontjer said Carol was a “hell raiser,” active in politics, helming campaigns and writing letters to the editor. Suzuki was quiet and mild-mannered.

“They were like salt and pepper, but they adored each other,” Loontjer said.

The couple also enjoyed animals, adopting stray cats and birds during their time together. Near the end of his life, Suzuki still had a large orange cat named Winston, a final living connection to his deceased wife.

Suzuki and Carol were active members of the German American Society, attending weekly events and helping out wherever they could.

“He was the first one there and the last to leave,” Loontjer said.

A plaque at the club deems Suzuki a lifetime member.

Suzuki is survived by his son, Wesley Suzuki, and siblings James Suzuki and Sally Oyabe.

A service is planned for 11 a.m. Friday at Christ Community Church.

Contact the writer: [email protected]; 402-444-1151

Looking at a gravesite, most think of the deceased. Many think of family and friends left to grieve.

Few think of the men and women who carved the tombstone.

Pamela Jane Delezene Potter worked for years engraving memorials and monuments for J.F. Bloom & Co. Often it was her hand tracing out the letters and designs that would be etched in stone.

Potter, of Carter Lake, died Aug. 11 after a prolonged illness. She was 69.

She took pride in her work, said her husband, Ron Potter. On more than one afternoon the couple drove around the metro area, photographing Pamela with some of the pieces she helped to create years ago.

Huge slabs welcoming visitors to Carter Lake. A memorial for fallen officers near the Omaha Police Headquarters. A sign for St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery.

But the job wasn’t always easy for her, said her daughter, Michelle Potter. Once, when Pamela was just starting out, she was working on a tombstone for a child. Noticing the dates — so close together — she started crying.

Pamela’s mother, who also worked at the company, encouraged her daughter to keep her mind on the stencils. Otherwise, her mother said, she’d be in tears all day.

Sometimes she would demonstrate her work for families visiting the business, said Tim O’Neill, sales manager and former owner of J.F. Bloom & Co. “She was always so kind to them. Families always appreciated that.”

Her mother was a hard worker, Michelle said. She memorized the prices of items at Harold’s Supermarket, where she also worked for many years, in the days before bar codes. When the family ran a doughnut shop years ago Ron and Pamela often would wake up about 4 a.m. to start making the doughnuts.

In her free time Pamela was a devoted grandmother who taught her grandchildren how to make flower arrangements and other crafts, Ron said.

A memorial service is scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday at Community in Action Christian Fellowship, 634 Willow Ave. in Council Bluffs. A potluck meal will follow.

Pamela Potter is survived by her husband, Ron Potter; children, Michelle Potter, Bryan Potter, Kenneth Potter and Dawn Griffin; sister, Linda Gallagher; brother, Richard Delezene; 15 grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

Contact the writer: 402-444-3131, [email protected], twitter.com/blakeursch_owh

His death shocked his friends even though his health had been failing for years.

Rich Koeppen had suffered ministrokes, a bum knee, colitis and worst of all, the “damned dementia,” as he called it.

Still, it seemed like Rich, who was 73, would get more time — that everyone who knew him and loved him would get more time and more Rich, with his barbed wit, righteous indignation and generous spirit.

Instead, we got phone calls and text messages earlier this month to which the only response was: Really? Now? So soon?

Death always seems to come too soon. For this former homeless shelter director, it came some time between July 29, when a friend talked to him on the phone, and Aug. 1, when police entered his apartment. A neighbor noticed that Rich’s car hadn’t moved in three days. Rich was always going somewhere. The neighbor’s calls had gone unanswered for three days. Rich’s phone was practically an extension of his body.

That’s how Omaha police wound up in Rich’s apartment. He was found dead in his recliner. Police do not view the death as suspicious; the family has requested an autopsy.

A cousin, Rosemary Holeman, said Rich’s dementia had worsened in recent weeks.

It was a small comfort that when Rich’s good friend, Father Pat McCaslin, had gotten word, he raced to Rich’s apartment in north Omaha, talked his way past the officers and prayed over Rich’s body. McCaslin will celebrate a special Mass for Rich on Thursday at 6 p.m. at Holy Name Catholic Church.

“Rich was a great character, you know?” said Father Pat. “Holiness on the one side and craziness on the other.”

Rich was holy for serving the poor. Crazy for doing so, often to his own detriment.

“Rich is an example of someone so often giving others the shirt off his back, that he ended up in poverty as a direct result,” said Del Bomberger, who, like Rich, ran a homeless shelter in Omaha. “Rich accepted poverty as the price for service to others. His commitment was complete.”

How complete?

He was nearly homeless and wound up at the Leo Vaughan Manor in north Omaha, where low-income people can live at a reduced rate. Rich had to borrow money from friends, including Del, although Del said Rich always paid him back.

One time, Del said, he gave Rich a “quick loan of just a few bucks” which Rich turned around and gave to a homeless man who’d asked for help, just as Rich was leaving Del’s office at the Stephen Center shelter in South Omaha.

“I never knew Rich to not give money to anyone who asked,” Del said.

[Read Erin Grace's 2013 column: Champion of poor hits hard times, but he's not complaining]

Rich was generous in other ways. He gave his time, once quitting his lucrative job in Chicago to move back to Omaha in the early 1980s to care for his ailing parents until their deaths several years later.

He was generous about serving the homeless, whom he called “guests.” He liked to refer to the shelters he ran as “the hospitality business.”

“Rich was in solidarity with the poor and the poorest,” said Tim Sully, who used to volunteer at the now-defunct Anthony House, a men’s shelter Rich ran — and lived in — near 16th and Locust Streets. “He not only served the ‘guests,’ he literally lived with the ‘guests.’ ”

Rich also headed the St. Vincent de Paul Family Shelter, later called the McAuley Center for Women and Families. That north downtown shelter closed, too.

Rich was born in Omaha, graduated from Holy Name and attended Creighton University. He served in the U.S. Army Reserve during the Vietnam War but was not sent overseas. For a while, he also studied to be a priest.

In the late 1970s, Rich started marketing insurance for Hartford Life in Omaha and then worked for International Telephone & Telegraph. Eventually, he started his own business in the Chicago area, offering insurance, investments and retirement planning.

He lived the high life there until his parents got cancer. Rich sold his business and, after his parents died in 1984, he entered “hospitality” work. That ended in 2007, and Rich worked other human service jobs until his health worsened and he retired.

Rich was engaged three times but never married. He never had children.

Though he may have devoted himself to others, he was no doormat. Rich had a biting sense of humor, often poking fun at himself. He laughed often and found joy in absurdity. He doggedly followed the news.

He also had such a strong sense of justice that he could be difficult. He’d argue and press. His righteousness could get him crossways with others, including the law. Rich once served six months in a federal prison in Duluth, Minnesota, for illegally re-entering Offutt Air Force Base during a demonstration against nuclear weapons.

His cousin described Rich as a “thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle.”

“Everyone knew Rich,” said Rosemary Holeman. “But no one knew the whole puzzle.”

I wouldn’t pretend to. But I did enjoy his company. Every so often, Rich, Del, my colleague Christopher Burbach and I would meet for breakfast at a local greasy spoon.

Rich always seemed to know the waitresses by name and by story. He’d ask them about this or that in their lives. It was yet another small but sincere gesture of his humanity, which came so naturally.

When I wrote about Rich’s struggle with dementia and poverty in 2013, he resisted being cast as any kind of saint.

Because, he said, “I’m not.”

Others, however, might disagree.

Del called Rich “the best person I think I’ll ever have the privilege of calling my friend.”

Father Pat called Rich “thoroughly good.”

“That’s the only way I could describe it,” the priest said. “In his holiness and in his craziness, a thoroughly good fella. A rare bird.”

Contact the writer: [email protected], 402-444-1136, twitter.com/ErinGraceOWH

Marcia Kay Regan accepted children regardless of their background, their situation or who they were, said her husband, Michael Regan.

She taught for years at local Catholic schools, where she believed she could best guide students for the better.

Marcia Regan died of an aggressive form of ovarian cancer Aug. 10 at age 50.

She spent her whole life in Nebraska. She was born and raised in Omaha and graduated from Marian High School in 1984. She earned degrees in music and art from Hastings College in 1988. She started teaching in Lincoln before spending 28 years teaching at Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Omaha.

Marcia encouraged as many as she could to play instruments, her husband said. She played the oboe and the flute, and she viewed music as her way of contributing to her faith and churches, he said.

“She didn’t like to sing, so she just played the instruments,” Michael Regan said, chuckling.

She taught at St. Bernard and St. Stephen the Martyr Schools. She was an award-winning educator, receiving a distinguished teaching award from the National Catholic Education Association.

David Peters, head of Mount Michael Benedictine High School, worked with her at three different schools. He began working with her at All Saints Catholic School in 1989 before hiring her years later at St. Bernard and St. Stephen.

“She’s just so phenomenal,” he said.

Peters said she wasn’t the type to announce she was a better Catholic than others. To her, practicing her faith was simply a matter of fact, he said.

Her husband said she preferred working with junior high-age students. At that age, he said, they could truly benefit from guidance in ways older or younger students couldn’t.

Michael Regan said he’d received quite a few letters from her students, each mentioning how great a teacher she was. He said he also heard over and over again from people who said Marcia had the ability to see the good in children, no matter their background, situation, behavior or who they were.

“It really seemed to her that she was making a real difference, making an impact on the kids,” he said.

Peters agreed, adding she wouldn’t expect anything less from students regardless of their situation. She would go to bat for her students, and they knew she had their backs. She was a devout Catholic who lived the religion’s ideals in everything she did.

“She was very Christian,” he said. “But it wasn’t lip service with her.”

Marcia was happiest when spending time or playing Barbie dolls with her granddaughter, her husband said. Michael Regan said she had nicknames for every niece and nephew in the family.

She also coordinated the annual Metro Catholic Schools Spelling Bee and was active with the Servants of Mary, a religious group for Catholic women.

In addition to her husband, Marcia is survived by her grandfather, Paul Filipi; her son, Chris Regan; her granddaughter, Charlotte Jo Regan; and her five siblings, Kevin, Bob and David Leahy, Jody Filipi, and Janet Janda.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1304, [email protected]

Dr. Stephen Budd liked to say he didn’t enjoy working, but he enjoyed helping his patients.

“He loved sitting down with a family and the patient and talking to them about who they were and their needs. And he really would spend a lot of time with patients, maybe more so than other physicians would,” said daughter Molli Budd, 27, of Omaha. “He really liked ... helping patients navigate through the really tough times.”

Stephen Budd, 58, died Monday following a stroke. He was an outgoing and gregarious person, and his daughters said Thursday that they had received an outpouring of condolence messages.

Oldest daughter Erin Lavery, 29, said she had received more than 300 Facebook and text messages, many of them from medical professionals who counted her father as a mentor.

Said Molli Budd: “My dad would walk into a room and he just wanted to be friends with everyone. ... When we went on vacations we would make friends with random people all the time.”

When they were younger, their father was their go-to person for problems with boyfriends or teachers, or questions about their future. Nurses and others medical professionals looked to him for career advice and mentorship.

“He just had the greatest advice. And no matter how busy he was, we would (be able to) just sit and talk with him,” said daughter Kelli Budd, 25. “And he would do that no matter who you were.”

Stephen E. Budd was born Jan. 28, 1958, and grew up near Wood River in central Nebraska. His parents farmed, and he began working at a young age, which his children said kept him down to earth.

“His parents provided a lot of love for him,” Molli Budd said. “But it was a really hard life, and it gave him a really hard work ethic from a young age.”

He studied chemistry at Creighton University, where he was in ROTC and worked his way through college as a resident adviser and a bartender. He tried to join a fraternity but couldn’t scrape together the $40 entrance fee.

While at Creighton he met his wife, Lori, as they both stood in a concession line of a home basketball game against Indiana State in which Larry Bird played. Budd graduated in 1980. The couple married in 1984.

After college came medical school, then his residency and service as an Army doctor. He left the military in 1993 and moved his young family back to Nebraska, working first in Grand Island, then Omaha.

Lori Budd died in November 2014 of breast cancer.

“I think people were really rooting for him after my mom died,” Lavery said. “I think it’s just kind of heartbreaking for everybody because (his death) was just really unexpected.”

Services for Budd will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church. He is also survived by son Joseph Budd, 19, and two brothers, David and Jerry.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1310, [email protected], twitter.com/nelson_aj

The woman who died after she and her dog were struck while crossing West Center Road had recently moved to Omaha, but she had already made an impact on her instructors at Nebraska Methodist College.

Cheyla Pettett, 29, came to the city this summer from Oklahoma to work on a master’s degree in occupational therapy. She was a graduate of the University of Oklahoma with a Bachelor of Science degree.

“She had such a passion for helping others,” said Dr. Melissa Kimmerling, director of Nebraska Methodist’s occupational therapy program. “Even in my brief time with Cheyla, her positivity and determination shone through. Those traits as well as the kindness she brought to every interaction would have made Cheyla an incredible occupational therapist. I’m so heartbroken for her family, her fiancé and for the many, many patients who would have benefited from her compassion in practice.”

Services for Pettett were held Monday at First Baptist Church in Atoka, Oklahoma. Interment was at the Boggy Depot Cemetery.

Police said Pettett was walking her dog Aug. 8 when she was struck by a car about 6 a.m. and critically injured near 90th Street and West Center Road. She died the next day at the Nebraska Medical Center.

Police said an eastbound Volvo sedan driven by Jon Thompson, 64, of Omaha struck Pettett and her dog as they walked north across West Center Road. The dog was killed immediately.

Police said that neither alcohol nor speed was a factor in the accident, and no tickets have been issued.

A mural in Nebraska Methodist’s new occupational therapy classroom will be dedicated to Pettett “as a means of honoring her spirit and the passion,” the school said in a statement Monday. Dr. Dennis Joslin, president and chief executive officer at Nebraska Methodist College, said he prays that Pettett’s loved ones find comfort in their time of sorrow.

“Cheyla’s determination was second to none, and it is an absolute tragedy that this ... took place just as she was getting ready to embark upon exciting new chapters in both her personal and professional life,” he said.

Pettett was recently engaged to “the love of her life,” Justin Singer of Galveston, Texas, according to an obituary on an Oklahoma funeral home’s website. She enjoyed learning, crafting, board games and audio books, it said.

In addition to her fiancé, Pettett is survived by her parents, Paul and Stephanie Pettett of Lane, Oklahoma; brothers, Sky Pettett of Oklahoma City and Wren Pettett of Kailua, Hawaii; grandmother, Reba Baker of Belton, Texas; and grandparents Joe and Ruby Rushing of Luella, Texas.

Donations to help the family with funeral expenses can be www.gofundme/cheylapettett.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1272, [email protected]

While Verne Welch will always be associated with the casino industry in Council Bluffs, former Mayor Tom Hanafan and a host of others were quick to note that his impact was far greater.

“I hope Verne doesn’t get categorized solely as a ‘casino guy,’ ” Hanafan said. “He was much, much more than that.”

Welch, a Bluffs native who returned home after 30 years away and became a civic leader, died Saturday at 79.

Welch joined the U.S. Navy after graduating from Thomas Jefferson High School in 1955, and he served in the intelligence field until 1968. After his honorable discharge he became a partner in a Los Angeles firm that helped locate employees for overseas contractors.

He returned to Council Bluffs in 1988 as part of a joint venture between Harveys and the Santee Sioux Tribe of Nebraska, but that project fell through.

“The fact that we didn’t do it was the best thing that ever happened,” Welch said in a May interview. “Because the casino would have been on sovereign Indian land, there would have been no tax revenue for the state of Iowa.”

Soon after, Welch and casino officials worked to persuade local officials and voters to allow gambling in Pottawattamie County. Their efforts succeeded, and Harveys and other casinos came to Council Bluffs.

“We wanted to provide more than just gambling,” he said. “We worked with local businesses to be sure we didn’t hurt them.”

Hanafan, who grew up across the street from Welch, once referred to him as “the guy who came home and changed the face of his hometown community.” The former mayor said Welch showed up in his office one day and said, “I want to build a casino in Council Bluffs. What do you think?”

Welch served as general manager of the Harveys Casino and Hotel until retiring when it was purchased by Harrah’s. He served as a consultant to Harrah’s after his retirement and was able to devote more time to the community.

He was a member of the citizen committee that recommended potential sites for a new police headquarters facility, an effort that culminated in a successful effort to gain voter approval of a $20 million bond measure to finance the facility.

He also was co-chairman of the successful fundraising effort to finance renovation and expansion of the Council Bluffs Community School District stadium and athletic complex.

He also served on the Children’s Square Foundation board, the Iowa West Foundation advisory council and with the Spirit of Courage Awards.

“His legacy is all-encompassing. He wanted Council Bluffs to be a better place than when he grew up, and he was willing to work to make it happen,” Hanafan said. “His passion was to make Council Bluffs and the metro area a better area. He was one of those rare people who come along from time to time, and his impact will be felt well into the future.”

Dick Holland’s number was listed in the phone book, and it wasn’t unusual for the Omaha philanthropist to take calls himself from needy people asking for help.

After talking with a person and taking down a name and number, he’d tell his assistant, “We need to find a way to help them.”

Holland, known for his charity, humor and common touch, died Tuesday night at age 95 after a short illness. His financial generosity backed his passion for arts, education and children’s causes.

“He had a passion to make our community better,” said David Slosburg, a friend and member of the Omaha Performing Arts board.

Many Omahans will remember Holland because his name is on the arts and entertainment center at 13th and Douglas Streets. He and his late wife, Mary were major donors to the Holland Performing Arts Center, which was completed in 2005.

John Niemann, senior vice president at the University of Nebraska Foundation, said Holland had a wide-ranging curiosity and lust for learning. He knew operas intimately, read everything from the New Yorker to newspapers to the New England Journal of Medicine, and he loved playing baseball as a boy and young man.

“He was really a Renaissance man,” Niemann said. “He was a gift to Omaha.”

Holland was a major donor to the Nebraska Democratic Party and to the successful drive in 2014 to raise the state’s minimum wage.

“He wasn’t a partisan Democrat,” said Vince Powers, the state party chairman. “He recognized the Democratic Party was a vehicle to help the powerless.”

Holland described himself as “an agnostic and a liberal Democrat” who succeeded in conservative Nebraska through the good fortune of being born into an excellent family, marrying into another and reaping the rewards of a good education.

Bob Kerrey, a friend and former Nebraska governor and U.S. senator, called Holland a community builder.

Kerrey visited him at his home last week and said Holland, despite being ill, was still thinking about the big picture, even sharing his thoughts on the presidential campaign.

Kerrey said he asked Holland how he was feeling, and his friend said, “It’s just death.”

The comment, Kerrey said, showed not just Holland’s sense of humor but also that he was at peace.

“He lived a good life,” Kerrey said. “He was good to his friends, neighbors, community and his family. He did the best he possibly could.”

Holland also was known for expressing his appreciation for what others did to help Omaha. It wasn’t unusual for someone who helped a local charity or an organization that Holland supported to receive a handwritten thank-you note from him, said his daughter Mary Ann “Andy” Holland.

His stationery revealed two of his passions and his sense of humor. The top of each sheet read: “Dick Holland, Opera Buff and Nebraska Cornhusker Fan.”

His daughter said he was a kind, wise and playful father, who also wrote lots of letters to family members over the years. She especially remembers a note from when she was a young girl at summer camp. He wrote that he hoped she was having fun, and he ended the note: “P.S. Don’t bite the other children.”

Holland’s career centered on advertising, but he and his wife made most of their money by investing with Omaha financial guru Warren Buffett, beginning in 1961.

In a written statement Wednesday, Buffett said Holland “was a wonderful friend and partner for 60 years and an outstanding citizen both in respect to local and national activities.”

The Hollands’ donations benefited organizations including Opera Omaha, Omaha Performing Arts, the University of Nebraska Medical Center, the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the Child Saving Institute.

“Dick will be remembered for his warmth, sense of humor, fierce intelligence and curiosity, and most of all, for his profound impact on our community,” Joan Squires, Omaha Performing Arts president, said in written statement.

An Omaha native, Holland was born July 2, 1921. He graduated from Central High School and Omaha University. He majored in chemistry but left his studies to serve in World War II. He was a captain in the Army Chemical Corps.

After military service he returned to Omaha University to major in fine arts.

He was a college fencing champion and a co-author of a weekly Gateway school newspaper column titled “Political Scenery,” a role that inspired his lifelong appreciation and fascination with politics.

Holland married Mary McArthur in 1948, and the couple moved to their family home near 80th and Pacific Streets in 1957, where they lived the rest of their lives.

In 1957 Holland helped establish the Holland, Dreves, Reilly advertising agency. In the late 1970s, the agency changed its name to Swanson, Rollheiser, Holland Inc.; it had become the second-largest agency in Nebraska when Holland retired in the mid-1980s.

In a prepared statement, Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert said Holland “was a champion for the causes he believed in — children, education, medical advancements and the arts. Omaha is the fortunate beneficiary of his generosity and passion for our city. To his family and friends, we send our sympathy.”

John Gottschalk, retired publisher of The World-Herald, called Holland a great citizen of the community.

“His sense of humor, accomplished business career and devotion to those less fortunate were the trademarks which brought great respect and admiration to both Dick and his late wife Mary,” Gottschalk said. “Having been joined at the hip in the development, funding and building of the Holland Performing Arts Center, I came to know Dick Holland as just a great gentleman and a fun guy to be around.”

Holland and his wife, who died in 2006, had four children, including son Richard D. Holland Jr., known as Dean, who died at 20 in an auto accident in 1969. The Hollands had three daughters, Barbara Holland Kral of Hawaii; Nancy Holland Christie of Fort Worth, Texas; and Mary Ann “Andy” Holland of Omaha. Other survivors include five grandchildren and a great-grandchild.

The family is still working out details on services.

Contact the writers: 402-444-1122, [email protected]; 402-444-1123, [email protected], twitter.com/rickruggles

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“My heart is breaking over the loss of dear friend and OPA founding donor Dick Holland.”

— Joan Squires, Omaha Performing Arts president

“Dick Holland was a community pillar & cared deeply about Omaha. He will be missed. Our thoughts are with his family.”

— University of Nebraska President Hank Bounds

“Dick Holland’s generosity and love of the arts positively impacted Omaha and inspired generations of Nebraskans.”

— Rep. Brad Ashford

“Our deepest condolences to the Holland family. He was a community pillar and inspiration to many.”

— Retired Brig. Gen. Don Bacon, 2nd District House candidate

“Today is a sad day for Nebraska’s children with the passing of Dick Holland. You made the world a better place, Dick.”

— Omaha Sen. Heath Mello

“Pipeline fighters and progressives lost a hero today. Dick Holland pushed me to be brave, to start @BoldNebraska”

— Jane Fleming Kleeb, incoming chairwoman of the Nebraska Democratic Party

“May the passing of Dick Holland be for a blessing as we all embrace his care for others & to make our lives richer.”

— Barry Zoob, senior vice president of Colliers International

“My condolences to the family of Dick Holland. He was a ‘giant’ and his work leaves a legacy for others to follow #Omaha”

— Chris Rodgers, director of community and government relations at Creighton University

“Saddened to hear of the passing of Dick Holland, a staunch advocate of #socialjustice #VotingRights and the #arts”

— Lincoln Sen. Adam Morfeld

“Every city in America needs an arts champion and patron like my old friend Dick Holland, who passed away...”

— John Pitcher, classical music critic

Mike Hogan left a lasting impression on Sarpy County, one of the nation’s fastest-growing housing markets that the prolific real estate developer lived and worked in for nearly all his life, but he left an even bigger impression on his family.

Hogan died in hospice care on Sunday due to complications from kidney failure, lung cancer and heart disease. He was 87 years old.

Nephew Dennis Hogan, an attorney and partner at Omaha-based Pansing Hogan Ernst and Bachman, said his uncle was the Hogans’ patriarch.

“He was the glue of the family. He was always very inclusive of everybody, and as far as what they each wanted to do, he was very supportive,” Dennis Hogan said. “But he always made sure to show us how to be successful on our own.”

Born into a family of five children, Mike Hogan was preceded in death by brother Dennis P. Hogan Jr. and sisters Mary Margaret O’Hearn, Catherine Spiers and Clare Cholet. Survivors include a son, Michael L. Hogan, and 11 grandchildren.

He grew up in Papillion, which for most of his childhood was a small community of fewer than 1,000 residents.

The city doubled in size during the 1950s and again during the 1960s, by which time the Creighton Prep and University of Nebraska at Omaha grad had served a few years in the U.S. Air National Guard and determined that he would help meet the growing demand for housing in Sarpy County. He also attended Creighton University.

“He was one of the three major developers of the City of Papillion, along with Kenneth Stahl and Charles Smith. I always refer to those three as the three giants,” said former Papillion City Attorney Mike Schirber.

Schirber on Monday recalled how Hogan’s witticisms punctuated his frequent pitches to the Papillion City Council over decades spent as a developer. Developments under Hogan & Co. included thousands of metro-area homes and apartment units as well as commercial real estate projects like the Wolf Creek shopping center in Bellevue.

“Mike would always say something funny when he was making his pitch on a development. It wasn’t necessary, but it was always appreciated,” Schirber said.

Hogan also co-founded Bank of Nebraska in 1974 with his brother. Today it is one of the 25 largest banks in the metro area in terms of local deposits, out of 73 total institutions.

Nephew Dennis Hogan said that outside of work, Mike Hogan took pleasure in horsepower, both in a literal and figurative sense: He visited the Kentucky Derby “about 20 times” and had a penchant for water skiing that was matched only by his love of Mercedes-Benzes.

“His claim to fame was that he skied on Ginger Cove or Hanson Lake every month of the year,” Dennis Hogan said of lakes around the metro area.

The family has arranged a visitation at the Heafey-Hoffmann-Dworak-Cutler Bel Air Chapel, 12100 West Center Road, on Wednesday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., with a vigil at 7 p.m. at the mortuary. Funeral services will begin at 10 a.m. Thursday at Immaculate Conception Church (Dowd Chapel) at Boys Town.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1534, [email protected]

LINCOLN — Jim Potter loved Nebraska history, motorcycles and shooting black-powder rifles, but he never liked big parties.

So when he died, he told his wife, he didn’t want a big fuss. But he did have one request: to be cremated and shot out of a cannon.

“Even as a kid he liked to make things explode,” said his wife, Gail DeBuse Potter.

Potter, the senior research historian for the Nebraska State Historical Society and an author of several books and articles on the state’s history, died Saturday in Lincoln from a heart attack. He was 70.

During 49 years with the Historical Society, he served as the state archivist and editor of the society’s magazine, “Nebraska History.” But colleagues said his title might as well have been “state historian.”

[Read "A Peculiar Set of Men: Nebraska Cowboys of the Open Range" by Jim Potter]

He was knowledgeable about every aspect of the state’s history, and, thanks to his years as state archivist, knew where to dig out the interesting details, said David Bristow, the current editor of the magazine.

“‘I don’t have all the answers,’ he once told me, ‘but I at least have a pretty good idea of where to look,’” Bristow said.

Potter was also a stickler for the truth, even if it exploded a popular myth.

That was the case with John Brown’s Cave, a tourist site in Nebraska City said to be a stop on the underground railroad used by slaves escaping northward.

Potter’s 2002 article on the “fact and folklore” of the cave uncovered little factual basis for that claim, or for the idea that John Brown, the famous abolitionist, had ever visited the cabin. The cave was ultimately renamed the Mayhew Cabin, and the focus of the attraction become the story of its owner, Allen Mayhew, and his wife, Barbara Kagi Mayhew, the sister of a close associate of Brown’s.

Potter, according to Bristow, loved the “detective work” involved in historical research, and was proud to correct the record when it needed to be corrected.

“That’s the mark of a good historian,” he said, “to have both the skills and the integrity to do that.”

Added his wife, “He was an editor. Editors are picky people. They want all the punctuation right, and all the details.”

The couple, who met at the Historical Society, were married for 41 years. Their honeymoon was a motorcycle ride to the Black Hills and Fort Robinson.

They lived in Chadron, Nebraska, for a dozen years while Gail served as director of the Museum of the Fur Trade. After she retired at the end of 2014, they moved back to Lincoln.

She said that the couple rarely left Nebraska for vacations, save for a few trips to Civil War battlefields to research the role of Nebraskans.

One of Potter’s favorite trips was tracing the boundaries of the state while riding a motorcycle, a trip he completed at least three times. He would follow the highways and gravel roads closest to the state borders, according to his wife. The trip took three to four days.

“That’s the only time he had a bad accident,” Gail Potter said. “He topped a hill and a gravel road turned into sand. He dumped his bike and broke his ankle.”

Because it was in the days before cellphones and the accident was in a remote area of southwest Nebraska, Potter had to get himself back on the motorcycle and drive 20 miles to the nearest town to find help.

Potter caught the history bug from a high school teacher in his hometown of Wilcox, Nebraska. The teacher loved Civil War history, and two of Potters four books — and several articles — were about the Civil War.

Jim Potter earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in history.

[Watch: "The State Flag and Great Seal," a lecture by Jim Potter]

Shortly after getting his undergraduate degree in 1967, he walked by the State Historical Society and wondered if they had any job openings, Gail Potter said. Potter walked in, got an interview and was hired soon after.

One of his first tasks with the society was firing off a cannon on the grounds of the State Capitol to commemorate the state’s centennial in 1967. He owns a couple of cannons, his wife said, including one that will be used to fulfill his dying wish at a shooting range owned by a black-powder club of which he was a member.

Besides his wife, Potter is survived by his mother, Ruth (Dunn) Potter of Wilcox; two sisters, Lisa Parish of North Platte and Lori Potter of Kearney; and a sister-in-law, Lois Potter of Wilcox. He was preceded in death by his father, Dean, and a younger brother, Glen.

A celebration of life is scheduled Friday in Lincoln from 4 to 6:30 p.m. at Windsor Stables, 1024 L St. Memorials are suggested to the Nebraska State Historical Society Foundation or the Museum of the Fur Trade.

Contact the writer: 402-473-9584, [email protected]

KEARNEY, Neb. — Nebraska poet and retired University of Nebraska at Kearney English professor Don Welch died at his Kearney home on Saturday. He was 84.

Memorial services are pending.

“Don Welch was a Nebraska icon who inspired countless students and readers of his poetry to master the English language and to eloquently and creatively express themselves,” UNK Chancellor Doug Kristensen said. “He was a prominent figure at UNK for decades.”

“It is difficult to imagine UNK without him. We salute him for a career and life well-lived and express our sympathy to his loved ones. We will miss you, Dr. Welch,” Kristensen added.

That sentiment was echoed by Ruth Behlmann, an office associate in the UNK English Department and a photographer who collaborated with Welch to produce three sets of poem cards.

Behlmann said it was a privilege to work with Welch.

“He was just a jewel. ... We will never have another poet like him at UNK,” she said.

Welch was the first Reynolds Chair in Poetry, from 1987-1997, at UNK and held the Martin Chair of English. He was an English professor from 1959-1997, but his ties to the campus go back to his student days at then-Kearney State College, from which he received a bachelor of arts degree with majors in business and English, and a minor in French.

Welch earned a master of arts degree from the University of Northern Colorado and a doctorate in American literature from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

In 1988, Welch received the Pratt-Heins Award for teaching, and in 1990, he received the Board of Trustees of the Nebraska State Colleges Outstanding Teaching Award.

Although he officially retired from the English Department in 1997, he continued to teach in the UNK Department of Philosophy until 2008.

Behlmann said Welch continued to be the most recognized across-campus walker and had maintained his routine of writing a poem a day. English Department faculty and staff saw him regularly because they maintained an active in-box for Welch.

In a Nov. 19, 2015, Kearney Hub article, Welch talked about the relationship between walking and writing.

“I’m simply inclined to write. It’s like walking. You put one foot in front of the other, then another step, and pretty soon you’ve found that you completed a block of walking,” he said. “Well, that’s the way it is with one word right after another.”

Welch said he encouraged his students to just start something and see where it goes. “You discover things you don’t know by simply putting one word after another,” he said.

Welch published 18 books of poetry. More than 300 of his poems have appeared in magazines, journals and anthologies throughout the United States, and examples of his work have been included in many anthologies.

In 1980, he won the Pablo Neruda Prize for Poetry.

Welch also served for 13 years as a Nebraska Arts Council Poet-In-Residence in the Nebraska Public Schools program, “Poets-in-the-Schools,” and was a consultant and participant in the Nebraska Public Television documentary “Last of the One-Room Schools,” which was televised in September 1995.

His composition handbook, “A Shape a Writer Can Contain,” was published by the Nebraska Department of Education in 1979. The Nebraska Center for the Book declared Welch’s “Morning: Last Poems” as the 2015 winner of the best book of poetry.

Welch was appointed in November 1997 to the Kearney Public School Board to fill a vacancy left by David Keefauver’s resignation.

“Serving Kearney Public Schools is really what I want to do,” Welch said at the time, “primarily because Kearney Public Schools has been so good to the six Welch children.” He did not seek election in 2000.

Born in Hastings, Welch spent his early years in Gothenburg and Columbus and graduated from Kearney High School. He started his career by teaching English in Fort Morgan, Colo., Gothenburg and Hastings College.

As the Reynolds Chair, Welch had more time for writing. His collections include “Deadhorse Table,” “Handwork,” “The Rarer Game,” “The Keeper of Miniature Deer” and “The Marginalist.”

Welch also collaborated on projects with Behlmann and other artists.

Behlmann said their first sets of poem cards came out in 2013 and 2015. Welch had completed five new poems, and she planned to take the related photos over the summer.

Behlmann said she still had images to complete for poems about coneflowers and two horses when she learned of Welch’s failing health. She grabbed her camera, went to work and had color copy images to show Welch on July 18.

“We got them (the poem cards) done and went back to see him the next week and he was so pleased,” Behlmann said. “He started reciting the two horses poem from memory.”

Another thing about Welch that remained true for most of his life was his passion for racing pigeons.

“He still had those darn pigeons,” Behlmann said. “He would stop in and say he had taken them down to Kansas, and they beat him home to Kearney.”

Dr. Robert Heaney, a beloved and internationally known Creighton University professor, physician and scientist, died Saturday.

Heaney, 88, endured brain cancer for many months. He died in hospice care in his home north of Omaha’s Memorial Park.

For decades, he studied, wrote about and spoke on the importance of calcium and vitamin D. He also was an expert in the bone disease osteoporosis and in nutrition in general. Creighton University said that he wrote 866 papers, scientific articles, reviews, editorials and other manuscripts. He wrote three books.

Heaney and Dr. Henry Lynch, who helped draw the link between heredity and some cancers, are perhaps the best-known scientists at Creighton in decades.

When asked whether Heaney was one of the great physician-scientists in Creighton history, Dr. Robert “Bo” Dunlay responded: “In history anywhere.”

“Bob Heaney was one of the foremost physician-scientists in the world in the field of nutrition,” said Dunlay, dean of the Creighton School of Medicine.

The Rev. Daniel Hendrickson, Creighton’s president, said through a statement that Heaney was a talented faculty member and scientist. “He was a man of many facets. A healer, a thinker, a man of faith, he was endlessly curious about his profession and the people he helped, the world around him, and his God.”

Dunlay said Saturday that some were unaware how light-hearted Heaney could be. When Heaney learned that Dunlay’s wife, Kathy, shared his love of bacon, he started mailing bacon cartoons to her.

Facing death, Heaney retained his sense of humor. During an interview three months ago, Heaney expressed appreciation for a line in Lincoln County District Judge John Murphy’s obituary last year: “Preceded in death by billions of other people.”

Heaney was born in Omaha and spent most of his life in his hometown and at his alma mater, Creighton.

He attended Creighton Prep, and he received his bachelor’s degree from Creighton University and his medical degree from Creighton’s School of Medicine in 1951. He had brief stints at the National Institutes of Health, St. Louis City Hospital in Missouri and the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. He became a faculty member at Creighton in 1957.

Among many roles during his career at Creighton, he served as the university’s first vice president for health sciences. He was the first to hold the John A. Creighton University Professorship.

His honors included the Lifetime Achievement for Research Award from Creighton, the Kappa Delta Award from the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, the E.V. McCollum Award from the American Society for Clinical Nutrition and the Frederic C. Bartter Award of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.

His research helped elevate osteoporosis as an important condition to be on the alert for, especially in women. For decades, broken bones in the elderly were viewed as a natural process of aging, said Joan Lappe, associate dean of research in the Creighton College of Nursing. Heaney is sometimes called “the grandfather of osteoporosis,” Lappe said. He was a pioneering researcher, she said, who helped reveal that osteoporosis is a disease that causes bone fractures and death.

“He directed attention to it and started a whole research trajectory in trying to understand what it was and trying to find ways to treat it,” Lappe said Saturday.

There are now medications that thwart or at least delay the ravages of osteoporosis.

Dr. Robert Recker, head of Creighton’s Osteoporosis Research Center, called Heaney his mentor for more than 50 years. “I was attracted to a research career at Creighton under his mentorship because I regarded his research as the best at Creighton,” Recker said through a university press release. “I have since come to regard it as the best osteoporosis research in the world.”

Besides writing about science, Heaney also wrote for Creighton’s “Daily Reflections” and in a blog about faith and Catholicism. In a blog post this year, he argued that women should be ordained as Catholic priests.

He also wrote about grace, generosity and appreciation. “Those who have must give without self-righteousness or condescension,” he wrote. “And those who receive must do so without bitterness or resentment.”

The Rev. Jim Clifton, associate dean for mission in the Creighton medical school, called Heaney a multitalented man.

“When I served with him on the hospital ethics committee for Creighton University Medical Center, it was clear that this great man of science was also a great man of philosophy, theology and ethics,” Clifton said through an email. “As a priest, I was always aware that this great man, sitting humbly in the pew, knew more about liturgy, Scripture, and theology than I ever would. That would have been disconcerting except for the fact that one always knew that he was in your corner; that he was ‘all in,’ and that he wanted to help you and the parish be better.”

Heaney and his first wife, Dr. Barbara Reardon Heaney, had seven children. She died in 2006, and in 2008, Heaney married Janet Barger-Lux, a senior research associate at Creighton who helped Heaney write some of his publications.

Besides his wife, he is survived by his brother, C.E. Heaney of Omaha; sons Dr. Robert Heaney of St. Louis and Christopher Heaney of Omaha; daughters Rachel Dowd, Marian Ghislaine Heaney, Margaret Heaney and Elizabeth Ehrhardt, all of Omaha, and Barbara Heaney of New York; and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Visitation is at 5 p.m. Tuesday at St. John’s Church on the Creighton campus followed by a vigil at 7 p.m. The funeral Mass is set for 10 a.m. Wednesday.

Memorials are suggested to the Creighton University Catholic Social Teachings Project.

Contact the writer: [email protected], 402-444-1123, twitter.com/rickruggles

* * * * *

An earlier version of this story incorrectly said that Robert Heaney's writings in which he argued for the ordaining of women as Catholic priests was part of Creighton’s “Daily Reflections.”

The secret to Janice Hadfield’s success as a university administrator was simple, said her son, Chris Hadfield.

She focused on people, especially the adult students she served as dean of Doane University’s College of Professional Studies in Lincoln.

“She understood the value of students at a university,” Chris Hadfield said. “She always made sure the utmost consideration was made for students.”

That meant helping her nontraditional students pursue their studies around their busy professional and family lives — and hiring faculty who also put the students before all else, he said.

Janice Hadfield died Friday at her Lincoln home from complications of pneumonia and degenerative lung disease, said her son, also of Lincoln. She was 72.

The Doane community has been grieving her death. “Janice was a pioneer in adult and nontraditional education in Nebraska, having constructed Doane’s adult learning programs from the ground up, with a focus on service and personal relationships,” said Mike Lefler, a Doane spokesman.

Enrollment at the Lincoln campus surged after she was hired in 1987, Lefler said. Janice Hadfield met with area employers to learn how to better serve the educational needs of their workers, sought out talented faculty and focused on personalized student counseling and flexible course scheduling, he said.

She worked 60 to 70 hours a week before a fall in February led to her health problems, Chris Hadfield said. Her work was her passion, he said. “That’s what she was dedicated to.”

She was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, and earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Memphis State University, later renamed the University of Memphis.

Her husband, Larry, was in the Air Force, requiring their family to move often, Chris Hadfield said. Wherever they went, Janice Hadfield worked as a substitute teacher.

When Larry Hadfield was stationed at Offutt Air Force Base in 1982, she began working for the University of Oklahoma, helping to set up an adult learning campus at Offutt and earning her own degree through the university, a master’s in education.

After being hired as the director of Doane’s Lincoln campus and leading its growth, Janice Hadfield was named dean of the College of Professional Studies, which had expanded to campuses in Grand Island and Omaha. In 2013 Doane established the Janice Hadfield LIVE Doane Scholarship Fund to help undergraduates in professional studies.

She also served in multiple professional and civic organizations, her son said.

Survivors include her husband, son and three grandchildren.

There will be no funeral services. The family is receiving condolences through Butherus, Maser & Love Funeral Home in Lincoln.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1304, [email protected]

Omaha jazz lovers are mourning the loss and celebrating the life of their favorite Buddy.

Buddy Graves, a long-ago vaudeville dancer and World War II veteran who played piano jam sessions for decades at Touch of Class Lounge — until two Fridays ago — died at 5:30 p.m. Sunday. He was 94.

In the music community, word quickly spread. Sunday evening at Mr. Toad’s in the Old Market, pianist Tom Henning played a tender “My Buddy.”

On Facebook, horn player Joe Wheeler trumpeted his respect: “Buddy was such a talent, and a real grinder. He expected people who sat in at the jams to know how to play and when to stay out of the way. It was a good learning experience.”

Sharyn Shay, who sang with Buddy in the 1970s at the old Nasr’s restaurant and in recent years at Touch of Class, said Buddy at once encouraged fellow musicians and pushed them to better interpretations of jazz.

“No matter what you tried, he always was there with you,” she said. “Buddy always wanted you to sound good, and he could lay down some chords that really inspired you. He was a phenomenal guy.”

Troy “Buddy” Graves grew up poor in Sioux City, Iowa, the only boy in a family with six sisters. He won an amateur tap-dance contest at 11, and at 14 or 15 joined a comedic dance act, “Bud & June — Goofus.” He later toured on the Orpheum circuit, including in Omaha.

[Read also: Kelly: At nearly 92, Omaha jazzman Buddy Graves' fingers still dance across keyboard]

In the late 1930s he danced professionally in vaudeville, “Buddy & Betty — Tops in Tap.” He married his dance partner when he was 19.

As a combat infantryman, he fought in France, Belgium and Germany. He suffered frostbite and spent three months in a Paris hospital. “From all winter in a foxhole,” he explained a few years ago. “Froze my feet and legs. They turned black.”

He feared his legs would be amputated, but the professional dancer made it home upright. He divorced and learned piano and classical music on the GI Bill.

In 1952, he married his second wife, Georgie, and moved to Omaha, where he taught dance. He also held sales jobs at Brandeis and Montgomery Ward, but his love was music.

In the 1950s, he jammed at the Blue Room at 24th and Lake Streets. “All the cats played there,” he once wrote. “Duke Ellington’s band, Count Basie, Buddy Rich. I had the opportunity to meet and learn and play with the greatest!”

Buddy played for his daughters’ dance recitals and at nightclubs all over town. In the ’60s at Tony Greco’s Panther Room at the Center shopping center, Buddy played with Jack Garrett, Tony Holzapfel, Luigi Waites and Frank Scott, Omaha guys from various walks of life.

Scott was a singer, broadcaster and Air Force veteran later named head of the Voice of America’s European operation by President Ronald Reagan.

Luigi (known widely by his first name), a drummer and vibraphonist, became a local music icon, including more than 1,700 performances at Mr. Toad’s.

Holzapfel, a bassist, was a fellow World War II veteran, a Marine who fought in the Battle of Tarawa in the Pacific and later worked at Holzapfel Bakery (now called Olsen’s) at 10th and Hickory Streets.

His daughter, Janet Staley, said Buddy played at her 1985 wedding reception and became a mentor in her own singing career when Touch of Class was at 115th and Davenport Streets. She has continued singing with her own combos and a big band but had joined him for years at the current Touch location, 11220 Fort St.

“Buddy knew hundreds of tunes and could play in any key,” she said. “When you’re learning, he guides you to an ending. He might choose a rhythm you hadn’t thought about.”

He played with many musicians, including decades with singer Richetta Wilson.

He smoked three packs of cigarettes a day until quitting in 1971. He eventually was diagnosed with throat cancer, which led to the removal of his larynx a decade ago.

When he lost his voice, he let his music do his talking. Singers would know it was their turn to come to the mic when he’d play a couple of chords of their standard tunes.

In November 2014 at OnTrack Studios in Omaha, Shay recorded a CD with him and other musicians, “Take it, Buddy!”

She wanted part of it to capture his music alone on piano, backed by bass and drums. But he insisted on just supporting her singing.

Staley said he didn’t throw out compliments randomly, so it meant a lot to her last year when he stood and applauded after she sang a new interpretation of “Willow Weep for Me.”

[Read also: Jazz Jam celebrates Buddy Graves’ 94th birthday]

Friends have celebrated his recent birthdays at Touch of Class, from the 90th on, and he kept on playing with instrumentalists and singers, Friday after Friday.

In March he had pneumonia, and daughter Cindi Garmong said he never fully recuperated. He kept playing music and tending to his vegetable garden at his longtime home in the Florence neighborhood but was about to give up driving.

Wednesday evening, he suffered a fall in his bathtub and didn’t have his medical-alert. He was discovered the next morning and spent two nights in a hospital.

He returned home Saturday under hospice care and did some calisthenics in bed. He was smiling with family members before slipping into a coma and dying Sunday of pneumonia.

Besides Cindi, he is survived by other daughters from his second marriage: Laura Krajicek of Fort Calhoun, Nebraska, and Debbie Matthews of Pinckneyville, Illinois; and from his first marriage: Carol Jean Andrew and Sylvia Oothoudt, both of Sioux City. Also, 12 grandchildren, 26 great-grandchildren and 13 great-greats.

Visitation will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday at Forest Lawn Mortuary, with a memorial service there at 10 a.m. Saturday. Naturally, it will include music, including recordings of his own.

“He was very generous, with an amazing sense of humor,” Cindi said. “The No. 1 thing for him was his family — his kids and all his grandkids.”

It’s fitting that the visitation will be on Friday night, after his 38 years of Friday jazz jams at his beloved Touch of Class.

“When he saw people coming there for the music,” Cindi said, “it gave him a lot of joy.”

Contact the writer: 402-444-1132, [email protected]

Customers would walk into OK Cleaners & Tailors and the first thing they might hear was, “Would you like a highball?”

Dad, it’s not even noon, Petros Anastasios Axiotes’ daughter, Katina, would protest.

“What, are you driving? Come on in,” he’d say.

Anything was worthy of celebration for the life-of-the-party Axiotes, who tailored suits for a range of customers that included former Nebraska Sens. Ed Zorinsky and Bob Kerrey, U.S. Rep. John Cavanaugh, community members and police officers for more than 50 years.

Axiotes suffered a stroke and died a few days later on Wednesday at age 97.

His mom-and-pop shop was a downtown Omaha staple on 16th Street for years until moving to 35th and Center Streets in the mid-1970s.

Katina Rogers said her father was the sixth of seven children. He was born in Koroni, Messinia, Greece, on April 20, 1919. Axiotes served as an Athens police officer for 10 years before coming to the United States.

After stops in New Jersey and Sioux City, Iowa, he married Olympia B. Fotoplos on Nov. 30, 1958, in Omaha. They opened OK Cleaners, which Rogers said became a community meeting place stocked with coffee, cookies and good conversation.

“It was literally Starbucks before there was Starbucks,” she said.

Wherever he went, there was a good chance he’d be overdressed, Rogers said.

“He wore a three-piece suit to cut the grass,” she said her family always said jokingly.

Axiotes was a Greek immigrant, but he maintained a steadfast love for the United States. Rogers said he was grateful for the opportunities the country afforded him, and the American people who frequented his shop.

He tailored, cleaned and repaired police and military uniforms for free. He did the same for college students and priests, altar boys and choir members in the Greek Orthodox Church.

Rogers shared a story of her dad’s patriotism. A man came in to Axiotes’ shop with a tattered U.S. flag in January 1975. The man asked how much repairs would cost, to which Axiotes replied: no charge.

The man was a top commander at U.S. Strategic Command. He arranged for a special ceremony and accompanying plaque honoring Axiotes at the local rotary club for his good deed. The plaque was present at his wake Friday.

Axiotes was a former military man himself, serving Greece in the 1930s.

Funeral services for Axiotes are 9 a.m. Saturday at St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church at 602 Park Ave. He is survived by his four children and 10 grandchildren.

Rob Taylor was a 12-year veteran of the Fremont Fire Department who could always be counted on to fight fires and help people.

“This is the type of person you would want on the front lines,” said Todd Bernt, Fremont fire chief. “He was always there to step up to the plate and really do what needed to be done.”

Taylor died Wednesday of lung cancer at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. He was 46.

Survivors include his wife, Keri, son Nathan, daughters Sarah and Allison, and his parents, Burt and Nancy Taylor.

Services are at 11 a.m. Monday at Fremont Alliance Church. Family visitation is from 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday at the church.

Taylor grew up in Lakewood, Colorado, and attended the Colorado Institute of Art. He trained as a firefighter at Red Rock Community College and started at the Fremont Fire Department in 2004.

He put effort into making himself a better firefighter. About three years after joining the Fremont department, he began training to be a paramedic, 16 hours or so of training per week in addition to his regular firefighting duties, Bernt said.

More recently, he trained on handling rail incidents involving crude oil.

Not everyone readily volunteers for additional schooling, the chief said. “Sometimes you have to recruit. ... Rob was one of the first people to say, ‘Hey, I’d like to go to that.’ ”

He also volunteered as an assistant coach for his son’s baseball team, Fremont Firefighter Brian Monaghan said.

“The same dedication he had with work he had for his family,” Monaghan said.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1310, [email protected], twitter.com/nelson_aj

LINCOLN — Former State Sen. LaVon Crosby of Lincoln left her mark on Nebraska in numerous ways before her death Wednesday.

On Thursday, she was remembered as a friend to children in need and an ardent opponent of abortion and the death penalty.

She also was remembered as a champion of the arts and humanities, an advocate for commonsense governing and an avid community volunteer.

Lt. Gov. Mike Foley, who succeeded Crosby in the Nebraska Legislature, said the three-term lawmaker was a mentor to Foley and others, both during and after her time in public office.

“She was a pro-life leader in the Unicameral, who would want Nebraskans to remember her for her advocacy for the unborn,” he said. “We send our thoughts and prayers to the Crosby family, and join them in grieving her loss and honoring the memory of her service to the State of Nebraska.”

Republican U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska remembered Crosby as “a compassionate, competent, and strong state senator for the people of Lincoln and our state.”

“Throughout her time as a dedicated public servant, and also as a private citizen, she inspired many,” Fischer said. “LaVon’s life was truly a blessing to Nebraska.”

Lincoln Mayor Chris Beutler, who was in the Legislature with Crosby, remembered particularly the warmth of her personality.

“LaVon was certainly a person who facilitated getting people together throughout her career,” he said. “She could communicate with both Republicans and Democrats.”

Crosby, 92, represented a south-central part of Lincoln in the Legislature before retiring in 2000.

As a lawmaker, she developed a reputation as someone who cared deeply about the rights of the needy and society’s responsibility to step up and meet those needs.

She was also a long-time Republican who valued the party’s ideas about personal freedom.

During her years in the Legislature, Crosby pushed to make it a crime to kill a fetus and fought for state help for low-income pregnant women, children and other vulnerable Nebraskans.

She once said her proudest accomplishment was the creation of the Nebraska Cultural Endowment, a trust fund for the arts and humanities, in 1998. She also pursued state funding to protect the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery’s collection by installing a new climate control system.

Crosby worked to reduce the state’s drunken-driving standard from .10 blood-alcohol content to .08. Although she hit a dead end during her legislative tenure, the change passed soon after she left.

Among her last legislative accomplishments was establishing the Nebraska Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired as a separate state agency.

Crosby became officially involved in politics in 1943, at the age of 18, when she was invited to a gathering of Young Republicans in her hometown of Hastings.

After graduating from the University of Nebraska, she worked as an executive assistant to the publisher of the Hastings Tribune. There she met her first husband, Lester Stuart, a printer. In 1968, the couple moved to Washington, D.C., where she worked for then-U.S. Sen. Roman Hruska.

Stuart died in 1970 after a long battle with liver cancer. The couple had four children.

Crosby then moved back to Nebraska, where she met former Gov. Bob Crosby. They married on May 22, 1971. He died in early 2000, her last year in the Legislature.

Crosby was a longtime parishioner of the Cathedral of the Risen Christ in Lincoln, where she had been a choir member and volunteer organist. She supported Catholic Social Services and other charities and community organizations.

She is survived by her children, Mary (Stuart) Bolin; Mike, Tim and Fred Stuart, Bob Crosby; and Sue (Crosby) Smith.

Her instructions to her children were to “have a real wake and sit around and cry and have a drink and talk about what a swell person I was.”

A rosary service will be held at 7 p.m. Monday at Butherus, Maser & Love of Lincoln, followed by a funeral mass at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Cathedral of the Risen Christ in Lincoln.

Contact the writer: 402-473-9583, [email protected]

Capt. Michael Trubilla was, quite literally, a rocket scientist, who also flew Air Force RC-135 jets in far corners of the world.

But it was orphans in Haiti who changed his life. During a weeklong missionary trip last summer, he became a godfather to a dying little girl named Isabel Elizabeth.

“Michael rocked babies, changed diapers, scraped cribs, moved rocks, held the hands of the dying, and never once complained,” said his friend, Katie Garrett of Omaha, who traveled with him. “His faith came alive and radiated out for all of us to see.”

Trubilla, 27, died Sunday afternoon when the twin-engine Beechcraft Baron aircraft he was piloting on a check ride with an FAA instructor plunged into a soybean field near Leshara, west of Omaha. The flight instructor — Ron Panting, 61, of Papillion — also was killed.

Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board are now on the scene, examining the wreckage of the aircraft and its engines, said Terry Williams, an NTSB spokesman. A preliminary report is expected in about a week.

Trubilla grew up in Reading, Pennsylvania, one of four sons of an Air Force veteran.

He was selected for an appointment to the Air Force Academy, where he made a giant splash with an undergraduate research project creating a fuel system to propel certain types of small satellites.

NASA had been unable to use the satellites after Russia cut off shipments of the plutonium that fueled them. Trubilla’s new fuel system allowed them to run on an alternate fuel, rescuing the space agency’s $50 million investment in the satellites. Trubilla received a major Air Force science and technology award for his work.

“It’s the best piece of research I’ve ever seen a cadet do,” Ken Siegenthaler, one of his professors, said at the time.

He graduated in 2011, and following training to fly RC-135 jets was assigned as a pilot with Offutt’s 45th Reconnaissance Squadron in May 2013.

Rebecca Weber, 32, of Omaha met him through an Air Force neighbor, and they became close friends between his frequent overseas deployments.

She remembers his lively personality and wacky sense of humor. On Halloween, he dressed as “Rich Uncle Pennybags,” the wealthy tycoon pictured in the Monopoly board game, and handed out play money.

“He just couldn’t sit still,” she said. “He was always doing something, taking his car apart and putting it together.”

Weber said he was famous for his long and entertaining stories, but he would listen and offer sound advice for friends who needed it.

“When you had a problem, he was the friend you called or texted,” she said.

Weber said Trubilla was a devout Roman Catholic. She remembered how the Haiti trip affected him.

“It bothered him that there were little kids who were so sick, and there was no one to hold them,” Weber said.

She didn’t see Trubilla last weekend. He was supposed to come to her birthday party Saturday, but he didn’t make it because of a flat tire. He told her he would meet her the next day, after his check flight.

“He said, ‘I’m OK,’ ” Weber recalled. “That’s the last I heard from him.”

Trubilla’s family hasn’t announced services yet. His squadron is planning a private memorial ceremony in his memory, a 55th Wing spokeswoman said.

If anyone lived for flying, it was Ronald Panting.

The 61-year-old flight instructor from Papillion had held a pilot’s license for 40 years, including a 23-year career in the Air Force and nine more years as a commercial pilot.

“He has just been obsessed with flying his whole life,” said his daughter, Stephanie Panting. “It was really wonderful to see him doing what he was passionate about.”

Ron Panting grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, but his Air Force career took him around the world. His last stop was with the 55th Wing at Offutt Air Force Base in 1998, including a tour as chief of wing safety. He stayed in Nebraska with his wife, Lynne, and two children after retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 2004.

In recent years, he flew as a contractor for the Army Corps of Engineers and served as a check airman for the FAA.

Panting enjoyed golf and umpired high school and college baseball games. But when he wasn’t flying airplanes, he could often be found tinkering on home and vehicle projects.

“He loved seeing how things worked, he loved working with his hands,” Stephanie Panting said. “When he was around planes, it was something special. He was living the dream.”

Panting is survived by his wife, Lynne, of Papillion; daughter Stephanie of Washington, D.C.; and son Matthew of southern California. Services are pending.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1186, [email protected]

Former State Sen. LaVon Crosby of Lincoln has died.

Crosby, a Republican, served in the Unicameral for 12 years, representing much of south part of the city, before retiring in 2000.

Crosby, 92, was an ardent abortion opponent who also vehemently opposed the death penalty.

She once said her proudest accomplishment was the creation of a trust fund for the arts in 1998.

Services are being handled by Butherus, Maser & Love of Lincoln.

Crosby became officially involved in politics in 1943, at the age of 18, when she was invited to a gathering of Young Republicans in her hometown of Hastings.

The Omaha hockey community owes a lot to Margaret “Margie” Lowndes.

By founding the Omaha Gladiators Youth Hockey Association, Lowndes elevated the sport of hockey in Omaha and ensured that young players with hopes of scoring a hat trick could do so, no matter the cost.

“Her mission was to make sure that everyone who wanted to play youth hockey could play, regardless of if they could afford it,” said Molly Howell, one of Lowndes’ daughters.

Lowndes died Friday of complications related to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. She was 70.

The Omaha Gladiators Youth Hockey Association was founded in 1987. Before that, Lowndes’ three sons — Tim, Ted and Scott — were playing for the Omaha Metropolitan Amateur Hockey Association.

After many years of volunteering with that group, she wanted to create a more elite, travel-based club. Omaha already had Gladiators teams for baseball, football, basketball and softball. Lowndes made the pitch for hockey.

Her interest in hockey began when her son Tim brought home a flier about the sport. He would go on to play for the Omaha Lancers during the team’s inaugural season and claims the team’s first-ever goal.

Her role as president and a commissioner of the group was a full-time volunteer job. Howell said that her mom never cared about making money; she wanted kids to be able to play hockey. That goal led her to help create multiple scholarships within the association.

A few years back, after serving as president for many years, Lowndes, with Howell, helped merge the Metropolitan Amateur Hockey group and the Gladiators team into the Omaha Hockey Club, of which she was named a lifetime commissioner. She also was honored in 2008 with the Motto McLean Service to Hockey Award for her work creating the Omaha Gladiators Youth Hockey Association.

Howell said that her mom loved the cyclical nature of mentorship in the sport.

“Her favorite thing was to turn players into grown men, and to turn those grown men into coaches and have everything come full circle,” Howell said.

Lowndes’ entire family is a hockey clan. Howell was on the board of the Gladiators association and is a commissioner for the Omaha Hockey Club. Four of Lowndes’ grandchildren play hockey.

“We made hockey our whole life,” Howell said.

Lowndes and her husband, Gerald, began dating in high school in Sioux City, Iowa, where they grew up. After marrying in 1968, the two moved to Omaha in 1980.

The couple enjoyed traveling. Lowndes also was a pianist and was active in her church.

Along with her husband, daughter and sons, Lowndes is survived by another daughter, Emily Yoakum, and sisters Mary Birmingham and Catherine Meyer Harden.

Lowndes’ funeral is today at 10:30 a.m. at St. Columbkille Catholic Church.

Contact the writer: [email protected]; 402-444-1151

Love of family and music made a strong foundation for Miguel Johnson.

“He loved his mama’s cooking and he loved opera,” said his mother, Cynthia Johnson of Omaha. “He always wanted to pursue opera and sing in Italy, but he didn’t make it. That’s OK, because he got to sing in Germany.”

Miguel Johnson, 31, died in his sleep July 16. He had not been ill, but his mother said he may have suffered from sleep apnea.

A celebration of life service is planned for 1 p.m. Tuesday at Morning Star Baptist Church, 2019 Burdette St. The service will include a video of Johnson singing one of his favorite operatic works, “Amarilli, mia bella” by Giulio Caccini.

Memorials are suggested to the North Omaha Boys & Girls Club scholarship being established in his name. The club was special to Johnson, who passed up his 2003 Burke High graduation ceremony to sing for an audience of 3,000 at the national conference of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America in Orlando, Florida.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Nebraska named him Youth of the Year in 2003, an honor that included a $1,000 college scholarship and a trip to the Midwest conference in Chicago. Johnson attended the University of Nebraska at Omaha on a Goodrich scholarship and was about three credit hours short of receiving a degree in music, his mother said.

“He had been working for a pharmacy company, but he wanted to finish his degree and go into nursing,” his mother said. “He loved life and he loved helping others. He spent a lot of his time working with kids at the Boys & Girls Club. He felt like he was everyone’s big brother.”

When Johnson entered a room he automatically became the focal point, said Tom Kunkel, chief professional officer of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Midlands. The 6-foot-1, 230-pound Johnson naturally seemed to draw adults and children alike.

“He was an exceptional young man, who was very talented and had one of those magnetic personalities,” Kunkel said. “He lit up a room with that great smile and a twinkle in his eye.

“When he began to sing at the national conference, this great tenor voice boomed out and just blew people away.”

His talent never was more evident than when Johnson toured Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 2004 with the UNO Concert Choir. It was a trip he had dreamed of making and talked so much about with his mother, who plays piano and sings jazz, blues and gospel.

“He had a ball on that tour,” she said. “He said it was a wonderful trip that was full of all the music he loved.”

In addition to his mother, Johnson is survived by son Mykah Johnson; father Michael F. Johnson; sister MeChelle Johnson; brothers James “Rooter” Dumes Jr. and Nicholas Clark; and grandparents William and Evelyn Johnson, all of Omaha.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1272, [email protected]

Jene Pierson, a key member of the research group that helped revolutionize lymphoma care in Nebraska, died July 1 in Glendale, Arizona, after a battle with colon cancer. She was 75.

Pierson’s 40-year career at the University of Nebraska Medical Center began after she earned a degree in medical technology from Clarkson College in 1962. She later earned a medical technology degree from UNMC in 1972.

After working as a medical technologist at UNMC and training others, Pierson became the first coordinator of the lymphoma study group when it was launched in the early 1980s at UNMC. She was responsible for management of the group’s research data.

The group collaborated with oncologists and pathologists throughout Nebraska and eastern Iowa to accumulate data on patients with lymphoma.

“The systems she put in place to collect and monitor data led to one of the most productive research efforts at UNMC,” said Dr. James Armitage, a UNMC oncologist who is considered a leading expert on lymphoma.

“She was a friend who had a lasting impact on our organization,” Armitage said.

Pierson later went on to lead the Cancer Clinical Trials Office at UNMC. She was a co-author of more than 100 research articles and abstracts for scientific journals. She also helped provide training on how to conduct research to visiting oncology fellows coming through UNMC.

“Jene was an invaluable member of our lymphoma research group for many years and, by her work, she has contributed to the knowledge that we have today that has optimized the therapy for patients with lymphoma,” said Dr. Julie Vose, professor and chief of the UNMC division of hematology and oncology.

Pierson retired in 1999 but returned a year later as a research consultant for Dr. Elizabeth Reed, another UNMC oncologist. She assisted Reed until 2008.

“Jene was fun and smart and ahead of her time in her approaches to data collection and the use of data registries for research,” Reed said.

Pierson retired to Arizona in 2009 to be near her son’s family.

A supporter of the arts and literacy, Pierson read more than 20,000 pages a year and was active in book and craft clubs. She was an accomplished cook and enjoyed woodworking and cabinet building.

After her first marriage ended in divorce, Pierson raised her two children alone.

In 1984 Pierson married William Pierson, who died in 2008.

She is survived by her children, Mark Fritz of Peoria, Arizona, and Katherine Fritz-Kazantsev of Boulder, Colorado; four grandchildren; and her sister, Arlene Buckner of Louisville, Kentucky.

A memorial service was held in Sun City, Arizona, on Saturday. The family will return to Omaha for a service at 12:30 p.m. Oct. 29 at Graceland Park Cemetery. A reception will follow at 2 p.m. at UNMC in the Linder Reading Room on the second floor of the Sorrell Center.

WASHINGTON — As accounts of the horrific shootings of Dallas police officers spread last week, Omaha native Seth Rich made an emotional plea on Facebook for people to stop the hate.

“Too much pain to process,” the 27-year-old wrote. “We have to be better and defend each other more true. A life is exponentially valuable. I have family and friends on both sides of the law. Please, stop killing each other.”

It would be his final post. Just over 48 hours later he was dead, fatally shot early Sunday near his home in northwest Washington, D.C. He worked for the Democratic National Committee as its voter expansion data director.

Police are still investigating the slaying, while loved ones mourn the loss of a promising young man with deep Nebraska roots and a passion for politics.

“He was truly out, I think, to try to save the world,” his brother, Aaron Rich, 33, told The World-Herald. “He was committed to whatever cause he thought was right.”

Services are scheduled for 10:00 a.m. Wednesday at Beth El Synagogue in Omaha.

Rich’s family is well-known at Beth El, where his father was president of the congregation until stepping down earlier this year.

The 2007 Central High graduate jumped into the political arena as a teenager, parlaying a volunteer gig with Nebraska Democrats into a paid position as a campaign organizer.

He interned for then-Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., and graduated from Creighton University in 2011.

Rich moved to the nation’s capital, where he worked as a research data associate for the polling firm Greenberg Quinlan Rosner before landing at the DNC.

It was 4:19 a.m. Sunday when police officers on patrol heard shots in the Bloomingdale neighborhood. They found Rich lying on the ground with multiple gunshot wounds, including at least one in the back. He was taken to an area hospital, where he died.

Aaron Rich said it appears that his brother was walking home when he was shot and might have been the victim of a botched robbery, although little is known for certain. Detectives have told the family that he had bruises on his knuckles and face.

“There had been some kind of a struggle, but he also had all of his belongings with him,” Aaron Rich said.

Police are offering a $25,000 reward to anyone who provides information that leads to an arrest and conviction of those responsible. Detectives are examining several recent robberies in the area to determine whether any can be linked.

In recent years, the neighborhood where Seth Rich lived has transformed from an area hit hard by crime into one attracting new homeowners. However, construction work has closed numerous streets and turned many others into dead ends, which some residents say has created a poorly lit labyrinth that traps people and benefits robbers.

Friends and family described Rich as an outgoing, charismatic guy who loved animals.

His brother said he grew up with Newfoundland dogs but wasn’t allowed to keep a canine in his Washington place. So he volunteered to dog-sit for other people or dropped by local dog parks to play with the pooches there.

Rich draped himself in head-to-toe American flag garb for the Fourth of July, adding a new article of clothing to his ensemble every year.

He took a similar approach for Nebraska football games, covering himself in Husker gear and watching with other fans at a D.C. watering hole.

“He was known there for having fun, and I think over-celebrating to where he may have gotten excited enough to break a table once or twice,” Aaron Rich said.

Fellow Nebraskan and Creighton graduate Peter Casey worked with him closely at the DNC and recalled how he worked almost round-the-clock for the 2014 election, running a program to identify and record incidents of people being prevented from voting.

“He was very committed to making sure that everyone had the opportunity to vote and protecting people’s right to vote,” Casey said. “That was what he believed in and what he kept fighting for.”

Retired Central teacher Rita Ryan said Seth Rich never missed a protest or a meeting of the school’s Student Democrats club. “They’d sit there and argue politics for two hours, and I’d say ‘I need to get home to my cats,’ ” she recalled. “They’d say ‘not yet, not yet.’ ”

His death brought an outpouring of condolences, including statements from Sens. Deb Fischer and Ben Sasse, both Nebraska Republicans, and Rep. Brad Ashford, a Democrat. Ashford plans to honor Rich on the House floor later this week.

DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz released a statement mourning his loss: “Seth Rich was a dedicated, selfless public servant who worked tirelessly to protect the most sacred right we share as Americans — the right to vote. He saw the great potential of our nation and believed that, together, we can make the world a better place. He was a joy to have as a member of our team, and his talents, intelligence and enthusiasm will be deeply missed.”

Jane Kleeb, chairwoman-elect of the Nebraska Democratic Party, said in a statement that Rich’s smile will “never be forgotten by anyone in his home state of Nebraska.”

“Our Democratic family grieves the loss of a young Nebraskan who worked on campaigns and stood up on progressive issues,” she said. “Gun violence is a serious problem in our nation and needs an answer to stop this senseless loss of life.”

Aaron Rich said his brother was “an amazing guy who really did believe he could make a difference. Unfortunately, whoever did this took away that chance.”

World-Herald staff writer Emily Nohr contributed to this report, which includes material from the Washington Post.

Contact the writers: [email protected], twitter.com/MortonOWH, [email protected]

Artist Inge Chase published two pamphlets titled “Anyone Can Paint” that came with a kit of materials for novice artists. Her painting classes encouraged attendees to try their best.

“She made everyone feel good about themselves,” said her daughter Ivy Lovegren of Omaha.

Chase, an artist who created paintings and taught painting in Nebraska, passed away in Germany on June 25 from “lung difficulty,” Lovegren said. She was 84.

Chase bedecked stores and areas in Nebraska with her unique painting style, including a mural on the wall of a tavern in Fairbury and a New York skyline in a department store in Lincoln, according to a 1961 World-Herald piece. She also painted in-home murals as well as a series of murals at Omaha’s Beacon Hill Apartments, Lovegren said.

Her impressionistic works eventually led her to teaching, which took her all over the country for two decades, Lovegren said.

Chase also designed a children’s clothing line called Kinderland.

In her younger years Chase worked in Hamburg, Germany, as a poster artist and window decorator. She moved from Germany to live with an uncle in South Dakota when she was 22 years old. She eventually moved to Lincoln, where she met her husband, Harold, on a blind date.

They were married in 1956 and had four children — William, Charles, Ivy and Holly — before divorcing in 1983. The family moved around the state often, Lovegren said, and later to Red Oak, Iowa, in the late 1960s and to Thurman, Iowa, in 1975. After retiring from painting, Chase served as a house mom for FarmHouse fraternity at Iowa State University.

Lovegren said her mother would just pull work out of the canvas. From nowhere would appear a tree, a barn, hay.

“People would just go ‘Oooh’ and ‘Aaah’ because all she did was make some squiggles here and some squishes there and it was a sky,” she said.

Chase’s signature sponge-painting technique developed from cleaning house. She noticed that a sponge made an “interesting design” in the dirt, Chase said in a 1961 World-Herald article.

In the early 1990s Chase moved to Schwalenberg, Germany, to work as a missionary and to assist those who wanted to move from East Germany to West Germany.

In addition to Lovegren, Chase is survived by son Charles Chase of Malcolm, Nebraska; daughter Holly Carr of Johnson, Nebraska; 15 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

Contact the writer: [email protected], 402-444-1149, twitter.com/andrea_kszy

LINCOLN — Even as a kid in Butte, Nebraska, Craig Walz loved seeking out remote places to fish and explore.

“We always tried to get away from people,” said a childhood friend, Clint Lewis, of the pair’s forays on Lake Francis Case, north of Butte.

Last month, on a fishing and camping trip in the scenic boundary waters area along the border between Minnesota and Canada, Walz died after being struck by a huge white pine tree that was knocked down during a thunderstorm.

Walz, 43, of Rochester, Minnesota, left behind a wife, Julie, and two children, Jacob and Avery, and his mother, Darlene, of Butte. His older brother, Tim, is a Democratic congressman representing a district in southern Minnesota.

A celebration of life is scheduled Sunday at 3 p.m. at the St. Charles Elementary Auditorium in St. Charles, Minnesota, where Walz was a chemistry, geometry and calculus teacher.

A second service will be held in Nebraska on Saturday, Aug. 13, at 10 a.m. at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Butte, where Walz and his brother graduated from high school.

“Craig made everyone around him happy,” Lewis said. “Everyone I knew either wanted to be with Craig or be just like Craig.”

Walz and his son, Jacob, had been on a canoe and fishing trip with another man and his son when a storm struck after sundown on Father’s Day, June 19.

Trees and branches were already falling when Walz, according to Lewis, told the party they needed to evacuate their tent and get out of the woods to the shoreline.

The other man and his son were able to get out of the tent before the pine, described as 2-feet thick, came crashing down, crushing Walz and his 14-year-old son.

Walz was killed and his son was pinned beneath the tree with critical injuries, including a broken back, a broken pelvis and two broken femurs.

People from nearby campsites responded to cries of help, including a couple who paddled across Duncan Lake during the storm in a canoe.

Because there was no cellphone service in the area, and because the storm had knocked down telephone lines, a local cabin resident had to run for help. Fortunately, an EMT camp had just concluded at nearby YMCA Camp Menogyn.

Lewis said that rescuers had to dig into the mud to free Walz’s son and transport him to the hospital. Jacob Walz returned to the family home on Sunday, after undergoing surgery to repair his pelvis and hip and after extensive rehabilitation.

“After a long two weeks, Jake is resting his head on his own pillow at home,” his uncle, U.S. Rep. Tim Walz of Mankato, Minnesota, wrote in a recent post on caringbridge.org.

Craig Walz met his wife while both were undergoing new teacher orientation in Adams, Nebraska. The couple later moved to Minnesota to pursue teaching opportunities there.

Craig frequently visited Butte to see his mother and to attend the annual Pancake Days celebration in June, Lewis said.

Contact the writer: 402-473-9584, [email protected]

To South Omaha, he was “Big Joe.” To Melinda Keenan, he was Dad.

Keenan said Joseph “Big Joe” Norris was the same guy whether he was serving ice-cold root beer to regulars at Big Joe’s Drive-In in South Omaha or cheering his granddaughters’ softball teams from the stands.

Norris was a 6-foot-4 man with a booming voice. Keenan, a teacher who works part time as a World-Herald copy editor, said Norris was a true larger-than-life character, one whom people could mistake for a politician running for office with the way he knew how to work a room.

Norris died Monday. He was 95.

Independence Day was a fitting day for him to pass, she said. Keenan said fireworks represented his personality well.

“He went out with a bang,” she joked.

Norris, who lived in Omaha his whole life, was born Sept. 27, 1920. He played football at Technical High School and joined the Army after graduation, serving during World War II.

Norris opened Big Joe’s — Omaha’s first self-serve restaurant — in 1957. He cooked soups from scratch, fish sandwiches and double-decker burgers for 27 years before the building was bulldozed in 1984 as part of the John F. Kennedy Freeway extension.

It was a community staple that catered to South Omaha residents and blue-collar workers. It was a place future spouses met as workers.

“The people who came in were not his customers,” Keenan said. “They were his friends.”

Bob Vesiak was one of those regulars.

“I’ve come here for breakfast seven days a week, 52 weeks a year for 20 years,” Vesiak said in an August 1984 World-Herald story about the restaurant’s closing. Norris retired after the closing but did work part time for the Knights of Columbus and the funeral home of Heafey-Hoffmann-Dworak & Cutler.

Outside the kitchen, Norris was a devout Catholic from a Polish and Czechoslovakian background.

“As far as I know, his family was Catholic as far back as probably Jesus Christ,” Keenan joked.

He volunteered with the Knights of Columbus and was a member of St. Mary’s church in Bellevue and its Perpetual Adoration Society. Each Thursday at 3 a.m. for 50 years, Big Joe prayed in the front pew for one hour. He stopped his routine about seven years ago when he could no longer drive.

Norris was preceded in death by his wife, Mary B. Norris, and survived by his daughters Keenan, Elizabeth Vacanti and Mary Maguire; his son, Joe Norris Jr.; and his 13 grandchildren.

Services will be held at the Bellevue Memorial Chapel of Heafey-Hoffmann-Dworak & Cutler at 2202 Hancock St. Visitation begins at 5 p.m. Friday with a wake service at 7 p.m. A funeral Mass will be Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at St. Mary’s of Bellevue with interment in the Bellevue Cemetery.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1304, [email protected]

Orville Hatcher took care of Omaha’s trees for three decades, battling a formidable tree killer, Dutch elm disease, that destroyed about 95 percent of the city’s elm trees.

Hatcher, a forester for Omaha from 1958 to 1990, died June 27 from heart failure at an assisted living center in Omaha, his wife Beverly Ann Hatcher said. He was 91.

His funeral was Friday at St. Gerald Catholic Church in Ralston. He was buried with military honors at Westlawn Hillcrest Memorial Park. Memorials went to the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Dutch elm disease first was detected in Omaha in 1960, not long after Hatcher began working for the city. Before then, 39 percent of the trees lining Omaha streets were elms, he said.

“Disease prevention will be our No. 1 target in 1959,” he said after he was hired. But there was little he could do to stop the devastation, caused by a fungus and carried by the elm bark beetle.

Hatcher developed a lab to identify the disease and made it available to people and municipalities in Nebraska and Iowa. But chemicals used at the time offered mixed results at best. He and other foresters turned from prevention to replacing the trees, advocating the planting of a variety of tree types.

In 1980, Hatcher was elected president of the Nebraska Arborists Association and was one of the first people to receive the organization’s lifetime achievement award.

He was respected for his knowledge of trees, and people often asked for his help, his wife said.

“Trees were just a part of his life,” she said. “He always enjoyed going to work.”

Hatcher grew up in Glenwood, Iowa, and enlisted in the Navy after graduating from high school in 1943. After his service in World War II, he studied forestry at what was then Iowa State College, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in 1950.

He was a forester for the former North Carolina Pulp Co. and a salesman for an Omaha lumber company before becoming an assistant city forester for Omaha. Three years later, in 1961, he became a city forester. He retired in 1990 at age 65.

He loved playing tennis, dancing, fishing and gardening, Beverly Ann Hatcher said.

Other survivors include daughters Jeanene Camp of Tampa, Florida, and Candace Hatcher of Huntsville, Alabama; sons David Hatcher of Papillion and Daniel Hatcher of rural Columbus, Nebraska; five grandchildren; and sisters Leona Allen and Betty Hatcher of Houston and Barbara Patterson of Carson, California.

Anna Jane Abbott, who grew up around her father’s popular French Café restaurant, had recently found her voice as a singer.

But late Tuesday night while watching the movie “Avatar” at a friend’s home, she suffered a severe asthma attack and went into cardiac arrest. After several days hospitalized in a coma, she was taken off life support about 7:45 p.m. Saturday and died.

On June 11, she had turned 18.

“Anna had a great voice,” said her vocal coach, Susie Thorne. “She was just a natural — with one of those voices that make you stop and listen. This is too sad for words. She was just getting warmed up.”

Early this year, at the urging of guitarist Ron Cooley of Mannheim Steamroller, she auditioned for the Blues Ed program for teenagers and was one of 44 students accepted. Chris Shouse, who co-directs the program for the Omaha Blues Society, said Anna was shy and sweet, and she had recently found her confidence.

She and her six-member Blues Ed band, Dilemma, last month won a “summer showcase” event sponsored by the Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards program, and they were selected to perform in August at the New Generations Music Festival at Stinson Park.

The band also performed live on KMTV’s “Morning Blend.” And on June 24, after Dilemma played and sang at Bridge Beats near the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge, Shouse embraced Anna.

“She had truly come out of her shell,” Shouse said. “It was her best show yet.”

Anna’s parents are real estate agent Valerie Abbott and Tony Abbott, whose French Café closed in 2012 after more than four decades in the Old Market.

Anna loved music all her life, her mother said, and she received a karaoke machine when she was 4. She also took piano lessons for four or five years in grade school.

She attended Marian High School for two years and then Burke High for a semester before transferring to Metro Community College and the Gateway to College program in partnership with the Omaha Public Schools. She graduated with a high school diploma on May 13.

Funeral services were pending. Anna also is survived by her sister, Nina, 14.

Though Anna was diagnosed with mild asthma as a child, her mother said it recently became acute.

Many friends and relatives visited the hospital. On Friday afternoon, her mother said, her bandmates sang her signature song, “Ain’t No Sunshine.”

The first line fits the way her loved ones feel: “Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone.”

Finding her voice as a singer, her mother said, was an epiphany.

“She realized that she had a gift,” Valerie Abbott said. “It filled me with joy to see her find her calling.”

Contact the writer: 402-444-1132, [email protected]

Charles “Hap” Stein never meant to stick around Omaha for so long. But nearly 50 years after he moved here to teach at Creighton University, he’s remembered for his enduring impact on students and on the community.

Stein died June 26. He was 76.

He taught English at Creighton for 37 years and was known for his wit, sense of humor and ability to listen to students. After his retirement in 2004, he was appointed an assistant professor emeritus.

“He had a good rapport with his students and was sincerely interested in them and their needs,” said Susan Stein, his wife of 52 years and a former columnist at The World-Herald.

When the couple first moved to Omaha, neither knew much about the place. Susan hadn’t been farther west than St. Louis. But the Steins came to love the city and Nebraska, Susan said.

Stein fit in well at Creighton because of his Jesuit roots, Susan said. He went to St. Louis High School and later got his degrees, including a Ph.D. in English, at St. Louis University. His specialty was English Renaissance literature, a consequence of his studies with SLU’s Renaissance department, Susan said.

Stein was director of English for Creighton’s Japanese program, which brought students to Creighton from Japan. From time to time, the Steins invited the students over to their house for dinners and barbecues.

Stein was also a precise writer and did editorial work at Creighton. And he spent a time as treasurer of Computers for Africa, a nonprofit providing computers for schools, mostly in rural Uganda.

At home, Stein had a “soft heart” for animals, Susan said. The family always had pets. He liked reading, golfing, bowling and the St. Louis Cardinals. He and his wife traveled the country to see Renaissance and Shakespeare plays and to hear different operas.

Stein was born in St. Louis in 1940 to Happy and Esther Stein. After high school, he served in the Missouri Air National Guard for several years. Following his studies at SLU, he taught there as well as at the University of Missouri at St. Louis and at the St. Louis College of Pharmacy.

Stein is survived by children Edward, Margaret and Paul, as well as three grandchildren, John, Maggie and Michael, and his sister, Katherine.

Services will be held Friday at 10 a.m. at St. Leo Catholic Church. Visitation will begin tonight at 6 p.m., followed by a wake at 7 p.m.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1216, [email protected]

Don’t underestimate the power of one person. Because of Sharon McNeil, families have reunited, and those whose lives have unraveled have found hope.

McNeil, along with her husband, Dick, founded the Stephen Center homeless shelter in 1984. For thousands of people since then, the center has been a welcome way-station. For the lucky ones, many beset by addiction and mental illness, it was the stop that turned around their lives.

Sharon McNeil died Monday of brain cancer. She was 80.

“I admired all that she was doing,” said Mike Saklar, executive director of the Siena-Francis House shelter.

“She was so lovable, sincere, honest,” Saklar said. “I could throw out all kinds of accolades. She was a very, very caring person who wanted to better the lives of others. She walked the walk.”

The idea for the Stephen Center was hers. It was rooted in the horrific death of a homeless man during Omaha’s coldest December on record, in 1983.

The man had sought shelter inside an industrial-size dumpster where he started a fire to keep warm. He could not escape when the fire got out of control. His body was never identified.

“Can you imagine?” Sharon McNeil said last fall, recalling that winter. “To be that destitute and miserable and no place to go? It did something to me. What kind of civilized society allows that kind of stuff to go on?”

The McNeils had many allies in converting an old South Omaha bar into the shelter that would become the Stephen Center. Dick was a member of the steamfitters union, and the couple at the time attended Holy Ghost Catholic Church, whose parishioners and St. Vincent dePaul Society became deeply involved.

“Dick and Sharon were able to provide an environment that is clean and sober, safe and secure for individuals and families,” said Michael Wehling, executive director.

The Stephen Center now serves about 200 men, women and children per day, with many enrolled in programs that transition them toward a new life. Today a new Stephen Center at 2723 Q St. includes a shelter for short-term stays as well as low-income apartments.

Sharon McNeil’s devotion to social justice preceded the Stephen Center, said daughter Jane McNeil.

In the early 1980s, Sharon McNeil sponsored families from Laos and Vietnam, helping them to get housing and jobs.

“She really tried to incorporate them into this country as much as she could,” Jane McNeil said. “It wasn’t a one-time thing. We stayed friends with those families for years.”

The mother of 10 children, Sharon McNeil also reached out to women and girls struggling with unplanned pregnancies by volunteering at the then-Emergency Pregnancy Services, now Essential Pregnancy Services

The McNeil children — Mary, Pat, Maggie, Chip, Barney, Francie, John, Jane, Hannah and Betsy — found in their mother a role model. In addition to her kids, she is survived by 25 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

“She really set a good example for us,” Jane said. “We really have to pay back, because we have been given a lot of opportunities others haven’t.”

Sharon McNeil was resourceful in stretching the family budget and creating a fun home life, her daughters say. When the four boys went on hunting trips with Dad and Grandpa, Sharon McNeil made sure her six daughters had something special of their own.

“We had a girl gathering that we called our ‘cha-cha boom,’ ” Jane said. Treats, stories and a dance defined that girls club.

“She wanted us to recognize the support and power that sisters and mothers can provide,” she said.

In McNeil’s later years, she continued her lifelong advocacy for the mentally ill and had begun to get involved in combating sex trafficking, Jane said.

Visitation with the family begins at 5 p.m. Thursday, followed by a wake service at 7 p.m. at Heafey-Hoffmann-Dworak-Cutler Bel Air Chapel, 12100 West Center Road.

The family plans a celebratory funeral at the Champion’s Run Country Club, 13800 Eagle Run Drive at 11 a.m. Friday.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1102, [email protected],, twitter.com/gaarder

Gale Morey combined a love of sports and a love of business into a career and lifelong volunteer work.

“He was the ultimate salesperson,” daughter Kathy Fehrman of Des Moines said of a gregarious man who so enjoyed the game of golf that he will be buried with the 7-iron he used to sink a hole-in-one at the Field Club of Omaha.

Morey, who died Sunday at age 81 of complications from multiple sclerosis, was publicity director — a job now called sports information director — for Omaha University and the Omaha Knights hockey team, a vice president of one printing company and president of another and, in retirement, even sold Omaha Steaks.

He was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1992 and fought the disabling condition until his death from its complications, Fehrman said.

Morey was honored for his volunteer work with the Omaha chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. He served as chairman of the Douglas County March of Dimes in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was active in the Omaha Jaycees, the United Way, the YMCA and the Boy Scouts of America.

A native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Morey was sports editor in high school and played sports there and at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, moving to Omaha after graduation.

He became publicity director for Omaha U., the predecessor to the University of Nebraska at Omaha, in 1959 after working briefly in The World-Herald newsroom and joined the Omaha hockey club’s staff in 1961.

He was sales manager for Record Printing and served as president of the Printing Industries of the Midlands, a local industry group.

In 1980 he joined Yaffe Printing Co. as vice president of advertising, eventually becoming president and owner, and later was director of operations and information at Action Group, the printing division of C&A Industries Inc.

Morey also is survived by his wife of 41 years, Joanne; daughters Patty Haver of Gretna, Lynn Schluns of Frisco, Texas, and Janelle O’Neill of Springfield, Missouri; sons David of Omaha and Mike of Gretna; 11 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

A visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. today at the John A. Gentleman 72nd Street Chapel, followed by a wake service. A funeral Mass will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at St. James Catholic Church.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1080, [email protected]

Omahan Katherine Koch Joyce was described as the strength and foundation of her family, someone who was very determined in supporting her husband and children.

Koch Joyce, 60, died Monday at her cabin on the shores of Pleasant Lake, near Hackensack in north-central Minnesota. She had waged an 11-month battle with ovarian cancer.

Her husband, Robert Joyce, died about three weeks ago at 61 after a 3½-year battle with pancreatic cancer.

“She was probably the most strong-willed person I’ve ever known,” said son Andrew Joyce, 26, of Lincoln. “She was a rock of stability for her family,” especially for her husband of 35 years during his cancer fight.

He said his mother, an Omaha native who was a graduate of DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, was a “very honest” person who didn’t mince words. “When she said something, you knew she meant it.”

He said his mother was a former copywriter who at one time worked for the family business, the Harry A. Koch Co., an insurance agency and brokerage firm in Omaha.

Andrew also said his mother ran the Harry A. Koch Foundation for several years, was active in the community, blogged for Omaha.com’s Momaha parenting website, and enjoyed golf, swimming and paddleboarding at Pleasant Lake.

“She was happiest when she was at the lake in Minnesota.”

The “quick-witted” mother of three was known for her annual Christmas cards, which didn’t just tout “how great our family was,” he said, but mentioned the “family’s many flaws.”

“She was never one to back down from a fight,” Andrew said, “and at the end she fought as hard as she could for as long as she could.”

He said his father worked for the Harry A. Koch family business for 25 years and then became involved in the aviation industry in Lincoln and Blair.

“She told him it was OK to go,” Andrew said of his parents’ cancer battles. “It’s good that they’re together now.”

Koch Joyce is a descendant of Sen. Gilbert Hitchcock, who founded The World-Herald in 1885. Hitchcock’s son-in-law, Henry Doorly, for whom Omaha’s zoo is named, took control of the paper after Hitchcock’s death in 1934. The Hitchcock/Doorly family heirs sold The World-Herald to Peter Kiewit in 1962.

Koch Joyce’s grandmother was Katherine Doorly Clark, one of Hitchcock’s granddaughters. Doorly Clark married Dr. Richard Young. An Omaha psychiatric facility was named after Young, who died in 1953. Five years later, Katherine Doorly married W. Dale Clark, an Omaha National Bank executive for whom Omaha’s downtown library is named. He also was a former chairman of the board of The World-Herald.

Koch Joyce is survived by her parents, Harry and Gail Koch of Omaha; two other children, Kasey Grelle, 35, of St. Louis and Skip Joyce, 29, of Omaha; grandson Julian Grelle; and brothers Hal Koch of Santa Rosa, California, and Dan Koch of Elkhorn.

A memorial service will be held today at 10:30 a.m. at Countryside Community Church, 8787 Pacific St.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1259, [email protected]

Jim Schemmer moved from Omaha decades ago, but he definitely left a mark.

The first company that bore his name, Gollehon & Schemmer, designed more than 150 residential subdivisions in and around Omaha. That company later became The Schemmer Associates Inc., which grew into a national architectural-engineering company. In Omaha it shaped parts of the Interstate, the Weber Fine Arts Building at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the Eastern Nebraska Veterans Home.

Schemmer died Friday at his home in Anacortes, Washington, from complications of heart failure, said his daughter, Paula Schaefer of Gretna. He was 84.

“Dad was very dedicated,” Schaefer said, challenging his children and others to be the best they could be. “Sometimes that required a helping hand, and he was willing to do that.”

Schemmer was born in Rock Valley, in northwest Iowa, and worked in his father’s construction business. He earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering at Marquette University in Milwaukee and was an Army field artillery instructor at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas.

He moved to Omaha to work for the former Backlund engineering firm and Leo A. Daly. When Schemmer was transferred to a Daly office in Seattle, he met his future bride, Twila Splain. In 1959, after the two were married, Schemmer moved his family back to Omaha. His friend, Eugene Gollehon, had invited Schemmer to join his new engineering business, which became Gollehon & Schemmer.

There was a huge demand for homes in the Omaha area during the 1960s, and the engineering company designed more than 65 percent of the residential subdivisions in Douglas and Sarpy Counties, said Grace Stoddard, a spokeswoman for Schemmer Associates, which is now employee-owned.

In 1977, Schemmer took over the company and renamed it. In 1980, he moved to the Seattle area. And in 1993, he sold his interests in Schemmer Associates, but the company still bears his name and remains headquartered in Omaha.

After Twila Schemmer died in 2007, he married his childhood sweetheart, Donna Lou Serck. They remained together until her death last year.

Besides Schaefer, Schemmer is survived by eight other sons and daughters and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

A funeral Mass will be June 30 at St. Mary Catholic Church in Anacortes, followed by cremation. A memorial service and interment will be later this summer at Richland Cemetery in Inwood, Iowa.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. — Tony Rischling, who taught band for the Grand Island Public Schools for the past 10 years, is being remembered as a person who loved band; all the students whom he taught and with whom he came in contract; and his family.

Rischling, 36, died this past Friday after a battle with cancer.

Rischling came from a family of band directors who have worked at schools and communities throughout Nebraska. His father, Dick, has several children who chose music education as their careers, including Tony, and his sister, Amy Schneider, who teaches band at Grand Island Senior High.

In addition to teaching band, Rischling played for 16 years as a member of the 43rd Army Band in the U.S. Army National Guard, where he attained the rank of sergeant. Rischling also played trombone II in the Hastings Symphony.

Westridge Principal Brad Wolfe said teaching band was a passion for Rischling, who had patience with kids who were just learning to play.

“He had a way of connecting with kids who loved band, to get them to perform at a high level,” Wolfe said. “By the time they were out of middle school, they were pretty accomplished and definitely read for high school and more.”

Wolfe said parents and others who listened to the bands directed by Rischling were always impressed with the level of musicianship displayed by middle school students.

When the Grand Island Public Schools changed to a system where it no longer offered fifth-grade band, middle school band instructors Lew Cole, John Schultz and Rischling devised a system where they all taught together, working with students from one middle school at a time, Wolfe said. He said the trio of instructors would all work with sixth-graders for a class period, then turning to students in the seventh-grade and eighth-grade bands.

Wolfe said Rischling also was able to connect with kids who had no interest in band. One of Rischling’s duties was monitoring the lunchroom for 240 seventh-graders. Wolfe said the students could tell by Rischling’s demeanor “that he loved being around kids. They knew that he liked them. They can tell when adults like to be around kids.”

Schultz said Rischling was very genuine, which made his kids realize “that he always had their best interests at heart.” He said Rischling had a way about him that made his students respect him and respond to him.

Wolfe said Rischling came to school one day last October, seemingly feeling fine, only to begin suffering from blurry vision. He said Rischling went in for checkups and discovered that he had a rare form of cancer, which took all his time and energy to fight.

As a result, Rischling was not able to return to teaching this past year.

Wolfe said there seemed to be a point this spring when it appeared that Rischling was making enough progress to eventually return to teaching, but he then suffered another setback.

Although Rischling was in a tough fight, Cole said, whenever a person talked to him, “he never gave you any reason to feel sorry for him.”

Rischling and his wife, Marla, who teaches orchestra for Grand Island’s middle schools, have three children: Audra, Lucas and Hadley.

Cole said Rischling was a great family man. “He was a wonderful husband and a wonderful father to his children.”

A burial Mass will be held Wednesday at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Grand Island.

A brain tumor kept Walter A. Roberts at his La Vista home during the Honor Flight to the nation’s capital for Vietnam War veterans earlier this month, but he proudly wore his colors to the end.

Roberts, 66, died nine days after about 500 other Nebraska Vietnam vets made a one-day visit to Washington, D.C., to see war memorials, a trip organized by the nonprofit Patriotic Productions of Omaha. His memorial service is at 6 p.m. today at Bethany Funeral Home Chapel, 82nd and Harrison Streets.

“He never said anything bad about Vietnam,” said his wife, Eve Roberts. “He was proud to be a veteran.”

Roberts left high school in Nashville, Tennessee, and joined the Army in 1967. He was assigned to a combat engineer battalion and arrived in South Vietnam in March 1968 — the early weeks of the Tet Offensive, a campaign of surprise attacks by Viet Cong and North Vietnamese army troops.

He suffered four bullet wounds in his legs, a bayonet injury in his left wrist and 168 pieces of shrapnel in his back. He was soaked three times with Agent Orange, the toxic defoliant that U.S. warplanes dropped as part of a campaign to kill jungle foliage that hid the enemy.

Roberts received his Honor Flight shirt and cap early because of his deteriorating health. Eve Roberts said he proudly wore the cap around the house and the shirt to a granddaughter’s school show choir performance.

Friends and family marked his birthday June 10 with a party, at which he celebrated with fried pickles from Old Chicago, homemade meatball casserole and two pieces of Dairy Queen birthday cake, his favorite dessert. It was his last meal. During the next few days he suffered seizures and a stroke. He died June 15.

“He was about at the end of his rope,” his wife said. “He was given six months to live at Thanksgiving.”

In addition to his wife, survivors include children Christal Roberts-Robinson, Kimberly Roberts-Thomas and Jeremy Roberts, all of Nashville, Monica Battreall of Bellevue, Elizabeth Zeller and Alex Zeller of Omaha, Timothy Jungquist of Pegram, Tennessee, and Julie Hultman of Wichita, Kansas; and 13 grandchildren.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1127, [email protected]

Wherever in Omaha the rhythmic strains of jazz could be heard, you’d often find Don Hammel.

For decades, Hammel regularly frequented all the city’s local jazz haunts. He befriended the performers and promoted them to others. And he possessed an encyclopedic knowledge of the Omaha jazz scene going back decades.

“I don’t think there was a bigger jazz fan in Omaha,” said Carol Rogers, who toured the world singing jazz before returning to her native Omaha in recent years and getting to know Hammel. “He knew everyone by name. He had this unwavering fervor for it.”

Hammel, who also worked for decades as a real estate agent in Omaha, died Saturday at age 90 due to complications from pneumonia.

Hammel grew up on a farmstead near Lyons in northeast Nebraska before serving in the Korean War and graduating from the University of Nebraska with a degree in agriculture.

After college, he took a job as a feed salesman and wed the former Ruth Fischer. The two would remain married for more than 50 years, raising three children.

In 1962, he moved his family to Ralston and soon after went to work selling real estate.

In the real estate business, Hammel was known for presenting tree seedlings to anyone who bought a house through him and for a newsletter that he mailed out to more than 7,000 friends and former clients. The newsletter included a list of the best local home contractors, long before there was anything like Angie’s List.

Hammel also became a skiing enthusiast, serving as president of a local ski club that took annual trips to Colorado. He and Ruth loved to travel, including a round-the-world trip that took them from Europe to Japan and Alaska before returning home.

“He just lived the adage, ‘Work hard, play hard,’ ” said son Paul Hammel, a longtime reporter with The World-Herald.

Beyond his family, Don Hammel’s biggest passion was, without a doubt, jazz.

Hammel wasn’t a musician, but he knew his jazz. He appreciated the nuances of jazz stylings and phrasings and knew a great performer when he heard one.

Hammel became a tremendous supporter of local artists, including Rogers, the Gulizia Brothers and Karrin Allyson, an Omaha native who made it big nationally. His real estate newsletter ultimately morphed into a jazz newsletter that kept Omaha jazz enthusiasts in the know on upcoming performances.

“I play with my big band on Monday nights, and he was there almost every Monday night,’’ said Mike Gurciullo, a local jazz musician. “He’s going to be hard to replace.’’

Hammel and his wife would also often hit the road to pursue his passion, traveling to Kansas City and to the annual jazz festival in New Orleans.

Ruth died in 2007, and Hammel eventually moved to Lincoln to be closer to family.

Hammel traveled to Omaha to see Rogers perform for his last time in March. As his health began to fail and he moved into hospice care, his family played his favorite tunes for him. When he died Saturday night, a beloved Allyson album was playing.

Hammel is survived by son Paul and his wife, Nancy, of Lincoln; daughter P.K. of Madison, Wisconsin; son Bill and his wife, Elise, of Anchorage, Alaska; and six grandchildren.

A celebration of life — featuring a live jazz performance — is planned for July 2 in Omaha.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1130, [email protected]

Carol Van Metre contributed in a big way: She was involved in fundraising for more than $35 million in sports-related projects, most aimed at giving inner-city kids a stronger foothold on the field and in life.

But the former teacher also had a knack for zeroing in on smaller details she felt made a difference — like when she noticed the hand-me-down uniforms of South High cheerleaders and replaced them with brand new ones.

Her compassion, down-to-earth presence yet feisty flair for getting things done are what friends fondly recall of the Denver native, who spent nearly 50 years in Omaha before returning to Colorado two years ago to be with family.

Born Carol Beery, Van Metre died June 8 after suffering a brain aneurysm. She was 77.

“She was an avid and tireless proponent of inclusion and tolerance in all aspects of life,” said husband Dave Van Metre, who with his wife led fundraising efforts that outfitted numerous Omaha Public Schools weight rooms and transformed community centers, ball diamonds and soccer fields.

More often the one behind the scenes, Carol befriended people building the projects, coaching the teams and parenting the players.

Joe Smejkal, whose construction company assisted in the couple’s efforts, recalled how Carol would seek out particular crew members to get updates on their children. She happened to be within earshot of a young worker lamenting how his car was broken into again, and quietly gave him a few hundred dollars to get it fixed.

“She was active in making lives better,” Smejkal said. “She never seemed like a person who was giving a handout — she was a person giving a hand.”

Among places where the Van Metres were instrumental: Benson’s Gallagher Park softball fields, Central High’s Seemann Stadium, South High’s Collin Stadium and the nearby Brown Park baseball field. Carol helped activate the Brown Park neighborhood association though she didn’t live there.

Even while in Colorado the Van Metres tuned in to Omaha youth, most recently helping rebuild the Christie Heights center at South 36th and Q Streets and nearby fields where police officers volunteer to coach. Carol liked that participation in the Police Athletics for Community Engagement league is free for kids age 6 and up.

“There was nothing superficial about Carol,” said friend Mary Cabral. “She put others first, always. And if she saw a need, she’d put her heart and soul into it.”

Giving to the end, Carol Van Metre’s organs are to be donated.

She also is survived by two sons who graduated from Central High, and four grandchildren. Son Jim and wife Stacey live in the Chicago area; son David and wife Robin live in Fort Collins, Colorado.

A memorial service is to be held in Omaha this autumn. Charitable contributions in her memory will be directed to a scholarship fund at the Omaha Schools Foundation or the Mount Vernon, Iowa, Schools Foundation.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1224; [email protected]

When Judy Ann Janssen was young, she liked to run through the pastures of her family’s farm near Wisner, Nebraska.

“She would just run and run and run,” said her daughter, DeDra Robb.

Throughout her life, Janssen never stopped running. She was always on the go — working, leading some organization, helping out at church, making something, visiting a new place, raising her daughter or, later, spending time with her three grandchildren.

Janssen died Thursday in Lincoln after a battle with breast cancer. She was 72.

Family and friends remember her for her energy, sense of humor and diverse interests.

“We’re all just so grateful that we were able to be a part of her life,” Robb said, “that she was able to touch us with all the things that were important to her.”

Robb, whose husband, Jeff, works at The World-Herald, called her mother “a woman who did it all.”

Janssen held leadership positions with Christ Lutheran Church’s Outreach Board, Thrivent Financial, Great Plains Creative Arts Association and the Bethany Women’s Club, among others. She was chairwoman of her church’s Cheer Circle, which organized parties, luncheons and events, and visited people when they were sick or needed help. DeDra Robb said she heard from another member of the Cheer Circle that after her mother stepped down from her leadership role, it took three people to replace her.

Janssen loved gardening, traveling and baking. She had a knack for quilting and sewing — able to come up with any pattern off the top of her head, Robb said.

In her professional life, Janssen was a master typist. She worked as a receptionist for State Farm Insurance, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Nebraska 4-H Office, UNL’s Online and Distance Education Program, and the Harry A. Koch Company.

“She was classy and dignified,” Robb said. “And she did it all quietly behind the scenes.”

Janssen was born in Norfolk to Edwin and Jeri Eggers.

After high school, she moved to Lincoln, where she attended the Lincoln School of Commerce and met her future husband, Gilbert. The pair married in 1971 and had Robb in 1972.

Forty-one years later, Janssen and her daughter faced breast cancer at the same time.

Robb got her first diagnosis in 2009 and her second in January 2013. Janssen was diagnosed in March of that year. “We fought that together,” Robb said.

Janssen’s breast cancer came back in late 2014.

Throughout it all, she exhibited a quiet dignity and strength, Robb said.

“I think that if we can come a little bit close to being like her, we would all be the better for it.”

Janssen is survived by her parents, daughter, son-in-law, grandchildren, sisters Gail Ringer and Carol Duncan, and brother Randy.

Services for Janssen are scheduled for Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at Christ Lutheran Church in Lincoln.

The father of a southwest Iowa teen killed after being hit by a car during cross-country practice Tuesday wants people to remember his daughter for her big heart.

“If she saw you were upset, she just naturally wanted to make you feel better and happy,” said Darrin Rooker, father of 14-year-old Kinsee L. Rooker.

Kinsee was struck as she ran across Iowa Highway 2 on the southern edge of Shenandoah, according to a State Patrol report.

She was hit at about 7:15 a.m. by an eastbound 2002 Mercury Sable driven by Brent McKinnon. She was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the report.

She was the second teen athlete killed in Iowa since the start of the most recent school year.

In November, a Treynor high school wrestler was struck and killed by a sport utility vehicle as he was running with two teammates.

Tristan White, 14, was jogging on a gravel road in Treynor just before 4 p.m. Nov. 13 when a Jeep Liberty hit him.

Rooker said his daughter cared more about others than herself. She would put on a goofy smile to try to cheer up people.

“The look she would give you, you just couldn’t (not be happy).”

Rooker said some of his best memories with his daughter were sitting on the front steps of their home, having silly conversations and making up funny names for things they saw.

“We had our own secret language that nobody else understood what we were talking about,” he said.

Rooker said Kinsee had been a track athlete in junior high and played volleyball but preferred running. She joined the cross-country team a week ago Monday.

Kinsee, who would have been a freshman in August, was running with other members of the Shenandoah cross-country team at the time of the accident.

Her father said his understanding was that the older runners were running in a group ahead of her. Knowing Kinsee, he said, she was likely trying to catch the pack of stronger, faster runners. He didn’t know whether she failed to see the car or the driver failed to see her.

The Rooker family will receive visitors from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday at the Hackett-Livingston Funeral Home. The funeral will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday in the Shenandoah High School gym.

“As a district we are heartbroken and want to express our sincere empathy toward the family,” Shenandoah Community School District Superintendent Kerri Nelson said. “Our hearts and prayers are with them.”

Counselors were made available Tuesday to talk with students and faculty.

Cross-country teammates took flowers to the site of the accident Wednesday, as did some former classmates.

McKinnon, 27, of Clarinda, Iowa, has not been charged, said Sgt. Nathan Ludwig of the State Patrol. The accident remains under investigation.

In addition to her dad, Kinsee is survived by mother Laura Rooker; sisters Kathryn and Elizabeth; and grandparents Sandy Rooker and Lowell and Kay Ross.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1272, [email protected]

* * * * *

An earlier version of this story had a summary that referred to Kinsee as Darrin.

A 63-year-old Omaha woman who fell to her death from an apartment balcony had apparently been locked out on her deck, her daughter-in-law said Tuesday.

Colleen Kay McMahon’s death was ruled an accident by Omaha police. She fell at about 5:30 p.m. Sunday from an apartment balcony at 11408 Elm St.

Chelsey Davis, who is married to McMahon’s son, said the family found the sliding door to the third-floor apartment “wedged shut” and the 5-foot-1, 101-pound woman did not have a cellphone with her to call for help.

“We’re not sure how long she was on the balcony,” Davis said. “We think she was trying to yell for help from neighbors. All we know is that at some point she must have decided to try to climb down from her balcony to the one below, but she was unable to do so and fell to the ground.”

McMahon graduated from South High School in 1971 and was a lifelong beautician and hairstylist with a large clientele. Family and friends remembered her for her compassionate nature, faith and love of family, Davis said.

“Our family is devastated. She was a devoted mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, sister and friend,” Davis said. “She was spontaneous and fun-loving. She will be missed.”

A fund has been established to help with funeral expenses at funeralfund.com/project/colleen-kay-mcmahon. Her funeral will be Saturday at St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church, 150th Street and West Maple Road, with visitation starting at 9 a.m. and a memorial service at 11 a.m.

In addition to her daughter-in-law, McMahon is survived by her son, Ryan Davis of the Omaha Police Department; brothers Tom, Pat and Mike McMahon; sisters Carol McMahon and Cathy Kaspar; and three grandchildren, all of Omaha.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1272, [email protected]

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. — The music that plays from the carousel in Cody Park was made possible by a gift from Jim Seacrest.

Seacrest, a publisher and philanthropist, lived in North Platte from 1968 to 2000, where he was president and chairman of the board of Western Publishing Co., which then owned the North Platte Telegraph and other newspapers in western Nebraska.

He died June 2 at age 78 in Lincoln, where he and his wife, Rhonda, lived for the last 16 years.

A list of the boards of directors that Jim Seacrest served on — and the projects, people and services that benefited from his philanthropy — reads on and on.

It is the merry band organ music from the carousel, though, that reflects the joy Seacrest found in being able to give, to bring pleasure to people he would never meet and to quietly touch lives.

“We were kind of like the new kids on the block,” said Jim Whitaker, a former businessman and North Platte mayor, speaking of the time he and Seacrest met in their early 30s. They had volunteered to be on the board that helped move the Nebraskaland Days celebration to North Platte and to organize its events, complete with a parade.

“I don’t know how he did it, but Jim had managed to get a fighter jet to fly over the parade route just as it began,” Whitaker said.

Seacrest also played a major role in making the Neville Center for the Performing Arts possible.

In the early 1980s, the North Platte Community Playhouse faced having to raise $280,000 to get the old Fox Theater building ready for public use. The farm crisis was underway and unemployment in the area was moving into double digits. The Playhouse board had raised a few thousand dollars.

Seacrest was approached to lead the fund drive.

“You’re sure not going to raise that kind of money on bake sales,” Seacrest said at the time.

The fundraising was done in short order.

“Jim always loved to be at the Neville Center,” Rhonda Seacrest said. “It has been so transformed and it is such a credit to the performing arts.”

Seacrest also helped raise $1.3 million as vice chairman of the Great Plains Regional Medical Center expansion campaign.

Other projects in communities in and around North Platte have benefited from the Mid-Nebraska Community Foundation, of which Jim Seacrest was a founding board member in 1978.

“Everyone should have a chance to give and make a difference,” Seacrest said, noting that through a foundation even small donations can be combined with others.

Seacrest was a driving force in getting public television and public radio expanded to the western edges of the state.

“Everyone outside of Lincoln deserves to have an opportunity to hear and experience what public broadcast has to offer,” he said.

During his later years in Lincoln, Seacrest made a similar impact. He served on the University of Nebraska Foundation’s board of directors. Two years ago, he and his wife were awarded the Lincoln Community Foundation’s Charity Award for their participation in several Lincoln nonprofit organizations, fundraising efforts and donations to arts and education programs.

This report contains material from the Associated Press.

Sure, Omaha has had its titans who built the town, brick and mortar.

Then there were the Tom Rudloffs. People who gave Omaha a soul. People who fostered its talent.

Rudloff, who died Sunday at age 76, was more than the founder and co-owner of the former Antiquarium Bookstore in the Old Market.

He was a threadbare patron of the arts, a muse to the creative, a friend to the down and out.

His cavernous, overstuffed bookstore became Omaha’s re-creation of the 17th century salon, where the poet and politician, musician and business owner would gather in a swirl of cigarette smoke and coffee.

From this alchemy and all that grew out of it, including Antiquarium Records — came a sense of identity for artists.

Kids like Conor Oberst and Simon Joyner put down some of their musical roots at 1215 Harney St.

Omaha artist Bill Farmer had his studio in the building, and Rudloff held Farmer’s art in such high esteem he opened an art gallery in his honor.

“Just about everyone who was anyone artistically in Omaha passed through there,” said longtime customer and Douglas County Board member Jim Cavanaugh. “There are a lot of people who owe a debt of gratitude to Tom Rudloff.”

The Antiquarium was one of the first businesses to locate at the Old Market, and it gave people a reason to come downtown. It was open from late morning until late night, sometimes into the wee hours of the morning for close friends. Ever present were the barefoot Rudloff and his cats.

“Tom was instrumental in transforming the Old Market area as a cultural, artistic and intellectual center for Omaha,” said George Neubert, who founded the Flatwater Folk Art Museum in Brownville, Nebraska. “He was both a visionary and a leader.”

Rudloff expected nothing of his customers, offering his books for sale at a modest price, even letting bibliophiles like Cavanaugh run a tab.

Trained for the priesthood, Rudloff’s parish was his store. He gave people money, clothing and food. Some found a path to sobriety there, others a place to sleep.

“Tom Rudloff had a profound effect on the underground culture of the Old Market,” recalls Michael Hooper, a Topeka freelance writer who hung out at the Antiquarium in the 1980s. “He represented a truly welcoming, sincere appreciation of people who came to his place, whether to buy anything or not.

“We’d drink so much coffee our stomachs hurt; we called it the Antiquarium coffee pains.”

Rudloff’s life as a bookseller developed from happenstance.

After studying to be a priest at a Redemptorist seminary in Missouri, attending college to be a teacher and then touring Europe, he found himself back in Omaha at loose ends and turning 30. While perusing a book sale at the soon-to-close Duchesne College, Rudloff caught the attention of the nuns. They saw in him a logical recipient of the 12,000 volumes left unsold.

It was 1969, and his life’s work was born.

From that collection, he and his sister-business partner, Judy, inadvertently expanded their book-selling into a downtown business, which eventually led to more than 30 years at 1215 Harney St. A decade ago, Rudloff moved the business to Brownville, Nebraska.

Judy Rudloff said she doesn’t know what will happen to the Brownville business. At 74, she said she’s in no position to take over.

The Brownville community is hopeful someone will step in.

“We’re all in shock because we’ve lost him,” said Jane Smith, a Brownville business owner.

In addition to sister Judy, Rudloff is survived by brothers Howard and Jerry of Omaha, and sisters Bonnie McNally of Massachusetts and Nancy Teply of Omaha. A brother, James, preceded him in death.

Services will be 5 p.m. Friday at John A. Gentleman Mortuary, 1010 N. 72nd St. Family will receive visitors from 2 to 5 p.m.

Contact the writer: [email protected], 402-444-1102, twitter.com/gaarder

Ed Sobczyk, a World War II combat veteran, postmaster and longtime College World Series ticket manager, has died at 96.

“He was a tough old guy,” said homebuilder Brad Brown of Omaha, husband of Sobczyk’s niece, Mary Kay Brown. “He had his routines that you could set your watch by.”

He regularly enjoyed dinner on Fridays at Cascio’s restaurant, and for years met friends at a Perkins restaurant. Brown said he always was served at a table marked with his name, with food arriving on a yellow plate, for some reason his preference.

Sobczyk (pronounced Sub-check) grew up the eighth of 11 children in a family near 30th and Vinton Streets, playing at Hanscom Park and Riverview Park, the site of today’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium.

In the war, his military record shows, he landed on D-Day at Utah Beach with the 12th Infantry Regiment and was wounded June 24, 1944. He participated in the major Northern European campaigns: Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes and Central Europe.

After the war, he spent 42 years as a postal clerk or postmaster, much of the time at Boys Town. He also worked more than 50 years with the CWS, where he served as box office manager at Rosenblatt Stadium, overseeing 11 windows and 20 workers until he was 90.

He died Saturday, having outlived his wife of 57 years, Bernadine. He is survived by sons Jerry Subject of Las Vegas and Mike Sobczyk of San Francisco. A 10 a.m. funeral Mass will be held Thursday at St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church.

Two years ago, in the office of then-Rep. Lee Terry, Ed Sobczyk received 11 military medals, some of which were replacements and some of which he had earned but never received.

At about the same time, he made his first return to Europe since fighting in the war. It included a visit for commemorative services at which he was recognized in Devon, England, at Slapton Sands.

That was the site of an ill-fated dress rehearsal for the Utah Beach landing called Exercise Tiger, in which at least 639 American soldiers and sailors died in an E-boat attack.

Brown said Sobczyk, whom the family called Ed-o, lived an active life until recently. He drove himself to a hospital, thinking he had sinus problems or possibly a stroke.

He was sent home, but a relative later drove him to another hospital, where he had breathing problems and died five days later. The family, Brown said, doesn’t know a precise cause of death.

He would have turned 97 on Aug. 21.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1132, [email protected]

Mike Harper stood in a biting wind on the airport tarmac in Warsaw, Poland, in November 1989, ready to bring his free enterprise experience to a country that had been mired in 40 years of Communist economics.

The Omaha businessman was the man for the job, part of a delegation of American business and government leaders sent by the White House to guide Poland in its transition to a market economy.

Less than 15 years later, as Poland became a full member of the European Union, Harper remarked, "A free economy, free market, is freedom."

Charles M. "Mike" Harper, who died Saturday at age 88, had come to Omaha in 1974 to save a struggling grain company from collapse.

By the time he retired as chief executive in 1992, he had transformed ConAgra Inc. into a $20 billion-a-year food conglomerate, owning everything from beef packing plants to frozen dinner brands.

He also helped trigger a downtown Omaha renaissance by constructing ConAgra’s headquarters campus along the Missouri River, and he has been credited with playing a key role in Nebraska’s economic growth through his insistence the state adopt tax incentives.

[Leaders pay tribute to Mike Harper, 'a practical, pragmatic, entrepreneurial guy']

His daughter, Elizabeth Murphy of Omaha, said friends visited him during his final weeks, and he died at home peacefully, surrounded by family members, after a brief illness. He had been in hospice care since last Monday.

Harper’s drive to create a downtown office campus, although controversial then and even today, helped spark a rebirth of Omaha’s central business district and turn the economic fortunes of the city and state away from potential doldrums it faced in the late 1980s.

Harper, a 6-foot-6 man who urged people to call him "Mike," and his late wife, Josie, also helped change Americans’ eating habits.

After a 1985 heart attack restricted Harper’s diet, his wife served him turkey chili and other tasty, low-salt, low-fat meals that inspired ConAgra’s Healthy Choice brand, the first mainstream food line aimed at healthful diets.

"Hospital food tastes like hell, and this tasted good," Harper would say later of Josie’s turkey chili. He challenged ConAgra’s food lab to make four frozen meals that would taste "damn good" despite being low in fat and salt.

To launch the brand, Harper and L. James Kennedy, ConAgra’s top marketing executive, invited leading food editors and critics to the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York City.

Waiters in tuxedos glided out of the kitchen, holding high the meals hidden under metal covers. At a signal the waiters lifted the covers to reveal the Healthy Choice meals on black plastic plates.

Harper went table to table with a portable microphone getting the diners’ reactions until one woman said, "Not enough salt."

When competitors objected to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration about the implications of calling a brand of food "healthy," Harper visited the agency’s top executive in person and won his endorsement.

Intensely competitive, Harper once spotted a competitor’s flour sack at a University of Nebraska-Lincoln food testing laboratory and quickly left the room, making his displeasure known to the lab staff.

He sometimes wore a lapel pin that said "E3" and would explain that three things in business mattered: "Earnings, earnings, earnings."

"He had a vision of what the business could be by doing a number of acquisitions and vertically integrating them," said Creighton University business dean Anthony Hendrickson. "Everything from the farm to the table, that was ConAgra."

"Mike was charming, hard-nosed, generous, and a great role model for any aspiring business executive," Gov. Pete Ricketts said Sunday.

Harper’s role in Nebraska’s tax incentives began when ConAgra needed a new food laboratory and had outgrown its Omaha offices. He discovered that some states wooed headquarters with lucrative tax breaks.

He and other ConAgra executives drafted a set of proposed incentives, and a version of the proposal, known as 1987’s Legislative Bill 775, went before state senators at a time when some other corporations had left the state.

During debate, Harper threatened to move ConAgra’s headquarters unless the senators approved a tax exemption for corporate aircraft. Harper said later that the aircraft exemption by itself was not a vital issue but he wanted the senators to show strong support for incentives.

"They thought we were leaning on them, and we were," Harper said.

At the time, State Sen. Tim Hall of Omaha voted for the legislation even though he didn’t like parts of it. "But that doesn’t mean I don’t respect his ability to get it done," Hall said later. "He was able to garner the support for his position. He won, and I lost."

After the law passed, Harper took a trip around Nebraska, speaking to civic clubs, chambers of commerce and other groups about the incentive plan. Some Nebraskans felt the legislation gave special benefits to big companies and Omaha, but would hurt the rest of the state.

"We wanted to dampen the bad feelings that came from that," he said.

To fulfill its pledge and qualify for tax incentives, ConAgra built its headquarters along Omaha’s riverfront, choosing the site, he said, partly so that workers could commute downtown by bus if fuel costs became prohibitive.

During the controversy over clearing the city’s historic warehouse district for the new office campus, Harper’s reference to "big, ugly red-brick buildings" angered preservationists.

Harper regretted using those words but viewed the $80 million development, opened in 1990, as a catalyst in revitalizing downtown Omaha. By the end of 1991, 100 companies had qualified for the tax benefits, investing $2.4 billion in the state and creating 18,366 jobs.

"There’s been a lot of other people who have followed and built Omaha’s downtown area into what it is today," said Hendrickson, the Creighton business dean. "But you have to be honest and say the first foray there was ConAgra."

Replacing a historic warehouse district with ConAgra’s suburban campus created a controversy that continues to this day, but Hendrickson said, "You can argue that probably those (warehouse) buildings would be dilapidated today" and new developments since then would be absent.

"Somebody had to be the first," he said. "He invested in downtown when it wasn’t popular and a lot of people were thinking about moving west and other places."

With health problems limiting his activities in recent months, Harper had declined to comment publicly on last year’s decision by ConAgra Foods Inc., as it is now known, to cut jobs in Omaha and move its headquarters to Chicago, vacating at least some of the buildings on the downtown campus.

[World-Herald coverage: ConAgra moving headquarters to Chicago]

But privately Harper said he still liked the suburban-style office buildings and said he believed it was a mistake for ConAgra’s headquarters to leave Omaha.

Harper also was a visible player in the sale of Ak-Sar-Ben’s racetrack property to Douglas County in 1991, a move that has culminated in the redevelopment of that property.

The tax incentives, revised over the recent years but with similar objectives, "have been huge for business," Hendrickson said. "It’s made Nebraska competitive.

"It’s a reasonable scenario to say, had ConAgra not done what they did, all the rest of the investment wouldn’t have happened. Omaha would be a has-been city, a dying town."

Former Mayor Hal Daub said Sunday that Harper was "the key that unlocked the potential for the center of our city. He understood the city, he had a great vision and he was a very straightforward advocate for his business and for economic development in our city."

It took courage for Harper to say that ConAgra would leave Omaha without the state supporting its growth into a Fortune 500 company, Daub said. "He stood his ground, painful though it may have been at the time for some. History would look back and say that he was right, and how thankful we are for that forthright kind of leadership.

"It was rare in the corporate world, and he did it all with one of the most wonderful senses of humor you’ll ever want to know."

In 1988 Harper appeared in an Army uniform with a chrome helmet as Gen. George Patton in an Omaha Press Club show, praising Nebraska taxpayers as an "elite force," singing a Nebraska version of "America the Beautiful" and winning a standing ovation.

A video of the performance is one of his grandchildren’s favorites, said Murphy, his daughter.

"Sometimes he might seem gruff, but he wasn’t," she said. "Down deep, there was a big, soft heart. He had a wonderful life, and we’ve been celebrating him. He had a lot of people that he touched in so many ways with his sense of humor and kindness.

"For being such a busy business guy — he traveled a lot — he always made sure when he was home that he was present," she said. "We had a lot of fun. He was very loving and encouraging. What a great example he was for all of us. We just loved being with him."

A lifelong fan of aviation, Harper was active in the Strategic Air Command’s Consultation Committee and earned a pilot’s license at age 53. He won permission to try his piloting skills in many SAC aircraft, including a KC-135 tanker and a B-2 bomber, and once celebrated his birthday with a "dogfight" in an Air Force fighter.

Some of those flights were arranged by Gen. John T. "Jack" Chain, who said Sunday that he met Harper the day he assumed command of SAC in 1986. Harper was head of the Omaha committee, which helped Offutt and its personnel with projects beyond those provided in the government’s budget.

(That included buying World War II-style uniforms for performances of the SAC Band, according to Gen. Regis Urschler of Bellevue, retired commander of SAC’s 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing. "We’re going to miss him terribly," Urschler said Sunday.)

"We got things done," Chain said. "I was in the Air Force 35 years, and nothing equaled Omaha for the base’s relationship with the town. Mike was a big part of it. He was a great guy, and he was great for Omaha."

Chain would tell Harper he was going to visit a SAC air base in Alaska and wondered if anyone from Omaha would like to go. "He would call back and have six guys that wanted to go. We were like Huntley-Brinkley. He’d start a sentence and I would finish it, and vice versa. It was a blood relationship."

The day after Chain retired from the Air Force, Harper called and told him the time and place of the next meeting of ConAgra’s board of directors, informing him that he was now a member.

The two men remained friends, going on vacations together with their wives, visiting and talking by phone until just recently.

When Harper turned 60 in 1987, he set a flight record by piloting a single-engine Cessna propeller aircraft from San Francisco to New York City in 16 hours and 11 minutes, averaging 146.75 miles an hour counting a refueling stop in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

"After you get to be 60, you want to do something," Harper said. "I just did it as a birthday present from Mike to Mike."

For his 70th birthday, he hired a Boeing 707 and crew and took his family on a 16-day, 16-city round-the-world trip.

In 1989, as part of an American delegation to Poland, Harper gave a haberdasher a free enterprise lesson. When he couldn’t find a fur hat his size, he offered a $10 bonus if the store operator could come up with a proper hat the next day. It was a big sum compared to the shaky Polish zloty.

"What color would you like?" the furrier asked. "Red, " replied Harper, and he picked up his fox-fur hat the next morning.

"I only have one regret, " Harper joked later. "I didn’t try to get it for $5."

On a visit to a government-owned grocery store in Warsaw, Harper noticed that the manager controlled traffic by restricting the number of shopping carts and then requiring each shopper to have a cart. Prices were reasonable, but the selection was horrible and the quality iffy.

But at a crowded outdoor market nearby, he pointed out, selection, quality and prices were high because the government didn’t control the prices.

Former Nebraskan Clayton Yeuttter, who as U.S. trade representative led the delegation, said Sunday that Harper had the greatest opportunity in the group to help Poland move forward because agriculture there still had elements of free enterprise.

"That was a historic occasion, to have Communism fall in that part of the world," said Yeutter, who later served on ConAgra’s board of directors. "Mike was high on my list" of people for the delegation, which included cabinet members, economics professors and other CEOs.

"Mike was such a practical, pragmatic, entrepreneurial guy," Yeutter said. "He would tell them, if you want to be efficient, you’ve got to do this in a different way. Mike would have delivered that message loud and clear."

In business, Harper’s leadership style was direct, reflecting his reliance on honesty and good communications to build leadership in others.

"Be very, very open, and your chances of getting the right answer to something goes way up," he said. "Try to make all the decisions yourself, and you’ll fail."

Harper was born Sept. 26, 1927, in Lansing, Michigan. The family moved to Florida and, a year or so later, to South Bend, Indiana, where he grew up.

After a bout with the mumps at age 7, Harper had trouble speaking and developed a stutter. The lifelong struggle to overcome the problem "increased my determination to succeed," he said.

In a college career interrupted by serving in the Army, he earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Purdue University and an MBA from the University of Chicago. After graduation he accepted his only job offer, from General Motors’ Oldsmobile division in Lansing, telling the job recruiter that in 20 years he hoped to be chairman of GM.

After five years he moved to Pillsbury, where he worked on a team that reduced costs at production plants, then later in the research and development and engineering departments.

As a young vice president, he was responsible for the profit-and-loss results of a poultry and food service division, an experience that molded his business philosophy. At ConAgra, Harper set up independent operating companies and held executives responsible for profits, rewarding those who succeeded.

Harper served on the city council and as mayor of Excelsior, Minnesota, while working for Pillsbury in nearby Minneapolis. Harper won a plurality of the vote, defeating an undertaker and a woman who cried during her speeches.

The suburb’s big issue at the time was a plan to develop an amusement park area into high-rise offices, houses and retail stores.

At his first council meeting as mayor, the city’s planning director presented the development plan, and Harper asked, "Do you have any personal financial interest in this project?"

The man hemmed and hawed but finally admitted that he was working with the project developer. That scotched the original plan, and eventually the community approved a compromise.

Passed over for the CEO’s job at Pillsbury, Harper was recruited by Omaha businessman Robert Daugherty, who was chairman of ConAgra at the time.

Harper worked a year as No. 2 at ConAgra before taking over the top job, adding the chairman’s role five years later. He acquired more than 200 food companies over 20 years, making ConAgra the industry’s most profitable company by again trusting its executives to run their businesses and rewarding them handsomely.

"We were a little company that was coming out of a big loss year. We needed money," he said. "My strategy was to make as much money as I can for the company, honorably, honestly, and for the shareholders."

When people talked about other Omaha companies making their shareholders wealthy, Harper would point out that $30,000 worth of ConAgra shares at the time he became CEO was worth $14 million when he retired, not counting dividends that were paid at a steadily increasing rate.

Harper retired from ConAgra at age 65, saying it was time for a new leader. He had a long list of things to do in retirement but finished it all in about six months. "I was bored silly," he said.

Through Henry Kravis, a founding partner of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Harper became CEO of RJR Nabisco Corp. He signed a three-year contract on condition that he keep his residence in Omaha and commute to New York City on a company jet.

The Wall Street Journal once said Harper’s "good ol’ boy shtick," including short-sleeved shirts and dime-store reading glasses, caused some business people to underestimate him. He once told a group of investment bankers, "I got me an MBA" before turning down their financing proposal.

At one RJR meeting, Harper rejected the idea of lowering the nicotine level in cigarettes to help wean smokers, saying the result likely would be that people would smoke more to get the nicotine they craved.

Harper himself had smoked until the heart attack and knew it was difficult to quit. But at RJR he fought the government’s efforts against the tobacco industry, at one point portraying the anti-smoking campaign as an infringement of civil liberties and arguing that businesses should be able to sell legal products as long as customers were fully informed about the risks involved.

At RJR’s annual shareholders meeting in 1996, Harper drew shareholder applause but criticism for suggesting that infants endangered by their parents’ or grandparents’ smoking could simply crawl out of the room.

He said later he was being sarcastic, but the plain-spoken Harper used strong language in other speeches as well, challenging President Bill Clinton as "slick Willie" and warning about "creeping socialism" through Clinton’s appointees.

His two biggest accomplishments at RJR, Harper said later, were restructuring its debt and finding a way to split its profitable food business away from its tobacco business, which faced an uncertain future.

"Stockholders really came out OK," Harper said.

As his term at RJR ended, Josie Harper — the former Joan "Josie" Bruggema — was diagnosed with breast cancer. She overcame that disease but in 1998 was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer, which led to kidney failure.

She received in-home hospice care, and after her death, the Harper family helped pay for a $1.2 million renovation of Omaha’s Hospice House, which added the Josie Harper Residence to its name.

After she died, Harper built a home near the Omaha Country Club, even though he disliked golf because the game takes too long. He did not remarry.

In recent years his philanthropy has included being the lead donor for the Mike and Josie Harper Center at Creighton University. One of his last public appearances was when the building became the home of the university’s Charles Heider College of Business.

In 2007 the Hyde Park campus of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business was renamed the Charles M. Harper Center after Harper made the then-largest donation in that school’s history.

Harper served as a trustee at Creighton and became friends with its presidents, including the Revs. Michael Morrison, John Schlegel, Timothy Lannon and Daniel Hendrickson, said Steve Scholer, senior philanthropic advisor for the university.

"They just hit it off," Scholer said. "He was so gracious. He just exuded confidence when you were around the guy."

He started a scholarship for nurses in his wife’s memory, a freshman leadership scholarship in Lannon’s name and has endowed a professorship in history in Morrison’s name. This fall his estate is to endow a chair in business leadership in Harper’s name.

Besides daughter Elizabeth, Harper is survived by son Dr. Mike Harper Jr. of Rochester, Minnesota; daughters Carolyn Harper of Omaha and Kathleen Wenngatz of Annandale, Minnesota; 11 grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren.

A funeral will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday at St. John’s Catholic Church on the Creighton campus, followed by a reception at the Harper Center. Visitation and burial will be private.

In the 1970s Kellom Elementary School sat next to the Logan Fontenelle housing projects, which teachers called “Little Vietnam.”

Many of the kids there had parents who were absent or in trouble. But kindergarten teacher Pauline “Linda” Skinner could convey how much she cared and help them see a life outside of the projects.

“She made the kids feel like they were worth a million dollars, even though some were a little naughty,” said Kathy J. Trotter, 63, of Omaha, who student-taught under Skinner in the early 1970s. “She sat them down and just talked to them, you know, just like they were little miniature adults. ... Momma Skinner was a role model for the kids.”

Skinner, 100, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, a longtime Omaha educator, died last week. Services were Wednesday in Eden, North Carolina, where she was born in 1915.

“She was no nonsense, but she was caring,” said Trotter, retired principal at Druid Hill Elementary School and the first female principal at Jesuit Middle School, now Jesuit Academy. “The students knew that she loved them.”

Among the things she would do for her students was take them home if their parents didn’t come to pick them up.

“She loved to help people, especially kids. It wouldn’t be anything to see her buying clothes for kids,” Trotter said. “She was just a caring person you don’t see a lot nowadays.”

She graduated from Knoxville College in Tennessee in 1937 and taught in North Carolina for several years. It was there she met Eugene Skinner of Omaha. The couple married and moved to Omaha in 1941.

She retired in the early 1980s after teaching at Howard Kennedy and Kellom Elementary Schools in north Omaha.

“My 40 years teaching was a joy,” Skinner told World-Herald columnist Janice Gilmore in December, as she turned 100. “I enjoyed every bit of it.”

She trained a number of student teachers. Trotter credits Skinner with starting her off on the right foot; the two remained close, with Skinner becoming a mother figure to Trotter.

Before she started student teaching, Trotter said, Skinner told her there would be no time for her to just watch. Instead she would have to jump right in and begin teaching classes on her first day as a student teacher.

Trotter, now the coordinator for the Single Parent Homemaker program at Metropolitan Community College, said she wasn’t happy about that at the time. But it worked out well.

“It was probably the best thing that ever happened to me. … I don’t know about anybody else, but she just threw me” into the job, Trotter said. “She thought it was wasted time to spend two or three months just sitting around.”

Skinner’s husband Eugene, Omaha Public Schools’ first African-American full-time teacher, principal and assistant superintendent, died in 1993, and she moved back to North Carolina in 2000.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1310, [email protected], twitter.com/nelson_aj

Bonnie Bull had a presence.

“She had a big personality and filled up the room,” said a son, Calvin Bull.

“She was always in command of the room, all while maintaining a rapport with everyone,” said her boss, Farmer Brown’s Steak House owner Steve Stenglein.

Bull, 80, was a hostess at the Waterloo restaurant on Wednesdays and Fridays. She died there Friday night.

When business slowed down, she would often stop for a cocktail at the bar and visit with guests. She was joshing with some friends at a table and turned to give her drink order to the bartender, Stenglein said. She just started to speak, then was gone, he said.

“She was totally surrounded by close friends, not home alone,” Stenglein said. “She probably wouldn’t have wanted it any other way, but still, it’s very hard.”

Her son said: “She went out knowing she was loved.

“We don’t get to choose how to spend our last moments, but if she could pick it, it would be in a bar ... hand on a barstool, among friends.”

Earlier Friday, Calvin Bull said, her cardiologist reported that her latest tests after heart problems developed three weeks earlier showed improvement. “He said we still have a ways to go but things are headed in the right direction,” Bull said. “She was happy with the news. That night she was telling customers that she was feeling so much better, feeling like her old self.”

She loved the business, he said. She grew up with it — her parents operated the Stockade in Millard (now the Millard Roadhouse) — and made a career of it. She and her late husband, Wilbur, ran the Circle B restaurant in Elkhorn for decades.

“It was in her blood (working the restaurant and bar business), and she loved it,” Calvin Bull said. “And they were good at it. And it gave dad a place where he could talk politics and religion.”

Not long after her husband died in 2002, Bonnie Bull was asked to work a hostess shift at Farmer Brown’s. That turned into a regular gig.

“It created a situation where people came in those two nights just to see her,” Stenglein said. “I can’t overemphasize her greeter role. She would joke with the guests and could handle any problem that might arise.”

“She loved being around people,” her son said. “She loved getting and giving a hard time.”

He said they celebrated his mother’s 80th birthday in January. About 90 people gathered for the party at her son Melvin’s bar, the VIP Lounge.

“It was a wonderful evening,” Calvin Bull said. “We are so glad we did that, since we won’t have her for her 81st birthday.”

Bonnie Hansen Bull was born in Omaha and raised in Millard, graduating from then-Millard High School.

Her son said she was active in a bridge group, loved going to Las Vegas and was a lifelong Nebraska football fan.

Bonnie Bull’s funeral will be held Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. at Bethany Lutheran Church in the Elkhorn area.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1101, [email protected]

In 1977 Karen Risk helped found the Nebraska Organ Recovery System, which has since helped countless people receive the organs they desperately needed.

During her 34 years as executive director of the system, which is the primary coordinator for organ donation in Nebraska and Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Risk helped build a legacy that continues today.

Risk died Thursday from complications related to cancer and Alzheimer’s. She was 68. She had retired four years ago from the organ recovery system after being diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.

Risk’s family saw her leadership abilities shine in her personal life the same way they did in her professional life. Sharon Huebert, Risk’s sister-in-law, said Risk has been the go-to leader since they first met in school.

“Karen was an extremely efficient person and a good leader,” Huebert said.

The two first met while training to become licensed practical nurses in Carroll, Iowa. In the apartment they shared with a third friend, Risk became the “mom” of the apartment.

“She set up chores and came up with grocery lists and what we were going to make,” Huebert said.

Risk was originally from Panama, Iowa. After completing their nursing training in Carroll, Risk and Huebert worked at Bergan Mercy Medical Center in Omaha. That’s where Risk would eventually introduce Huebert to her brother, and their friendship strengthened when they became “sisters” by Huebert’s marriage to Risk’s brother.

Risk and her husband, Robert, were nearly inseparable, Huebert said. The couple raised and trained black Labrador retrievers, which they would take around the country to dog competitions. They owned a van that they turned into a doggy mobile, with kennels in the back.

“Those were their kids,” Huebert said.

At competitions, if her husband was judging or running one of their dogs, Risk would sit back in her lawn chair, working on a craft. She loved to embroider and was also a painter and pianist.

In addition to her husband, Risk is survived by her brothers, Gerald, Dallan and Neil. The family will receive friends today from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Korisko-Larkin-Staskiewicz mortuary. The funeral will also be held there, on Tuesday at 11 a.m. The interment will be at Fort Calhoun Cemetery.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1304, [email protected]

A Council Bluffs police lieutenant who worked for the department for 18 years lost his battle with colon cancer on Saturday.

Benjamin “Ben” Roth, 38, died at his Council Bluffs home.

In 2015 Roth received a liver transplant. At the time, doctors discovered he had Stage 3 colon cancer. He had surgery and started chemotherapy to fight the cancer in the fall of 2015.

Roth started with the Council Bluffs Police Department in 1998, following in the footsteps of his father, retired Police Capt. Jerry Roth.

Police Chief Tim Carmody said Roth served the community and citizens of Council Bluffs in a number of roles.

He worked in the uniform division and as an accident investigator for the traffic division. From 2004 to 2009 Roth served as a school resource officer at Wilson Middle School. He was promoted to sergeant within the uniform division in 2009.

During his battle with cancer, Roth completed the lieutenant test, which Carmody said Roth passed with ease. Roth was officially promoted to lieutenant the day before his death.

“He came out No. 1 on the list of candidates,” Carmody said. “We were able to present Ben with his lieutenant’s badge on the afternoon of Friday at his home while he was surrounded by his friends and his family.”

From 2008 to 2016 Roth was a hostage negotiator.

“Ben was a great example of a servant leader,” Carmody said. “He understood our mission — to protect and serve — and lived it out with honor and distinction. Even through his illness Ben was a courageous fighter who always had an ‘I can beat this’ attitude.”

Roth and his wife, Alisa, have two children. Deana is a senior at Abraham Lincoln High School and Colbey is an eighth-grader at Lewis Central Middle School.

Visitation will be today from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Hoy-Kilnoski Funeral Home. Roth’s funeral service will be 10 a.m. Wednesday at the funeral home.

Faith and family were two of the hallmarks that carried Omaha native Francis “Frank” Bodnar through nearly 70 years of marriage and 94 years of life.

Son Robert Bodnar of Omaha said his father led an interesting life that stretched from Omaha to the South Pacific and back again. Along the way, the elder Bodnar worked 42 years for the Union Pacific Railroad, served his church and raised 11 children.

“I’ve heard this said before, and I think it applies to dad: He was the smartest man I knew and the strongest man I knew because he was the kindest man I knew,” his son said.

Bodnar died April 19 of heart disease at the home of one of his daughters. Funeral services will be 10 a.m. Saturday at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 2207 Wirt St.

If Frank Bodnar went missing as a boy, his relatives knew they usually could find him in the basement, working on model airplanes and crystal radio sets. He graduated from North High in 1941 and went to work for the Union Pacific Railroad before joining the Navy when World War II began.

Bodnar’s son said his father helped Marines land at Guadalcanal and other important battles. After the war, Bodnar served in the Navy Reserve and the Seabees, the Navy’s construction battalion.

Back home in Omaha, Bodnar met Rosemary Anson while riding a streetcar in 1945. They married on Aug. 17, 1946, and set about raising their large brood near St. Terese of the Child Jesus Catholic Church, which now is closed.

Bodnar built a home in 1956 near 13th and Browne Streets, where his wife still lives.

The Bodnar children never tired of hearing their dad tell stories about his adventures growing up during the Depression, the war and his job at U.P. His son said he has more than 10 hours of recordings of his father’s memories.

After retiring as car shop foreman for U.P., the elder Bodnar enjoyed traveling by train and cheering on Nebraska football. In 1985 he was in charge of refurbishing a 1919 Omaha trolley car that still is on exhibit at the Durham Museum.

“Dad was like John Wayne: a big man who really did seem larger than life,” Robert Bodnar said.

In addition to his wife and son Robert, Bodnar is survived by sons Gary, Pat, Don and Steve and daughters Rosemary Noel, Connie Bruno and Mary and Ann Bodnar.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1272, [email protected]

For 30 years, Bev “Grandma” Loehr brought love and a wicked sense of humor to sporting events throughout Omaha, especially the College World Series.

Loehr thought nothing of working her job in concessions from early in the morning to late at night at Rosenblatt Stadium during the CWS, said a grandson, Jimmy Loehr of Chicago. She also worked events at the Civic Auditorium, Baxter Arena, Orpheum Theater, Werner Park and Ralston Arena.

“She could work 14-, even 16-hour days for 14 days in a row and think nothing of it,” her grandson said. “I couldn’t keep up with her when I was working (at the stadium). She put me to shame.”

Loehr, who had recently battled pneumonia and blood clots, died peacefully Tuesday in her South Omaha home at age 82. Services will be held Saturday at 11 a.m. in the Korisko-Larkin-Staskiewicz Funeral Home, 5108 F St.

An Omaha native, Loehr attended South High and married Fred Loehr in 1958. The couple had two children, six grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

“She was known as grandma to everyone she met,” daughter-in-law Casey Loehr said. “She always wanted to know if someone was single so she could play matchmaker. That’s how my husband, Jim, and I got together.”

CWS fans, many from Texas and Louisiana, often would bring gifts for Loehr when they reunited with her at the series. She got a kick out of gabbing about babies, graduations and weddings, her daughter-in-law said.

“She had a wonderful sense of humor, and she was always looking for cute guys,” she said. “She loved to flirt with them. She had so much fun.”

Loehr oversaw 27 concession stands at Rosenblatt Stadium. Even after she broke a hip in 1987, she didn’t want her grandson checking on her when they worked together.

“That was a no-no, and that was about the only time she’d get a little mad at you,” he said. “Grandma was always all right. Grandma was doing her job and you should get back to yours.”

Loehr didn’t follow the CWS to TD Ameritrade Park in 2011, but she worked other events right up until the day before her death. She stayed in touch with her old CWS comrades.

“She was still upset when Rosenblatt closed,” Casey Loehr said. “She loved the CWS and all the people she met over the years. She was always smiling, laughing and joking. She never had a bad day there.”

In addition to her husband, Loehr was preceded in death by daughter Rose Coniglio of Omaha. Other survivors include a brother, James Rush of Omaha.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1272, [email protected]

As a coach, Dan O’Doherty knew how to win. In basketball, his teams averaged a little more than one loss per season.

As a coach, O’Doherty knew how to mentor: Some of his players, including Bart Kofoed and Ed Burns, became professional athletes. And dozens of his former students and players attended his funeral Wednesday at St. Pius X Catholic Church in Omaha.

“He loved the kids,” said his widow, Rosemary O’Doherty.

Dan O’Doherty, 88, a father of 10, died Friday of Alzheimer’s disease. For 32 years until 1993, he was a grade-school coach at St. Pius X/St. Leo School in Omaha.

O’Doherty was born and raised in Omaha, growing up near 38th and Miami Streets. He went to Holy Name Grade School and graduated from Benson High, class of 1947, making all-city in basketball and baseball.

After graduating, he got married and started a family, laying linoleum and pitching for semi-pro baseball teams.

His wife said his record of wins had a lot to do with his determination — his philosophy: Second place is the first loser.

“We were poor. He’d get 50 to 75 dollars a game,” she said. But “he loved what he did.”

He started coaching at St. Margaret Mary before moving over to Pius X, where he racked up an impressive number of wins, mostly coaching eighth-grade baseball, basketball and track.

Youngest son Joe O’Doherty rattled off various statistics: As seventh-grade baseball coach from 1963-67, he didn’t lose a game. And from 1971 on, his track teams won every meet they participated in.

“If there was a falling down contest and he lost it, he would go home and practice falling down. He loved to win,” said Joe O’Doherty, 48, of Omaha.

“Dan always made it perfectly clear how we should act on and off the court,” said Burns, a onetime quarterback for Nebraska and the New Orleans Saints, in 1993 at O’Doherty’s retirement party. “He never allowed any showboating. ... He helped us plant our feet a little firmer on the ground.”

After retiring, O’Doherty and his wife spent much of their time traveling and playing bridge. But they also had to cope with the loss of two of their children: Susan to cancer and Daniel Jr. to meningitis. His faith as a Catholic, and the belief that he would see his children again in heaven, helped him through their deaths.

“He had a very deep faith in the Lord,” Rosemary O’Doherty said.

A few years ago, as Alzheimer’s began to take its toll, O’Doherty was moved to St. Joseph Villa. There, he tried to organize a basketball team, even plotting positions for the nurses.

“He always talked about playing a game,” his wife said.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1310, [email protected], twitter.com/nelson_aj

Sam Scarpello’s children remember him as the strong leader of their Italian family.

The Omaha community knew Scarpello as a union leader who fought for the working class and as a staunch supporter of the Democratic Party.

Scarpello died Tuesday of complications related to Alzheimer’s disease and squamous cell carcinoma. He was 83.

Steve Scarpello, his oldest son, said his father was always the “common sense guy” during labor or political battles.

“My dad,” he said, “was the guy people would come to and say, ‘OK, Sam, what can we do?’ ”

Terry Moore, president of the Omaha Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, for the past 41 years, said Scarpello was his top adviser for about half that time. Scarpello also had served as president of Local 22 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

Moore said Scarpello used his life to better the lives of laborers:

“He gave his life for the labor movement. He sacrificed a lot of time with his family to serve both the brothers and sisters of the free trade movement in order to better their lives and have a higher standard of living for the working class.”

A working man himself, Scarpello never finished college. He earned a living as an electrician after serving as an Army medic in the Korean War.

He was always a Democrat, his son said, and his party involvement increased as he rose in the labor movement.

Scarpello attended national Democratic conventions as a delegate in 1976, 1984 and 1988.

Scarpello and his wife, Marjorie, married for 58 years, had five children.

“He was the leader of our family,” Steve Scarpello said, recalling how his father used his skills as a medic to treat his children’s cuts and ailments.

He also remembers his father always being curious about life and loving politics. The family often found him glued to the television watching CNN.

When his Alzheimer’s worsened, the couple moved from their home in Beaver Lake near Plattsmouth to a retirement community. They would watch old movies in the clubhouse, and Scarpello loved to sing. Tony Bennett tunes were some of his favorites.

To pay respect to Scarpello, the Omaha Federation of Labor’s regular monthly meeting on Wednesday was postponed, for the first time, so that members could attend his wake.

“He was my strongest supporter, and he stood by my side through many, many tough times,” Moore said.

A funeral will be at 11:15 a.m. today at St. Cecilia Cathedral.

Besides his wife and son Steve, Scarpello is survived by four other children: Susan, Michael, Marty and Sam.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1304, [email protected]

Michael McGill, former presiding Douglas County District Court judge and Boys Town general counsel, died Wednesday after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. He was 76.

McGill leaves behind a large family and numerous colleagues and friends to whom he is “beloved,” said his sister, Patty McGill-Smith. “He is just a remarkable man.”

McGill was appointed a district court judge in 1991. He presided over many high-profile cases, including the murder cases of Asa Carter and Eric Kirksey and the sexual-assault trial of serial rapist David Burdette.

He stepped down from the bench in 2000 to work as general counsel at Boys Town. There he served as an adviser to the Rev. Val Peter, executive director at the time, and other directors.

At Boys Town, McGill kept the organization current on human resources and employment law in 13 states, said Dan Daly, executive vice president and director of youth care at Boys Town.

“When Judge McGill spoke, people always listened,” Daly said.

Daly said McGill was soft-spoken but gained the respect of everyone around him because of his knowledge, accuracy and good character.

“He wasn’t afraid to take measured risks when it was in the interest of the kids,” Daly said.

McGill worked at Boys Town for eight years before retiring because of his Parkinson’s.

Were it not for his disease, he probably never would have stopped working, McGill-Smith said.

“He was one of those people who just worked and worked and worked,” she said.

McGill comes from a big Omaha family with ties throughout the community. His parents, Patrick and Elizabeth McGill, had six children — four boys and two girls. He is survived by five children — Julie McGill, Molly McGill, Martha Scanlan, Christopher McGill and Matthew McGill — 11 grandchildren, and his sisters McGill-Smith and Mary Gen Betterman.

His brother Frank, who died in 2014, was a prominent Creighton University sports booster and an advocate for the homeless and addicted.

Michael McGill was a star athlete at Holy Name High School, where he was on two state championship basketball teams.

He got his bachelor’s degree at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, in 1961 and a law degree from Creighton University in 1964.

After college, he went into the Air Force. When he got out of the service, he married Mary McGill. She died in 2013.

Services for McGill will be this weekend at St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church. His family will receive friends Sunday from 3 to 5 p.m., preceding a vigil service at 5. The funeral Mass will be Monday at 10:30 a.m.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1214, [email protected]

At Salem Baptist Church they called her Mother Wade, the pastor’s wife who would take fellow pastors’ wives in Omaha under her wing, and who looked after the kids in the congregation from single-parent homes.

“She had mothered so many generations ... she deserved that title,” said Marsha Wade Nichols, 65, of Aurora, Colorado, her youngest daughter.

Mary Wade, whose husband J.C. Wade Sr. was Salem’s pastor for 44 years, died earlier this month in suburban Los Angeles. She was 98.

Wade was born in Sunflower County, Mississippi, on Aug. 3, 1917, one of 14 children. The family later moved to Memphis, where she met J.C. Wade, who preached at her church. They were married on Dec. 18, 1935. The Wades moved to Omaha in 1944, and J.C. Wade became the pastor at Salem, a post he would hold until 1988.

For more than 40 years she was the supervisor for the junior choir.

“My mother was (about) church, Jesus, God, the Bible,” Wade Nichols said. “Her other interest was her family.”

She and her husband had five children, two of whom became pastors. Another, Doretha Wade-Wilkerson, became minister of music at Salem and led the Salem Inspirational Choir through several gospel albums, including one nominated for a Grammy Award in 1979. Wade-Wilkerson died in 2001.

Wade’s schooling had ended at age 14 when she came down with polio. As an adult she attained her GED through adult education classes held at the church. Conscious of what she had missed, she pushed her own children to go to college and get advanced degrees.

The Rev. Wade died in 1999. In 2010 Wade moved to the Los Angeles area to be closer to two of her children. Her last visit to Omaha was in October. She died April 11.

Services are Saturday at Mount Moriah Baptist Church of Los Angeles, where son Melvin V. Wade Sr. is pastor.

On April 30 there will be services in Omaha at Salem. At 9 a.m. a citywide choir will sing her favorite songs, and the homegoing celebration begins at 10 a.m. She will be buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park.

The Barker family roots are intertwined with Omaha’s, so Joseph Barker III, a fifth-generation native son, was forever looking for ways to nourish the community that had given his family so much.

Barker died at home Sunday of an apparent heart attack, according to the family. He was 79.

From his early years as a young professional to his final years, Barker’s civic work revolved around making the lives of others better, with a particular focus on social justice, said his son, the Right Rev. Scott Barker, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska.

During the turbulence of the 1960s and 1970s, Barker was a founding member of Omaha Awareness and Action, which looked for ways to unite Omaha’s black and white communities, his son said. Likewise, one of the last of the more than two dozen boards Barker served on was the Omaha Police Foundation.

“Even at the end of his life when he couldn’t do as much, policing was really important to him,” the Rev. Barker said. “So many issues involve law enforcement.”

Among Barker’s legacies were helping to found Big Brothers of Omaha, now Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Midlands, and the Western Heritage Museum, now known as the Durham Museum, said longtime friend Red Thomas.

“He was a world-class citizen of Omaha,” said Thomas. “His whole life seemed to be focused on helping others.”

The Barker family has been part of Omaha since the 1850s, when a traveling Anglican minister, Joseph Barker Sr., set down roots. An extensive collection of letters penned between 1860 and 1871 by his son, Joseph Barker Jr., provide one of the most colorful and valuable accounts of early Omaha known to historians. The Barker Collection, as it is known, has been used in books and other research on Omaha.

One of downtown Omaha’s classic structures bears the family name as does a short stretch of street in midtown.

From those earliest years, community service has been a mainstay of the Barker family.

Joseph Barker III offered his time and talents to medical and hospital boards, city government and civic associations and worked to advance the standing and performance of his profession, insurance. He was honored as Omaha’s Outstanding Young Man by the Junior Chamber of Commerce in 1969.

Barker grew up in an insurance family and started the life insurance division of Foster Barker Co. in the 1960s. The business was sold to another entity, and Joe Barker then sold insurance through several companies, primarily Massachusetts Mutual.

Joe Barker knew his share of tragedy, losing his first wife, Susan (Ahlstrand) at age 38 and his youngest son, David, to suicide.

In talking about his son’s death, Barker said at the time: “To get beyond tragedies, it’s best to get outside oneself and help others.” David was an artist at the Hot Shops Art Center, and following his death, Barker sponsored stipends for artists to work from David’s space.

Barker had his own artistic streak — singing. He sang throughout his life, from the Glee Club at Yale University to the church choir at All Saints Episcopal Church.

He was an active member at All Saints, where he served as a senior warden, the highest position that a lay person can hold in the Episcopal faith. He also led the campaign to build the church’s retreat center.

In addition to Scott, Barker is survived by his wife DeDe (Ruge); daughter, Amy Tillman of Memphis, Tennessee; sons Dustin Ruge of Scottsdale, Arizona, and Douglas Ruge of Omaha; and eight grandchildren.

Services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at All Saints Episcopal Church. Visitation arrangements are pending.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1102, [email protected]

Retired businessman Leonard “Les” Schneiderman, who traveled the world assembling a massive collection of scales, never publicly disclosed the location of the Omaha warehouse where he neatly arranged them on shelves.

“In his later years, the scales were his life,” said his wife, Jan. “At the warehouse, there was always something that needed to be repaired, fixed, polished or taken apart and put back together.”

Schneiderman, who once employed more than 100 people as president and owner of K-B Foods Inc., died on April 10 from pneumonia after a long illness. He was 87.

A native of New York City, he graduated in 1946 from Central High School and in 1950 from Creighton University. He served two years in the Army and then worked for his uncles, the Kesselman brothers, who originated the K-B business, selling ice cream.

Les helped expand the company, which distributed food to restaurants, hotels, hospitals, schools and nursing homes. He sold the business 15 years ago.

He began collecting scales 25 years ago, obtaining them from Australia, Hong Kong, South America, the Netherlands, Israel, Italy, Denmark, Sweden and elsewhere. He called it a tribute to inventors’ creativity and ingenuity.

In 2013, he allowed a World-Herald writer and photographer access to his warehouse, and the article was headlined: “Omaha man accumulates a collection beyond measure.”

A grandchild once made a rough count and estimated 10,000 scales and other items, such as coffee grinders, apple peelers, tobacco cutters, pencil sharpeners, typewriters, vinyl records and music boxes.

But mainly scales. The president of the International Society of Antique Scale Collectors said he knew of no other private collection of scales that was as large.

Jan Schneiderman, a former president of the National Council of Jewish Women, said she would consult with their children before deciding on the fate of the collection.

She enjoyed traveling with him and said she admired how trusting he was that people in out-of-the-way places would send him what he purchased.

The couple met on a blind date and married in June 1959. Besides his wife, Les Schneiderman is survived by daughters Robin Baer of Dix Hills, New York; Debra Trenton of Mission Hills, Kansas; and Scott Schneiderman of Omaha, as well as seven grandchildren.

Les Schneiderman once spent most of a summer in New York while his wife recuperated from back surgery there, and she said she was happy to help care for him in his final days at their home, where he died.

“He stayed by my side when I needed him, and I did the same for him,” she said. “We had a great life. As much as I miss him, I have absolutely no regrets and I know he is in a better place.”

Contact the writer: 402-444-1132, [email protected]

You could say Joan Edwards got to America from England via train — indirectly, of course.

Edwards lived in north England and commuted to London for her job in the 1950s. She met serviceman Duane White on that commute. They decided to wed in 1966 and settled in Bellevue, where, known as Joan White, she got involved in local theater.

Edwards, 87, died Monday in California. She lived in Nebraska for only about 10 years, said daughter Kate Edwards of Venice, California, but she made a splash during that time. She made another splash when she moved to Los Angeles in 1976 and became the personal assistant to John Travolta.

She played Eliza Doolittle in “My Fair Lady” at the Omaha Community Playhouse, winning the theater’s 1970 Fonda/McGuire Award for her performance. She also performed at the Westroads Dinner Theater.

A native of Oldham, England, Edwards was an entertainer long before she arrived in America. She was the host of “Housewives Call the Tune,” a late 1950s television show in Britain. On a set that appeared to be her home, she played write-in song requests from housewives. As the record was spinning, she would clean house or cook until the doorbell rang.

The person at the door, coincidentally, was the artist whose song was playing — Eddie Fisher, for example. She interviewed the star in her “home” over a cup of tea.

“It was all live, so crazy things used to happen,” her daughter said.

Born Joan Travis, Edwards graduated from Hulme Grammar School in Oldham, then launched a singing career across Britain. At one point, Kate said, her mom’s legs were insured by Lloyd’s of London. She married Thomas Edwards, but they later divorced.

In Bellevue, Joan gave singing lessons to Omahan David James Witherspoon, and they became friends. Together, they founded the Talk of the Town Dinner Theater, where she continued to act. She also earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from what then was Bellevue College.

When her marriage to White ended, Edwards moved to Los Angeles with her mother — who had moved here from Britain — and Kate, her only child.

“We didn’t want to scrape ice off windshields anymore,” Kate said.

Joan met Travolta through Kate, who worked with Travolta’s manager. He was about to film “Grease.”

“I love your mom so much,” Kate said he told her. “Do you think your mom would come be my assistant on the movie?”

Joan worked for Travolta for 16 years, traveling with him, coordinating his schedule and running his home. After that, she was assistant to pianist Roger Williams until he died in 2011.

Kate called Joan a kind, caring and funny person who was like a mother to those she met. In the last few days, Kate said, she’s heard from many of her mom’s admirers — “people who said she changed their lives.”

She also loved animals and gardening.

Edwards was diagnosed with breast cancer in the late 1990s. It returned in a metastatic form in 2012. In her final days, she lived in an assisted living center near her daughter.

She didn’t want a funeral, so Kate and husband John Noonan will have a celebration of her mom’s life in California in a few weeks.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1267, [email protected]

Nebraska’s most widely known Holocaust survivor never forgot the concentration camp smell of burning flesh.

“I can still remember,” he said, “someone pointing to the smoke from chimneys and saying, ‘There are your parents.’ ”

Sam Fried, who wore the prison ID A-5053 on his left arm, survived Auschwitz and eventually arrived in Omaha. He operated a successful business, Master Electronics.

In later years he spoke to thousands of students and raised money to start university programs on genocide and other atrocities.

Fried died Monday of heart complications at 87 and will be remembered at 11 a.m. today at Beth El Synagogue. He believed in tikkun olam, acts of kindness performed to repair the world.

“He just had a strong belief in the power of the human being,” said daughter Susan Fried of Boston. “Even though he had seen human beings at their absolute worst, he still somehow believed in our ability to rise up above that and to do good.”

David Boocker, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, said Fried believed in the future and left a legacy of education.

“Sam emerged from the most terrible experience anybody could imagine,” Boocker said, “but he was more than a survivor. He triumphed, and his life was such a great contribution to society.”

Sam Fried was raised in an idyllic childhood in Rakosin, Czechoslovakia. But in 1944, his family and other Jewish families were rounded up by Nazis and placed on cattle-car trains to Auschwitz.

He was about 15 when he got off the train and told captors he was 18. A doctor — he said it was the notorious Josef Mengele — sent Sam to a work camp but ordered his parents to the gas chambers.

His mother’s last words to him: “Save yourself.”

Fried was often beaten, and his weight dropped to a skin-and-bones 80 pounds. But on a forced march to another camp, in early 1945, he hid under a bed and escaped into the woods, eventually meeting up with Russian soldiers.

In Europe after the war, he married Magda, also an Auschwitz survivor. They arrived in America in August 1949, and he often said he was “born the day I came to this country.”

The couple soon arrived in Omaha, raised three children and put them through college, but kept a low profile on the Holocaust. In 1979, though, after a neo-Nazi march in Skokie, Illinois, Sam and Magda began speaking out.

They helped organize an Omaha dinner at which survivors honored liberators, including World War II veteran Louis Blumkin of the Nebraska Furniture Mart family.

Magda died of cancer in 1985, and Sam continued speaking publicly. His second wife, Frances, supported his Holocaust work and helped raise funds.

In 2001, in the week after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America, Sam urged immigrants to donate to the relief effort.

“Muslims, Christians, Jews — I challenge all immigrants,” he said. “The country needs them now.”

In 2002, the Frieds placed a “Six Million Lights Memorial” in each of four Omaha synagogues. The hand-cut stones each contained a light that blinked 6 million times a year — representing the 6 million Jews among the estimated 11 million people who died in the Holocaust.

In 2005, on the 60th anniversary of the end of the war and the liberation of concentration camps, Sam turned down an invitation to return to Auschwitz. He said it was not a cemetery but a slaughterhouse.

As he told students and others, an irony of the Holocaust’s inhumanity is that it came from a nation — Germany — that was not uncivilized but rather full of history, culture, poetry and art.

In his later years, Fried became the impetus behind the creation of an academic chair at UNO. Among the donors was Louis Blumkin, who had helped liberate Dachau.

“The liberators saved our lives,” Fried said in 2011. “Louie Blumkin was one of those men of valor. The Blumkins have been constant supporters of our efforts to educate — to ensure that we will never forget.”

Louis Blumkin died in 2013, but the academic efforts continued. An endowment fund started by the Frieds has grown to more than $1 million, supporting Holocaust education at UNO and four other campuses: Creighton University, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the University of Nebraska at Kearney and Wayne State College.

UNO began offering a minor this semester in Holocaust and genocide studies.

“I was always amazed,” Dean Boocker of UNO said, “how Sam, in spite of his experiences, maintained a positive outlook on life and on human nature. All of us who knew him and adored him are eternally grateful.”

Besides his wife, Frances, and daughter Susan, Fried is survived by sons Ed, of Kansas City, Missouri, and Jim, of Omaha, as well as their spouses, his stepchildren and 14 grandchildren.

In addition to the morning service today, the family will welcome the public to Beth El, 14506 California St., starting at 5:30 p.m.

When honored at UNO a few years ago, Sam Fried said: “I feel like I’ve been to hell, and now I’ve ended up in heaven.”

His health had slipped the past two years, and he recently ran a high fever and suffered heart problems before he died Monday night.

“My dad talked a lot recently,” Susan Fried said, “about the last thing his mother said to him, to ‘Save yourself.’ And that he really dedicated his life not just to honor that, but to make a life and show her that he did much more than just save himself.

“He created so much more. I don’t know of very many people who went through what he did and changed the lives of so many.”

Contact the writer: 402-444-1132, [email protected]

Barc Wade traveled the world, but for decades he was a major voice for tourism in Nebraska.

Friends and relatives celebrated his life Tuesday, after his death last Friday at 89.

“Barc was an exceptional educator and mentor, with unwavering integrity and unlimited compassion,” said Rose White of Omaha, public affairs director for AAA Nebraska. “I learned a great deal from him, but not all of it was job-related. I learned how to be a better human being.”

Wade’s kindness and deft touch were evident in a column that he wrote for years in a Nebraska triple-A publication, “Biteless Barc.”

But he once got fellow AAA editors in the Midwest to bite on an idea that struck a chord with motor club members. At a 1979 conference in Chicago, he proposed that the clubs join forces and put out a bigger, higher-quality magazine to serve their combined membership.

The result was Home & Away magazine, still based in Omaha, with a regional circulation of nearly 1.4 million.

Terry Ausenbaugh of Omaha, president and CEO of H&A Media Group, said Home & Away now serves virtually every AAA club in the United States.

“While each of the magazines is regional,” he said, “if combined they would be the largest magazine in the U.S., with a total circulation of 26 million.”

A Kearney native and a stateside Navy veteran of World War II, Clarence Barclay Wade graduated in 1948 from Kearney State Teachers College, now the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

After writing for the Kearney Hub and teaching at Fremont High School, he switched to his main career in 1954. Wade became the first public affairs director and publications editor for the Cornhusker Motor Club, the Nebraska affiliate of the American Automobile Association.

He served on Nebraska tourism committees under several governors and won awards for promoting tourism in the state. He helped UNK develop a curriculum that led to the university being one of the few to offer a degree in travel and tourism.

Barc and his wife, Lois, raised three children, but son Gary died in 1972 of Crohn’s disease, inflammation of the digestive tract.

The couple helped form the Omaha chapter of Compassionate Friends, which offers support to families suffering from the death of a child. Lois Wade died in 2002.

Barc Wade was active in church and community affairs, and for 13 years he volunteered as editor of Faith at Work magazine. He also was board vice president for the Intergeneration Orchestra of Omaha.

He loved his years at triple-A so much that after retiring, he returned for 12 more years working part time. He retired again in 2004, making it a 50-year career there.

A non-smoker, Wade was diagnosed seven years ago with pulmonary fibrosis. He eventually had to give up golf and went into hospice care Feb. 22.

He is survived by son Charles Wade of Ventura, California, and daughter Krista Bensinger of Omaha, as well as four grandchildren and a great-grandchild.

“He was a wonderful father,” Bensinger said. “He exemplified honesty, humor and forgiveness.”

Contact the writer: 402-444-1132, [email protected]

Whether she was befriending a college student on a train or handing out gift cards to complete strangers, Karen Brown was a firm believer in the philosophy of paying it forward.

“Karen’s two big commitments were paying it forward and making visits to senior citizens,” said her husband, Scott Brown. “Karen felt blessed and she wanted to share her blessings with others.”

That giving spirit made Karen Brown, 59, a wealth of friends — so many that her funeral, which is scheduled for noon Friday, was moved from a mortuary to the gym at Omaha’s Marian High School. Karen Brown managed Marian’s attendance office.

She died from lung cancer Saturday at the Nebraska Medical Center. Her husband of 34 years, two daughters and her sister were present.

Mary Higgins, the president of Marian, said Brown “greeted everyone who came into and left the building warmly, enthusiastically and with a smile.” Brown told her family that she had found the “perfect job” when she was hired at Marian in 2010.

“She knew everyone’s name and made them feel special,” Higgins said. “It is so rare to see someone have such a lasting impact. She was beloved by students, faculty and parents and will be deeply missed.”

Born in Kansas City, Kansas, Karen Brown moved with her family to Colorado, where she graduated from Columbine High School in 1975. She received a business degree from Colorado State University in 1979.

Brown and her husband were married in 1982. In 1984, they moved to Omaha, where they raised two daughters, Jenny Brown and Amanda (Brown) Zelkin, who now both live in Denver. Karen Brown worked for several businesses before taking the job at Marian after a friend told her she would be a great fit.

“She felt something special with the kids there,” her husband said. “I was kind of skeptical. I was thinking, ‘Why would these kids be so special?’ But when Karen got sick, we started receiving all these wonderful cards and letters, and they’re so well-written.”

After the first round of chemotherapy took her hair, Brown started wearing hats. The students at the all-girl high school surprised her by wearing baseball caps, sombreros and even softball helmets to school one day in solidarity with a woman who was known for giving hugs when a student was feeling down.

Brown liked to travel, her husband said, and on a train trip to Denver to visit her sister, Carolee DeSoto, she met a young Creighton University student. The young woman, who was not from Omaha, had a place at the Browns’ table if she couldn’t make it home for holidays.

Once a week, Karen Brown would scoop up half a dozen puppies from a local pet store and take them to different retirement homes for visits. She also stayed busy with Jazzercise classes and painting.

“After she got sick and started receiving a lot of gift cards, more than she could ever use, Karen started just handing them out to strangers,” her husband said. “We’d be in line someplace and she’d just turn around and say, ‘Here you go.’ I guess you could say that she never met a stranger.”

In addition to her husband, daughters and sister, Karen Brown is survived by her mother, Pat Landis of Denver. Donations are requested to Marian High School.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1272, [email protected]

As a Jesuit priest who traveled everywhere from Ireland to Alaska, the Rev. Bob Fitzgerald always had stories to tell.

Whether it was learning how to scare off black bears or listening to Johnny Cash play to a packed house on an Indian reservation, Fitzgerald led an interesting, hilarious life, said his sister, Betty Quinn.

And Fitzgerald, an Omaha native who died in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, on March 17 of Parkinson’s disease at age 80, loved sharing his stories with family and friends. Behind all his travels and every story, Quinn said, was his driving force in faith and life: people.

“Bob was for the people, and everyone was his friend,” she said. “He was very humble. He worked for the poor.”

Quinn’s family will have a memorial for Fitzgerald at their home on May 1.

Fitzgerald attended St. Margaret Mary School and Creighton Prep before joining the Society of Jesus in 1953. After he was ordained in 1966, he taught English at Creighton Prep as well as high schools in Milwaukee and Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.

He also worked as an alcohol and drug counselor at St. Francis Mission on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota and served as a chaplain at Creighton University Medical Center. In Anchorage, Alaska, he offered retreats and spiritual direction at Holy Spirit Center.

Fitzgerald held a master’s degree in English and a licentiate in sacred theology from St. Louis University.

Among Fitzgerald’s strong family ties was his relationship with his twin brother, James. Each joined the Society of Jesus without the other’s knowledge, and they maintained a strong bond throughout life.

Fitzgerald also loved writing. One of his notable works was “The Soul of Sponsorship,” which told the story of Alcoholics Anonymous co-founder Bill Wilson and his relationship with his spiritual adviser and friend, the Rev. Ed Dowling.

One of Quinn’s favorites, she said, was his unpublished book of poetry about his family, called “All My Relatives.”

Understanding and recognizing the good and the potential in everyone just came naturally to Fitzgerald, she said.

Fitzgerald is survived by Quinn and his two brothers: Deacon Thomas Fitzgerald and the Rev. James Fitzgerald.

Jerred Zoll faced many of the obstacles that those with high-functioning autism do, but his family said he accomplished everything doctors said he couldn’t, and then some.

Zoll, 24, was a student at Metropolitan Community College with dreams of going to film school to make the movies that he loved so much. He had a collection of hundreds of Blu-ray discs to prove it.

Zoll died Thursday when he stepped off a bus north of 72nd and Cass Streets and was struck by a tow truck while crossing the street. He was taken to the Nebraska Medical Center and died shortly after arriving.

His mother, Jennifer Zoll-Everhart, said her son was brutally honest, considerate of everyone and had a positive outlook on his life.

“He didn’t let his autism define him because I raised him to know that he could do everything everyone else could,” she said.

“I never told him, ‘No, you can’t do that.’ ”

Zoll was a role model within his family. He was respectful to everyone he knew — even the family’s dogs, Minnie and Bella.

If he accidentally stepped on a paw, he was quick with a “pardon me,” a quality the family often joked with him about.

Zoll’s cousin Melanie Schnell baby-sat him as a child, and the two remained close. She said Zoll gives her hope for her own son.

“I also have a young son with autism, who reminds me a lot of how Jerred was at that age. And I’ve always had hope that my son will be OK because of how Jerred lived his life,” Schnell said.

Schnell remembered the family playing an Easter game of BeanBoozled, a jelly-bean-based competition in which players randomly draw the candies and hope to get a safe choice, such as licorice or caramel. Zoll got “BeanBoozled” every time, she recalled, hilariously showing his distaste at the vomit- or dirty-sock-flavored beans he ate.

Zoll’s mother believes that on the day he was killed, having picked up his paycheck from his job at a Baker’s supermarket, he was going to Target, possibly to buy another movie. He had so many in his collection, she said, “he could have opened his own store.”

Zoll was taking courses at Metro with plans of moving on to a film school. He had a YouTube channel, where he can be seen opening special editions of films or reviewing classics with a friend.

He took the bus or walked everywhere he went. He wanted to drive and got a perfect score on the written portion of his driver’s test, but the driving portion didn’t go as well.

Schnell said Zoll’s honesty and passion taught their family how to navigate their own lives.

“It’s just a terrible thing to lose such a bright light,” she said. “He showed us how to succeed in life.”

J. Thomas Rosch, a Benson High graduate, was lead counsel in more than 100 federal and state antitrust cases and helped Oracle Corp. prevail in 2004 after an 18-month merger challenge from the U.S. Justice Department. He also served as the Federal Trade Commission chief from 2006 to 2013.

Rosch, 76, died March 30 following a stroke while in Lake Forest, Illinois.

“One of the things that kind of characterized him professionally, but also personally, was he was always looking out for people who didn’t have a voice,” said his son, Thomas Rosch of Woodside, California.

John Thomas Rosch was born in Council Bluffs, and when he was 12, his family moved to Omaha. His father was a manager at Carpenter Paper Co., and his mother was a professor at the University of Omaha.

As a teenager, Rosch acted in shows at the Omaha Playhouse and served as a team manager for boys’ sports at Benson High School. He graduated from Benson in 1956 and was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2013.

He earned his bachelor’s and law degrees from Harvard University.

Rosch married his high school sweetheart, Carolyn Lee, in Broken Bow in 1961. The two met at age 16 and began dating while Carolyn was attending Brownell-Talbot School. Carolyn passed away in January.

They had two children and four grandchildren, whom Rosch loved to take to San Francisco Giants games.

Rosch began his legal career at McCutcheon, Doyle, Brown & Emerson in San Francisco and was elected partner in 1972. He became director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection in 1973 and returned to McCutcheon in 1975. He was the chairman of the Antitrust Section of the American Bar Association in 1990.

In 1994, he become managing partner of the San Francisco office of Latham & Watkins.

The Oracle case involved a merger that at the time made the company the second-largest provider of business software applications.

Bill Voge, chairman and managing partner at Latham & Watkins, said he considers Rosch the founder of Latham’s modern antitrust practice, a man who set high standards for his colleagues.

“Tom Rosch was a brilliant and trusted adviser, a mentor and leader, and a dear friend and colleague to so many people at our firm and in the antitrust community,” Voge said. “His work in government and private practice has left a positive and indelible mark on the law.”

Rosch also is survived by a daughter, Laura Rosch Gillette of Lake Forest; his four granddaughters; and his sisters, Jane Jenkins of Norfolk, Nebraska, and Ann Duffield of Philadelphia.

There’s the inner-city child who learned to swim, the homeless kid who got a hot meal, and the high school teacher whose work was lifted from obscurity by a stunning award.

Those are some of the people philanthropist Charles E. Lakin helped as he shared the wealth he’d accumulated from decades in agriculture and real estate.

Lakin, 94, died March 28. He was one of the most significant benefactors of Council Bluffs and southwest Iowa, but his largesse crossed the Missouri River and helped people in Nebraska, too.

Lakin was most interested in helping children and the disadvantaged.

In Council Bluffs, he provided the crucial funding for a landmark social services campus, a new YMCA and a Habitat for Humanity facility, each of which bear his name. Throughout southwest Iowa, he has funded scholarships, a coveted annual teacher award, a community center and many other endeavors.

“His imprint is all over southwest Iowa. His impact on Council Bluffs has been huge,” said Pete Tulipana, president and CEO of the Iowa West Foundation. “My lasting impression of Charles is that he had a passion for kids.”

In the 1990s, a substantial gift from Lakin to The World-Herald’s charitable agency, Goodfellows, proved transformative, said executive director Joel Long. As a result, he said, Goodfellows was able to embark on its year-round emergency assistance, beyond just help during the holidays.

Lakin recently began funding swim lessons for low-income children after a child nearly drowned on a field trip. The lessons are offered through Completely Kids in Omaha and Council Bluffs Boys & Girls Club of the Midlands.

More than 1,000 kids have learned to swim at Completely Kids since 2012, said Penny Parker, executive director.

“That really is one of his legacies,” she said. “He wanted to be sure no child would drown.”

In Essex, Iowa, a popular high school business teacher said Lakin’s support of teachers has been uplifting.

Kimberly Peterson was the 2013 high school recipient of the Lakin Outstanding Teacher Award.

“It’s nice that what you are doing isn’t going unnoticed,” she said.

Lakin and his wife of 77 years, Florence, built their life together through hard work, said Tom Pribil, a longtime family friend and general manager of Charles E. Lakin Enterprises.

“When they got married, she was cleaning rooms and he was washing dishes in a motel in Texas,” Pribil said.

They spent little time in Texas and quickly returned to their southwest Iowa roots: She was from Malvern and he was from Emerson.

They began building an agricultural empire with a farm south of Emerson. Over the years, holdings included an implement dealership, a fertilizer company, grain elevators and thousands of acres of farmland. At one point, Lakin was believed to be Iowa’s largest individual landowner. Other holdings include citrus groves and processing plants in Arizona.

Pribil said Lakin’s legacy will grow now that his business holdings are to be transferred to the Charles E. Lakin Foundation Inc.

“Giving all his wealth away is going to be his No. 1 legacy,” Pribil said. “He has done a lot of great things.”

Lakin had a sense of humor about his own mortality. In a 2006 interview with The World-Herald, he explained his philanthropy by saying: “You don’t ever see a hearse pulling a U-Haul, do you?”

Lakin is survived by his wife; three of his four children; and grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Surviving children are Diane Kilzer of Denver, Chuck of Omaha and Debbie Johnson of Ashland, Oregon. His youngest daughter, Nancy Benson, died last year.

A funeral service will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the First Baptist Church in Emerson.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1102, [email protected]

Thomas Nieto made people feel welcome and well-fed.

His relatives said that in the days since his death Thursday at the Nebraska Medical Center, they have been hearing how much he made people feel as though they were his family. Visitors who saw the door to his house cracked open would walk in and be asked: “Are you hungry?”

He loved creating his “signature” baked delicacies, moon pies and chocolate chip cookies, said his son Patrick Nieto Sr., also of Omaha.

For years, Nieto helped make pirogi for the annual festival at St. Stanislaus Catholic Church, where he and his wife, Linda, had been parishioners for 50 years. And as co-owner of the former La Hacienda Mexican Restaurant and Lounge in Bellevue, he made a living keeping people fed and happy.

That hospitality will be missed. He suffered respiratory failure after a long illness, his wife said. He was 77.

A vigil service will be 6:30 p.m. today at Bethany Funeral Home at 82nd and Harrison Streets. A funeral Mass will be 11 a.m. Tuesday at St. Stanislaus, at 41st and J Streets.

Nieto was born in Omaha and graduated from Omaha South High School in 1956.

He worked in the offices of the former Cudahy Packing plant in Omaha before becoming a co-owner of La Hacienda — with his wife and late brother and sister-in-law, Ronald and Janet Nieto of Omaha — from 1978 to 1983.

He was a food supervisor for the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, at an Omaha community work-release center, from 1984 until his retirement in 1997.

Nieto served as president of the former Pee Wee athletic association for youths and was a member of St. Stanislaus’ Men’s Club. When his sons Patrick and Michael Nieto played football at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, their father helped form a booster club there.

Additional survivors include daughters Lorri O’Connor and Le Ann Nieto; four grandchildren; sister Dee Harold and brother Richard Nieto, all of Omaha.

Jean F. Bell, a retired Omaha civil rights investigator and longtime local Democratic Party leader, has died. She was 74.

For 24 years beginning in 1981, Bell investigated complaints of discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations from her desk at the Omaha Human Rights and Relations Department. She was an advocate for social justice, change and equal treatment, said daughter Monika Bell of Omaha.

“She was a civil rights champion,” her daughter said.

Former Nebraska Democratic Party Chairwoman Anne Boyle said Bell’s political strength was her ability to get along with everyone.

“She was at every event, always spoke up and was never angry,” Boyle said. “Today, people in politics bash each other. Then, you could sit down and talk. She was a very, very pleasant person.”

Boyle said there’s another reason Bell stood out in the crowd.

“I always looked at her dress and her shoes,” she said. “Jean was always dressed beautifully. She always wore spike heels.”

Bell died March 18 of a heart attack.

As the Human Rights and Relations Department’s special events coordinator for many years, Bell was responsible for organizing annual activities celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Black History Month. Events included an exhibition of photographic portraits of black community leaders at the City-County Building, a performance by a West African dance troupe, a soul food luncheon and an address by the editor of Ebony magazine.

She was honored as one of the City of Omaha’s employees of the year in 2001.

Bell was appointed one of the minority representatives on the Nebraska Democratic Central Committee in 1985. She was an alternate delegate pledged to the Rev. Jesse Jackson during the 1988 Democratic National Convention.

Born Jean Floyd in Quitman, Louisiana, Bell graduated from Pinecrest High School in Winnfield, Louisiana, in 1959 and attended Louisiana’s Grambling State University.

She moved to Omaha in 1961 as part of the Great Migration of blacks out of the rural South to the urban Northeast, Midwest and West between 1910 and 1970 in search of better job opportunities, her daughter said. She initially worked at Chicago Lumber Co. and Omaha Opportunities Industrialization Center.

It was from immersing herself in several social and service clubs, such as the Omaha Cloverleaf Club, that she met John M. Bell, a member of the Continentals Club. They married in 1968.

Jean Bell spent the majority of her working career with the City of Omaha. Starting as a clerk stenographer in the Mayor’s Office in 1974, she later worked on special projects and with the Mayor’s Commission on the Status of Women. She retired from the Human Rights and Relations Department in 2005.

“She was the epitome of class, grace, beauty personified and sophistication,” Monika Bell said. “She was known for her impeccable dress and exquisite style.”

Bell said her mother was an excellent cook and enjoyed showcasing her Southern cooking and baking skills at gatherings.

In addition to her husband and daughter Monika, survivors include daughter Johnetta Saunders of Kansas City, Missouri; seven grandchildren; one great-granddaughter; brothers Thomas Hines of Yuma, Arizona, Willie Floyd of Portland, Oregon, John Floyd of Calvin, Louisiana, Henry Howard of Natchitoches, Louisiana, and Earl Howard of Omaha; and sisters Bobbie Jean Bowie of Winfield, Louisiana, Mattie Johnson of Dodson, Louisiana, Nettie Adams of Natchitoches, Louisiana, and Carlose Talkington of Omaha.

Funeral services, billed as a “homegoing celebration,” were held Saturday at Greater St. Paul Church of God in Christ, 2123 Miami St.

Contact the writer: [email protected]

In June 2011, Nebraska Machine Products lost everything when its factory, which had occupied the same Omaha location on 45th Street near Interstate 680 for nearly half a century, burned to the ground. The company, which manufactures everything from small computer parts to agricultural machinery parts, needed someone to bring people together and pick up the pieces.

That person was co-owner Ron Rosso, who died Monday of heart failure at 62.

After the fire, he immediately made it clear the company had a future and that employees would be taken care of — the workers were paid during the time the business was closed.

“He had felt responsibility to keep them employed,” Rosso’s wife, Linda, said. “That was part of his heart. He couldn’t just say, ‘Sorry, guys, I’m closing down. Good luck to you.’ He couldn’t do that.”

In place of their usual work, employees volunteered at a variety of jobs, such as removing beds from the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s dorms and taking shifts at soup kitchens.

The company has always been a family business. Rosso’s father founded it in 1966. That’s why it was a point of pride not just to find a new place but to find the right place.

And there was pressure from customers to start refilling orders, said Mike Schlimgen, vice president of manufacturing and a close friend of Rosso’s. But that didn’t dissuade Rosso from the mission statement.

“He said, ‘No, no, no,’ ” Schlimgen recalled. “ ‘We’re not going to do it quick. We’re going to do it right.’ ”

Linda Rosso said her husband took about three months before settling on a plant at 9101 F St., which had room for the company to expand.

Rosso was born in Omaha, went to Ryan High School and spent two years at the University of Nebraska at Omaha before joining the family business.

At Nebraska Machine Products, Rosso was co-owner with his brothers from 1986 until buying out their shares and becoming sole owner in 2011.

He married Linda in 1987. Each brought two kids from a previous marriage and they had one of their own, which meant things were hectic.

“We were outnumbered,” Linda said, adding that Rosso was a caring father.

Rosso had a crusty exterior, his wife said, but underneath you could always find the generous, kind-hearted person he was.

“I’d always tell him, you’re such an old man,” she said. “But he was a good old man.”

Other survivors include children Jason, Ryan and Michael Rosso, Rob Kniewel and Liz Rodis; and eight grandchildren. A celebration of his life will be held at Nebraska Machine Products’ 9101 F St. plant at 4 p.m. Sunday.

Sister Anna-Maria Coverdell spent much of her career in the science classroom, but she also was a Civil Air Patrol member, a radiological defense instructor and a pilot.

She died Monday at the age of 95. Her funeral Mass will be Tuesday at 10 a.m. at Mercy Villa, 1845 S. 72nd St.

Coverdell became a pilot at age 53 and delivered blood supplies to communities for the Civil Air Patrol. “That fit in with our order’s mission — helping others,” she said in a 1979 interview.

The road to the cockpit started with teaching classes in radiological defense for the civil defense. When the work was moved to the Civil Air Patrol in 1972, she became a member of that organization and later earned her pilot’s license. She achieved the rank of major.

She studied and flew with pilots on search-and-rescue training missions; was selected to participate in the International Air Cadet Exchange; and served on a CAP Radiological Monitoring Committee in 1979 shortly after the Three Mile Island nuclear accident.

“We called her Sister Sam, our flying nun,” said Madeline Kennedy, wing administrator for the Civil Air Patrol for Nebraska.

When she started staffing the organization’s teletype, Coverdell signed her initials as SAM for Sister Anna-Maria. That gave birth to the nickname “Sister Sam.” (When she entered the convent, she took the name Sister Mary Roger. But she later returned to her given name.)

“She was tiny but she could command attention,” Kennedy said.

Coverdell taught many classes for the patrol and the cadets.

“She loved to be with the cadets,” Kennedy said. “She used her teaching career as her opportunity to be with people. She taught us a lot, and always had a smile on her face.”

Coverdell once recalled that she never expected to attend college. But a family friend arranged a scholarship to Marylhurst College, a Catholic women’s liberal arts college near her Portland, Oregon, home.

There she became attracted to the life of religious sisters. She converted to Catholicism and entered the Sisters of Mercy in September 1942 at Mount Loretto in Council Bluffs. She went on to earn degrees in chemistry from Creighton University and St. Louis University.

She taught a variety of subjects in Catholic schools, but mostly physics and chemistry in secondary schools, including at Mercy High School from 1959 to 1977. She also taught at the now-closed Paul VI High School and Metro Community College.

She was known for her spunk and determination.

Just a shade over 5 feet tall, Coverdell had trouble reaching the top of the periodic table that hung in her classroom.

Once when she and a sister were in New York City, the sister said, “Anna-Maria saw an antenna that had broken off of a car. It was in the middle of the street. She thought that antenna would give her the reach she needed. So she talked to the policeman directing traffic. He blew his whistle and stopped the traffic so she could pick up the antenna, then blew it again after she did so.”

When she was a child in northern Minnesota, Marian Cole’s father pulled her through the snow with his Model A Ford as she skied behind. As a young woman, she moved to the Yukon as part of the U.S. effort in World War II. As an adult, she raised six children in Omaha and ran the first word-processing center for Northern Natural Gas.

Cole died Wednesday of heart disease. She was 93.

She was born Marian Haas in Frazee, Minnesota, and graduated from high school there at age 16. After a year at a business school, she moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, and was working as a typist and a stenographer when World War II started.

In 1942, she took an office job with the U.S. government in Whitehorse, Yukon, where, anticipating an invasion by Japan, the United States and Canada were building the Alaska Highway.

The next year, while still in the Yukon, she met a young Army sergeant from New Hampshire, Edward Cole.

“She was dating a captain at the time, but my dad was a very good dancer, so she changed to him,” said Kevin Cole, a World-Herald reporter and one of the couple’s sons.

The couple married in 1944. After the war ended, they lived first in New Hampshire, then in Minnesota. The family moved to Omaha in 1960.

Marian Cole had been a housewife for years, but the family needed money. She eventually returned to stenography and entered the secretarial pool at Mutual of Omaha. Then she moved to Northern Natural Gas.

In 1970 she ran the first word-processing center for Northern, Kevin Cole said. She was then hired by what would later be called Word Data Corp. She traveled the country selling Olivetti office equipment. The manuals were in Italian, and Marian Cole, who did not know Italian, had to translate.

“They didn’t have any manuals in English, so Mom wrote them by trial and error, looking at the pictures,” Kevin Cole said.

As a mother, she demanded the best from her six children. Kevin Cole said he worked briefly in a sawmill in Washington that closed in 1976. He was 19 at the time, and his salary had been so good that after the mill closed, he was still out-earning friends in Nebraska just by collecting unemployment.

After a few weeks of staying with his parents in Omaha, he turned 20. He can’t remember what his mother gave as a gift, but it was wrapped in newspaper want ads. Marian Cole had circled every job that she felt would suit her son.

“I got the message,” Kevin Cole said. He responded by getting a job, then enrolling at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. His mother was pleased.

A devoted Catholic, she rarely missed Mass and needled her children who didn’t make it.

Marian Cole retired from Word Data in 1985. In her later years, she had to cope with the loss of her husband in 2006, then two of her children to cancer — eldest son Michael in 2011 and eldest daughter Kathy in 2013.

Marian Cole paid for almost all of her funeral services in advance.

“As sick as she was, she knew to a penny what she had and where it was,” Kevin Cole said. “The most organized woman that anybody would have had the opportunity to know.”

Visitation is Sunday, 5 to 7 p.m., followed by praying of the rosary at the John A. Gentleman Mortuaries 72nd Street Chapel. Her funeral is noon Monday at Holy Name Church.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1310, [email protected], twitter.com/nelson_aj

Bill Mackintosh sold his successful business, retired and enjoyed making investments in other companies and watching his two children begin their families.

Then his son, Mike, was working for American Title Co. and told his father that its owners were looking to sell.

What followed was nearly a dozen years of owning the Omaha business as a family, with Bill, Mike and daughter Ashley Horgan acting as an office of the president for the real estate information and appraisal company.

They became known as BAM — for Bill, Ashley and Michael — among the company’s 350 employees, including 250 in Omaha and about 100 in Palm Bay, Florida.

“He wanted to come back and play,” Mike said Tuesday. “It was the best thing that ever happened. He was always reading and trying to educate himself and had plenty of good ideas of how to make it successful.”

The past three years, the family’s attention also turned to prostate cancer. William L. “Bill” Mackintosh, 61, died Saturday of the disease.

“We’ll continue to operate the business,” Ashley said. “We have a great team to help us continue. It won’t be the same, but we’ll do it. We have great support, and it’s really cool and comforting, knowing that we work with people who knew how special our dad was.”

Customers have been sending condolences.

“He wanted to keep that small-business feel,” she said. “We kept growing, but he said we can’t compromise that piece of it.”

American Title provides nationwide real estate information, such as titles and appraisals, to seven of the top 10 home equity lenders in the country, supplying about 15,000 appraisals and about 60,000 other reports per month.

In 2002 the Mackintosh family was recognized for its community service when Ashley was named Aksarben queen.

Macintosh helped social service agencies with budget and technology questions and volunteered for the Children’s Hospital Foundation, Creighton University, Junior Achievement and the Nebraska Special Olympics. His work enabled Jodie, his wife of 39 years, to be a full-time community volunteer as well.

A native of Manhattan, Kansas, Mackintosh graduated from Northwest Missouri State University and earned a master’s degree in business administration from Regis University in Denver. He worked for the Burroughs Corp. until he and two partners founded a computer services company, Financial Products Corp., which he sold in 1994.

He formed Mackintosh Capital that year and P&L Capital, a technology equipment leasing company, in 1996.

Ashley was living in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2004 when her father called and offered a job with American Title.

“Family businesses can be risky,” Ashley said. “He was very diligent about how he organized it.”

Mike handled sales, customer relations, industry matters — anything outside the company — while Ashley handled human resources and other internal matters. Bill set the strategy and direction, held “town hall” meetings with employees and generally presided.

“Mike and I kind of had our own sandboxes,” Ashley said. “He trusted us. He didn’t try to control us. He might know the answer to something, but he liked watching us come to the answer in our own way and our own time. He was a great boss, a great mentor.”

In 2013 the company opened the Florida office and acquired a real estate appraisal business in Natick, Massachusetts.

In Omaha, the three families live within three blocks of one another, often sharing breakfasts and suppers. “It feels like it was just one big family,” Mike said. “We weren’t just family. We were best friends.”

Bill had started stepping back from running the business to spend more time with his five grandchildren and traveling with Jodie.

“He was really a down-to-earth guy,” Ashley said. “If the phone rang, he picked it up. If he had a Miller Light in his hand and a cigar in his mouth, he was happy.”

Mike said the family had thought there would be a way to beat the cancer or at least have more time, but it was an aggressive case.

“He had more laughs and yucks than most people will in 100 years,” Mike said. “He said you can’t be only positive when things are going your way. You have to stay positive all the time.”

Besides his wife, children and their families, other survivors include his mother, Darlene; brother, Robert Bruce; and sister, Kathryn Ann.

Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, and a memorial service at 11 a.m. Friday will be at St. Andrew United Methodist Church.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1080, [email protected], twitter.com/buffettOWH

Jerry C. Anderson’s patriotism was second to none.

The retired Air Force lieutenant colonel would snap to attention to salute the flag, and no one was prouder of America, Nebraska and the Republican Party, friends said Tuesday.

Anderson, of Papillion, died suddenly Monday. He was 77.

Anderson was chairman of the Sarpy County Republican Party. He was elected to that post in 2014 after the county GOP chairman was voted out, and Anderson proved himself to be a great leader, said Russ Zeeb, a fellow Republican and lifelong Sarpy resident.

Anderson was born in Mankato, Minnesota, and was stationed at Offutt Air Force Base from 1973 to 1977. He retired to Papillion in 1981.

He ran for Papillion City Council against three other people, including David Black, now Papillion’s mayor. Anderson won, serving on the council from 2002 to 2006.

He was not afraid to share his opinion and discuss the issues, but he never seemed to let the debate get personal, Black said Tuesday.

“He was not afraid to advocate for his position, but he also listened to the other side,” Black said. “He was passionate about his causes.”

Friends said Anderson was an advocate for military affairs and anything related to veterans. He started a 9/11 remembrance ceremony that has become an annual event at Papillion’s Sumtur Amphitheater.

Zeeb said Anderson knew about any pending issue involving veterans in the Nebraska Legislature.

Anderson helped found the Nebraska Veterans Coalition in 2014. Its purpose is to increase economic incentives for veterans to stay in Nebraska.

“He always called with a mission: ‘Hi, I’m working on this. Can you help me out?’ ” Zeeb said.

Anderson was always on the go and was involved with many different civic organizations.

Hours before he passed away Monday, Anderson attended a fundraising breakfast and was at the Sarpy County Courthouse “working to make our party and country better,” Zeeb said.

Anderson would call his friend, Beth Ragland, about politics while walking his dog, which he did every day, no matter the weather, three times a day.

“Jerry was just a person who would be there for everybody,” Ragland said. “He genuinely cared about everyone.”

She said Anderson was supportive when her husband, Ken Ragland, who served as county Republican Party chairman himself, died in 2014.

“Ken Ragland and Jerry Anderson are directing politics in heaven,” she said.

Above all, friends remembered Anderson as a family man dedicated to his wife of 55 years, Louise, three children, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

His daughter, Amy Anderson, said the family liked to have family dinners and pool parties in the backyard. He was proud of officiating at his granddaughter’s wedding.

Visitation will be Saturday at 1 to 3 p.m. at Grace Baptist Church in Papillion. It will be followed by a memorial service at 3 p.m. featuring a gun salute.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1192, [email protected]

A Fort Calhoun, Nebraska, family that lost a son when the car he was working on crushed him said Sunday that they’re heartened by the knowledge that donations of the young man’s organs could mean life for others.

“We keep trying to see some light from this tragedy, and so we’re thinking this Easter Sunday about all the people waiting for transplants that got a phone call,” said Dale Kumm. “We know our son would want to help others.”

Kodiak Kumm, 21, died Friday at the Creighton University Medical Center. He was taken there by helicopter Tuesday after his father came home at noon and found that a car his son was working on had slipped off the jack stands.

Dale Kumm said his son — a big man, at 6-foot-2, 350 pounds — had forgotten to block the back wheels and the car apparently rolled off the stands. The car’s fall caused “an extremely severe brain injury” but little trauma to the body, his dad said.

“If I had been home, he might have survived it,” Dale Kumm said. “I think that, like so many other young guys, Kodiak just couldn’t imagine something like that would happen. The young guys think they’re invincible.”

A funeral service will be held Wednesday at 2 p.m. at Fort Calhoun Presbyterian Church. Visitation will take place Tuesday from 4 to 9 p.m. at the church.

Born and raised in Fort Calhoun, Kodiak graduated from Fort Calhoun High School in 2012. He played football all four years on both offense and defense.

“Oh, my gosh, Kodiak loved playing football,” said his mother, Grace Kumm. “He had a passion for football.”

Like other young people, she said, her son also enjoyed going to movies and concerts with his friends as well as video gaming. His mother said she was proud to see how quickly her son could turn a stranger into a friend.

“He was a very fun person to be around,” she said. “He could meet someone, start talking and he had a new friend. It was amazing to see a young person who could do that so easily.”

Like his father and others in the family, Kodiak Kumm had a knack for mechanics. Family time was also important to him, and he enjoyed helping out his parents, who deliver two World-Herald routes.

“I think delivering the newspaper has actually helped me through these past few days,” his father said. “My youngest son and I get up early and we’re out in the dark delivering papers and talking about Kodiak. He was a loving person, who loved to help others.”

In addition to his parents, Kodiak is survived by his brothers, Andrew and John, of Fort Calhoun; and grandmothers, Barbara Kumm of Hartington, Texas, and Lucile Kalvick of Mason City, Iowa.

A fund has been set up to help the family with funeral expenses: https://www.youcaring.com/kumm-family-545216#.VvnbKZ_lVLt.facebook

Contact the writer: 402-444-1272, [email protected]

She didn’t make the transition from Rosenblatt Stadium to TD Ameritrade Park, but Ann J. Walters never fell out of love with the College World Series.

“Mom had a stroke and she did not go to the new field, but she could watch the games on TV, and we still have (CWS) season tickets,” said her eldest daughter, Ann Walters of Council Bluffs. “The College World Series was very, very special to her, and she made so many friends there.”

Walters, 91, died Thursday at home, surrounded by family. A celebration of life event will be held in October.

The lifelong Council Bluffs resident graduated from Abraham Lincoln High in 1942 and the University of Nebraska in Lincoln in 1946. A dedicated educator, she spent 39 years as a first-grade teacher.

“Mom would say that she never got out of first grade,” her daughter said.

The younger Walters said her mom was “a proud Husker fan” who also followed Duke University basketball. Her other rooting interests included Nebraska volleyball and professional tennis.

At the time of her death, Walters was one of the longest season-ticket holders for the College World Series, said Carol Foreman, the event’s ticket manager. Walters attended her 56th and final CWS in 2010, the last year the tournament was played at Rosenblatt, her daughter said.

[Read The World-Herald's 1996 story on Walters' CWS attendance]

“She just wore down,” she said. “Her legs were so weak after the stroke.”

Walters and her three daughters sat in Section J, Row 3, Seats 10 through 14, for 45 years at Rosenblatt. She liked being down behind home plate so she could visit with coaches and players.

One of the family’s highlights came in 1979, when Cal State Fullerton defeated Arkansas for the championship. The Titans’ senior catcher, Joe Martelli, often sat with Walters to watch other teams play.

“When they won, Joe Martelli stopped, turned around and waved to us before going out to jump in the dog pile,” Ann Walters said. “Mom was just beside herself when he did that.”

Other highlights include Walters’ “guess the attendance” game, in which fans came from all over the stadium to have their estimates etched in her notebook. The winner got to hold a kewpie doll for the rest of the game before returning it to Walters.

Walters had become so well-known at the CWS that coaches looked for her when they entered the stadium each year — or perhaps they were looking for a batch of the graham cracker brownies she would bake for her favorite teams.

When LSU Coach Skip Bertman walked into Rosenblatt in 1994, he turned, waved at Walters and yelled, “You just get younger-looking every year!”

In addition to her eldest daughter, Walters is survived by daughters Cathy B. Hill of Council Bluffs and Sally P. Schroeder of Clinton, Iowa.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1272, [email protected]

Talk to those who knew Dan Lynch and they’ll describe a voracious advocate for public good, an impassioned speaker on issues he cared for and someone who could get almost anyone to laugh.

A longtime Douglas County Board member and former state senator, Lynch was the driving force behind the creation of ENCOR, which provides services to those with developmental disabilities. He also wrote the bill that requires Nebraska motorcyclists to wear a helmet.

Daniel C. Lynch died on Thursday of natural causes. He was 86.

Julie Freeman, one of Lynch’s daughters, said he felt especially passionate about those who didn’t have a voice to fight for their rights. It was one reason he pushed for the creation of ENCOR.

It was also a quality he instilled in each of his five children.

“Not a day went by that we didn’t understand how lucky we were,” Freeman said. “We always grew up knowing that we needed to appreciate and be grateful for what we had and who we are and what we were capable of.”

In his 16 years as a state senator, Lynch often focused on safety and health.

Following the death of his son-in-law in a motorcycle accident in 1975, Lynch began an effort to ensure riders would be safer with a mandatory helmet law.

When his own son, Daniel Lynch Jr., suffered a critical head injury in a car accident in 1985, he ramped up his efforts.

The law went into effect in 1989 and has withstood multiple attempts to repeal it.

This year, an effort to replace the mandate with a state brain injury fund failed by three votes after a six-hour filibuster. That failure came the day Lynch died.

Rep. Brad Ashford, D-Neb., served with Lynch in the Legislature and recalled how passionate he was about the helmet bill.

“The motorcycle helmet law was his legacy,” Ashford said. “All the times that efforts were made to stop it, he would go to the mat and fight hard.”

It wasn’t just the floor of the Legislature where Lynch fought: He also literally went to the mat as a substitute professional wrestler, said David Landis, a former state senator and Lincoln’s director of urban development. Usually, Lynch fought as a villain.

Freeman said Lynch’s wrestling days came before she was born, when he was making just $35 a week as an Omaha plumber.

She said she understands he filled in for a local troupe as a “masked marauder” at times to help make ends meet.

Ashford said that as a senator in the 1980s, Lynch was a “force to be reckoned with politically.”

In 1987, Nebraska lawmakers passed a bill that ultimately created tax exemptions for corporately owned equipment, such as jet planes.

Ashford said Lynch’s commitment to fighting for working people drove him to fiercely oppose the bill, believing that corporations shouldn’t keep money that could go to the state for other uses.

It was Lynch’s status as a working man that led him to fight for working people. He got his start in politics with a keen interest in a Young Democrats group. From there, he worked his way up the ranks, first serving 24 years on the County Board, for a time as its chairman. He left the Legislature after losing a bid for a fifth term in the 2000 election.

Lynch wasn’t just a public servant when he was required to be.

When his children were young, they recall him keeping plumbing tools in the trunk of his Lincoln Continental, just in case someone needed a quick repair. One Christmas Eve, a neighboring family needed just that, and out the door he went.

During the Christmas seasons, Lynch would dress as Santa Claus and visit children at Boys and Girls Clubs.

“I appreciated his good humor, his quick wit and his gregarious nature,” Landis said.

In his free time, Lynch was an avid golfer, teeing off at courses all over the country.

He also owned a lake house at Woodcliff Lakes near Fremont, where he now has great-grandchildren who head out to swim each summer.

In addition to Freeman and his son, Lynch is survived by daughters Marianne Mathena, Debra LeMay and Maureen Burkhiser.

His funeral will be held Monday at St. Philip Neri Catholic Church, 8200 N. 30th St., starting at 10 a.m.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1304, [email protected]

Chances are you haven’t heard of Omaha native Gary Braasch. But there’s a good chance you have seen his work.

Braasch, a pioneer in photographing climate change, died this month while working in Australia.

Braasch was among the first to show how the planet is changing, and his work includes the pairing of modern-day images of glaciers with archival images. His use of “repeat photography” — returning time and again to the same spot — helped chart a path for others to photograph the effects of global warming.

“Gary was one of the first to think about how to document climate change — it’s hard to document change in one frame,” said Alexandra Garcia, executive director of the International League of Conservation Photographers. “He figured out how to do it.”

His work has been featured in Life, Time, National Geographic, Vanity Fair, the New York Times Magazine and other publications. France invited him to exhibit his photographs during the international climate talks last year in Paris. In 2013, the Boston Science Museum exhibited his work in a one-man show.

He co-founded with Lynne Cherry the Young Voices for the Planet films, to give children a vehicle to feel empowered, Cherry said.

“That project meant a lot to him. ... They’re the ones who will bear the brunt of climate disruption,” she said.

A graduate of Benson High School, Braasch died March 7 while snorkeling along the Great Barrier Reef as he sought images of coral bleaching. He was 72.

“Gary was the photographer ... who tried hardest, and most successfully, to grasp the enormity of climate change,” said Bill McKibben, climate activist and co-founder of the grassroots 350.org. “It’s a real challenge to tackle something so big and slow-moving ... but he did.”

James Hansen, the former NASA climate scientist who was among the first in the 1980s to sound the alarm about global warming, described Braasch as exceptional for his ability to communicate the changes occurring.

"He was a totally dedicated, selfless person, said Hansen, a Denison, Iowa, native. "It is a tragedy that his life was cut short -- he still had so much to give."

Braasch’s peers remember him as committed to advancing the professions of photography and journalism. He was a founding member of the International League of Conservation Photographers and of the North American Nature Photography Association and a mentor with the Society of Environmental Journalists.

Fellow Nebraskan and noted photographer Joel Sartore said Braasch’s decades of work reflected his thoughtful nature.

“He worked tirelessly to get the public to care about the natural world and what was becoming of it. These days, that’s harder and harder to do.”

Braasch led the adventurer’s life, traveling to all corners of the Earth, said his son, Cedar Braasch.

To obtain photos for a 10-page spread, “The Secret Life of a Tree in a Rain Forest,” in Life magazine, Braasch lived for a while atop a tree in Costa Rica, his son said.

“I always knew Dad was going to go away sometime and not come home. It was just a question of when,” Cedar Braasch said by phone from his home in Oregon.

That Cedar would be named after a tree typified Braasch’s devotion to nature. The younger Braasch said his father opted for “Cedar” when “Mom wouldn’t let him name me Forest.”

In addition to his son, Braasch is survived by a sister Peggy Braasch Strickland of Weston, Missouri, his partner in life and work, Joan Rothlein of Oregon, and his former wife, Mary Jo Anderson of Oregon. His extended family includes cousin Karen Sundell of Omaha.

His sister said her brother got his start in journalism at Benson, where he was business manager and managing editor of the Benson High News.

"The inspiration of his life, to me, is not only what he did, but that he found his purpose and he pursued it," she said. "There is so much to be grateful for.

"He was such an advocate for the planet — and that means for all of us."

Contact the writer: 402-444-1102, [email protected]

Correction: The North American Nature Photography Association was misidentified in a previous version of this story.

Transplanted New Yorker Frank DeGeorge found a home in Omaha, especially on stages across the city.

He was an actor in comedies and dramas for more than 50 years, winning several awards, including a lifetime achievement award and two Fonda-McGuire Awards for best performance at the Omaha Community Playhouse.

Growing older didn’t deter him: He played Norman Thayer in the Cabaret Theatre’s production of “On Golden Pond” at age 84 and was still singing in shows four years later. He fell ill about two weeks after his last appearance, at age 88, and never was able to perform again, said daughter Fran Hoffman of Omaha.

DeGeorge, 90, died Saturday at his Omaha home. He had been in the hospital for about three months and finally was released, Hoffman said, but suffered a heart attack shortly after that.

He was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1925. He graduated from high school there and briefly attended City College of New York before joining the Air Force and serving in World War II. He was hurt when he jumped from a burning plane over Texas, then recuperated in Grand Island, Nebraska.

He remained in the state after the war and met Virginia “Ginger” Martin through some buddies. They were married for about 34 years when Ginger died of cancer.

She was largely responsible for his acting avocation. She was somewhat older, Hoffman said, and sensed that DeGeorge would outlive her. She knew he would be lost, so she encouraged him to try out for a show, though he had no stage experience.

“They were lovers and sweethearts until the day she took her last breath,” Hoffman said. “After she passed away, he said if he hadn’t had the shows to do, he would have gone with her.”

His first role was in “12 Angry Men” with the now-disbanded Kingsmark Theater Group. Among his many productions were “The Odd Couple,” “Last of the Red Hot Lovers” and “Sugar Babies,” which he called his favorite.

He sold kitchen products through his own firm, his daughter said: “He put kitchens in half the apartments in this town.”

DeGeorge also loved sports, especially golf, ice hockey and Yankees baseball.

His daughter said her dad was a fun, outgoing and generous person who was proud of his Italian heritage and military service and always reached out to people who needed help. “People loved being around him.”

Other survivors include a granddaughter and two great-granddaughters. Services are pending.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1267, [email protected]

James W.R. Brown was a pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps kind of guy.

His youngest son, 57-year-old Bill Brown, said his father was the hardest-working human being he’d ever met.

“There was never a more practical or utilitarian man than my dad,” he said.

James W.R. Brown died Thursday at age 99. Bill Brown said his father left his family a legacy of hard work.

Brown was born Oct. 31, 1916, and grew up on a farm in Ruthven, Iowa. He was in his early teens when the Great Depression hit, but he’d known from an early age that he wanted to be a lawyer.

After he graduated from a six-year law program at the University of Iowa, his dreams were put on hold when he was called to duty in World War II.

He was stationed in Omaha, where he served as a security intelligence special agent in the Army’s Security Intelligence Corps.

Bill said one of his father’s many military duties was disarming and dismantling Japanese “balloon bombs.” Bill said one of his father’s many military duties was dismantling Japanese “balloon bombs.” Several appeared in the Midwest, including one that exploded in the air over the Dundee area without causing any damage. A plaque marks the site where the balloon came down near 50th and Cass Streets.

“I know I am biased,” Bill said, “but he really was a great, great man.”

From 1946 to 1988 James worked at the Fitzgerald and Brown law firm. (The mandatory retirement age was 70, but the firm extended it two years just for him.)

During his career he was president of the Omaha and Nebraska State Bar Associations and was a member of the Nebraska Supreme Court Advisory Committee.

Retirement didn’t suit him, though, Bill said. So James helped his three sons build a law firm, called Brown & Brown LLC. The first “Brown” stood for their father, the second “Brown” stood for the three sons.

“It was like having a 25-year-long apprenticeship,” Bill said. “It was invaluable. It was fun.”

James stopped working in law when he was 93. Bill said that wasn’t easy for him.

“He would always ask me ‘How are things down at the firm?’ ” Bill said. “He believed in the law.”

But James got to spend more time with his grandkids, Bill said. He loved his profession, but he loved his grandchildren even more.

As a dad, James was tough, Bill said. He “expected excellence” from his six kids, and he valued their education, which is why he put each of them through college.

“He was unbelievable,” Bill said. “All six of us have big shoes to fill.”

In addition to son Bill, survivors include his wife of 70 years, Mary Pattavina Brown; sons Jim and Tom; daughters Kay Lenihan, Mary Reich and Therese Jensen; 21 grandchildren; and 16 great-grandchildren.

His funeral service is set for 10 a.m. Tuesday at St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church, 6116 Dodge St.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1304, [email protected]

J. William Henry, who started at First National Bank as a management trainee in 1964 and rose to the rank of president and director, died Tuesday of a heart attack.

His wife of 30 years, Karilyn Kober, said she found Henry at home, but she and paramedics were unable to revive him. A longtime smoker, he had battled congestive heart failure and was using oxygen, but his death was unexpected, she said.

Henry, 73, retired from the bank in 2002 but was still a member of the board of directors of First National of Nebraska, the bank holding company, serving on its audit committee.

He’d been looking forward to the next board meeting, said Dan O’Neill, president of First National.

“There was nothing Bill couldn’t accomplish,” O’Neill said. “He had twice as much energy as any other person. Where other people saw hurdles, Bill would just jump over the hurdle and jump over the next one.”

He oversaw the bank’s major building projects, including the downtown office tower and data center and the West Dodge Road office park.

Early in his career he worked with the fledgling bank card division, spreading the word about the cards with a fleet of Volkswagen Beetles plastered with Visa signs. He was the bank’s point man for introducing automated teller machines, a campaign in which place settings of flatware were given away to encourage people to try the new machines.

When the bank started offering Individual Retirement Accounts in 1986, Henry worked with an advertising agency to have an actor portray “the World’s Oldest Man” in personal appearances around town. He helped a Seattle company with an early system that let people use bank cards to pay at fast-food restaurants.

Henry also was diligent about studying the bank’s finances for board meetings, O’Neill said.

“He never really left the bank,” he said. “He was really one of the key employees of the bank who played a major role in the growth of our credit card business. He worked very closely with Visa USA. Nobody served in more different areas than Bill.”

Henry arranged and negotiated several acquisitions, which helped First National grow into the largest Nebraska-based bank.

“He led the charge,” O’Neill said. “And he was fun to be around.”

A native of Evanston, Wyoming, Henry graduated from Benson High School, where he set a state record in the 100-meter backstroke. He was an all-Big Eight swimmer at the University of Nebraska and shared an American freestyle relay record in 1964.

He was a fan of Nebraska’s football team and made sure First National advertised at its games.

At First National he was appointed a director in 1973, executive vice president in 1983 and president in 2000. When he retired, at age 60, he volunteered to coach Benson High’s swim teams.

“This is something I’ve dreamed about for some time, to give something back to the community,” Henry said at the time. “I want to work with kids who don’t have access to country clubs and big neighborhood pools. It’s going to be a challenge, but I think I can give these kids something that they wouldn’t have otherwise.”

He said he was proud of his banking career, “but this is the right time to say, ‘Let’s move on.’ ”

Later he helped coach the University of Nebraska at Omaha swim team and volunteered during the U.S. Olympic Trials in Omaha.

Henry was active in the Nebraska chapter of the National Arthritis Foundation, the Nebraska Bankers Association and the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce and its Nebraska counterpart. He served on the board of Lincoln Mutual Life Insurance Co.

He also is survived by daughters Suzi Henry, Sara Sottrel, Amy Kielian and Jensen Henry, as well as three grandchildren.

Visitation will be from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and the funeral at 2 p.m. Saturday, both at Dundee Presbyterian Church.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1080, [email protected]

James A. Clemon, a former editor of The World-Herald’s editorial pages and a longtime mainstay of Omaha Press Club Show spoofs of public figures, has died at 81.

“He was highly educated and intelligent,” said daughter Amy Woeppel of Soldier, Iowa. “And he was so genuine.”

Clemon was born in the Norwegian village of Soldier, 64 miles north of Omaha. At Dana College in Blair, Nebraska, he majored in business administration and served as student body president and editor of the school paper.

While a student, he hitchhiked on Saturdays to try out as a reporter for The World-Herald. Upon graduation in 1956, he was hired.

As a city hall reporter in 1964, Clemon worked on an investigation that became known as the John Coleman story.

A Chicago-based real estate developer and son-in-law of advice columnist Ann Landers, Coleman wanted to build town house apartments in Omaha. He alleged that city officials had solicited bribes in return for approving rezoning.

After the newspaper’s investigation, a grand jury indicted five city officials, three of whom were later convicted. A fourth pleaded no contest to malfeasance in office, and the mayor, James Dworak, was acquitted.

Clemon later served as city editor before moving to the editorial page. Along the way, he wrote articles from China, Sweden, Norway and elsewhere, and was among about 20 editorial writers who met at the White House with President Jimmy Carter.

After leaving The World-Herald in 1979, he became a copywriter for the Bozell and Jacobs advertising firm in Omaha.

For many years, the Press Club Show was his great love. The first “Press Club Ball” was staged in 1957, and by 1967 had landed at the old Peony Park Ballroom, attracting up to 1,500 — including many of the state’s and city’s elected officials — for a dinner, a comedy-music show and dancing.

Though it was produced by “anonymous writers,” it long was known that the chief writers of jokes and song parodies about public figures were Clemon and World-Herald columnist Robert McMorris.

“The most exciting day was when the scripts came out,” Clemon’s daughter recalled. “It was better than Christmas.”

The show itself, she said, was her father’s favorite event of the year. He worked on it well into the 1980s. (The annual show has continued and will be staged at the Holland Performing Arts Center on April 1.)

Twice divorced, Clemon had suffered in recent years from Alzheimer’s disease and lymphoma. He lived in an Omaha apartment until moving three years ago to Soldier, and spent recent months at a nursing home in Onawa, Iowa.

He had pneumonia and died Monday. A “celebration of life” open house will be held from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday at his hometown’s Soldier Community Building. He is also survived by a son, Evan Clemon of Denver.

Jim Clemon, who long wore a mustache and beard, was known as an elegant writer. He often wrote the first drafts of editorials in longhand, saying the pace of handwriting allowed him to think and write more clearly.

But he also liked to use his old-fashioned writing machine.

Said daughter Amy: “My dad always said that to hammer out an angry letter, he needed a manual typewriter.”

Contact the writer: 402-444-1132, [email protected]

Harold “Bus” Slosburg, Omaha native and co-founder of Slosburg Realty Co. — now known as the Slosburg Co. — died last month at the age of 95 in St. Petersburg, Florida.

“Bus” was short for Buster. “Everybody knew him as ‘Bus,’ ” said his son, Jack Slosburg.

Born Dec. 4, 1920, Slosburg attended Omaha Central High School, where he was voted “wittiest in his class.” Jack Slosburg said the description was apt.

“He loved to tell stories. He was more than happy to chat about the news of the day or anything and everything.” And he could hold court in English or Mandarin, his son said.

Harold Slosburg graduated with top honors from the University of Illinois and attended Harvard Business School before enlisting in the U.S. Army Signal Corps. Trained as an interpreter at Georgetown University, he became fluent in Mandarin.

“He could speak, read and write it,” Jack Slosburg said.

“He was a major hit in any Chinese restaurant.”

Throughout World War II, Slosburg served in Shanghai, China. When the war ended, he founded Slosburg Realty Co., an Omaha real estate and development firm, with older brother Stanley “Bud” Slosburg and their father, Jacob Slosburg Jr.

During Harold Slosburg’s tenure — he retired in the 1970s — the company helped develop portions of the Fairacres neighborhood and commercial properties on Farnam Street, Jack Slosburg said.

The firm’s name was later shortened to the Slosburg Co. Today, the company, which has real estate holdings in eight states, focuses on the development, construction and management of retail centers, office buildings and apartment communities.

Post-retirement, Harold Slosburg and his wife, Marion, traveled the world and in the 1970s were among the first to visit newly reopened China.

The elder Slosburg died Feb. 11. He is survived by his wife of 71 years, Marion Slosburg; daughter Jill Slosburg-Ackerman and son-in-law James Ackerman of Cambridge, Massachusetts; son Jack Slosburg and daughter-in-law Donna Gelardi-Slosburg of St. Pete Beach, Florida; brother Stanley Slosburg, 98, of Omaha; and grandson Jesse Ackerman of Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Lloyd Kilmer, a former Douglas County clerk, was featured in Tom Brokaw’s 2000 book “The Greatest Generation” for his service in World War II. Kilmer’s civic duty throughout his life made Omaha great, too.

Kilmer died on Jan. 6 of natural causes. He was 95.

Kilmer was elected twice as the Douglas County clerk, a position that issues licenses for marriages, locksmiths, liquor and tobacco and maintains county financial records. His son, Dr. Lloyd Kilmer, said his father was a “lone wolf” at the time, a Republican in a time when Omaha was dominated by Democrats. He strived to make the office more accountable, ousting a pattern of perceived nepotism, his son said.

During World War II, Kilmer was a B-24 bomber pilot in the 8th Air Force. He flew 16 missions before being shot down over Holland, where he successfully crash-landed his aircraft with no injuries to the crew.

Kilmer was taken prisoner and served the remainder of the war at Stalag Luft III. His son said that like many men who endured what Kilmer went through, he didn’t talk about his experience until much later in his life.

After his role in “The Greatest Generation” and a subsequent NBC program about the generation that grew up during the Great Depression and then went on to fight in World War II, he spoke to groups across the country about his war experience and service to his country.

Brokaw traveled to Arizona to interview Kilmer, even turning his living room into a mini studio.

Kilmer returned to Omaha after the war, married Marie Beckwith and graduated from Creighton University. Kilmer was in the real estate business. His son said he had a hand in pushing for Omaha’s westward expansion — it was his company that sold the initial land for Crossroads Mall.

After retiring, Kilmer moved to Phoenix, where he would meet his second wife, Ruth. Her first husband had also been a prisoner of war, so the two connected well.

“She was a great match for him,” Lloyd Kilmer said.

While Kilmer grew up in Stewartville, Minnesota, he was an “adopted Nebraskan,” his son said. His first wife grew up in Albion and got him hooked on the Cornhuskers. Once in Arizona, Kilmer would proudly wear his Nebraska gear.

In his free time, Kilmer was a big-game hunter. He stalked bears in Canada and elk in Idaho. His son said the family basement was filled with moose heads and other animal trophies. He was also active in the American Legion, Ex-Prisoners of War, Veterans of Foreign Wars and Disabled American Veterans.

Kilmer is also survived by his wife, Ruth, and son Frank Kilmer.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1304, [email protected]

No one who met Eugene Peter, the longtime president of Interstate Printing, called him by his real name.

His daughter, Eileen Peter, said people knew him as “dad,” “grandpa” or “Mr. Gene.” She said it’s because her father, who died on Feb. 22 at the age of 90 from heart complications, treated everyone like family.

“They’d say ‘This is my second dad,’ ” she said.

Peter was the youngest of 12 siblings, born to proud German immigrants. He grew up in a house full of people who loved to celebrate with eating and singing.

Early on, Peter learned the value of generosity from his father, who invited people he’d just met for dinner if he knew they’d otherwise go hungry.

Peter had a career with Interstate Printing, the Omaha printing company Peter’s father started in 1917.

He got his start delivering the family’s German newspaper, the Omaha Daily Tribune, which Interstate printed. Peter worked his way to president at 42, a position he held until he retired at age 85.

His daughter said Peter focused on expanding the business and staying competitive while moving into new areas of the industry. In 2008 he invested $3 million into a machine that could print 15,000 double-sided color sheets per hour.

During his time as president, the company grew from 20 to 55 employees, she said.

With Peter, family always came first, Eileen Peter said, and that meant employees, too.

Peter had an open-door policy, and people brought everything from relationship to mortgage problems to him, Eileen said. He made a point of personally handing out paychecks at the end of the week to ask how employees or their families were.

Religion also was important to Peter. A graduate of Creighton Prep and Creighton University, he believed in the value of Catholic education. He was a member of the Omaha Archdiocesan Educational Foundation and the Serra Club of Omaha.

Peter’s nephew the Rev. Val Peter served as executive director of Boys Town from 1985 to 2005.

Eileen Peter said her father believed faith in God was one of few guiding forces people had in life.

“He always said ‘You cannot get through this world without your faith,’ ” she said.

He was married 44 years to his high school sweetheart, Mary Peter, and they had four children.

Peter was preceded in death by his parents, Valentine J. and Margaret Peter; his wife; and sons William J. Peter and Thomas M. Peter. He is survived by daughters Eileen Patricia Peter and Kathleen Fenger, and many grandchildren.

Terri Fitzgerald helped create places of respite for special needs children and their families, places that offered food, medical care, therapy programs and summer camps.

Fitzgerald and her sister, Christine Johnson, both of Omaha, founded the Children’s Respite Care Center in 1990. And more than 25 years later — after helping thousands of children and their families with multiple programs at two Omaha locations — the private, nonprofit organization has become Fitzgerald’s legacy.

She died Wednesday at her home after a 10-month cancer battle, said Amber Burk, a spokeswoman for Children’s Respite Care Center. Fitzgerald was 59.

Fitzgerald’s legacy will continue to inspire, said Mike Lebens, chairman of the board of the organization.

The successes of the children were her yardstick. She was remembered for saying: “Our children make progress in inches, not yards. We celebrate every inch.”

Fitzgerald worked with state health officials, charitable foundations and other donors to open and fund the two care centers. The first, at 88th and Blondo Streets, opened in 2004 and offers day care as well as overnight and weekend respite care. Increased demand for skilled care and therapy grew, leading to another center, with a therapeutic gym and private treatment rooms, built in 2014 at 138th and Q Streets.

“Terry’s visionary leadership built an organization that provides critically important services to children with special needs in our community,” Lebens said.

“We can’t express how much she will be missed,” he said, “but the entire community has been enriched because she was here.”

Fitzgerald was born in Omaha, graduated from Westside High School in 1974 and earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1978 and a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 1986.

She worked as a fifth-grade teacher at St. Bernard School before she and her sister recognized an unmet need in Omaha: day care for children with special physical and intellectual needs.

Fitzgerald served on Nebraska’s Foster Care Review Board and an advisory board for the Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging’s Respite Resource Coalition, as well as with a number of organizations that help families with special-needs children, Burk said. “She was passionate about children.”

Visitation will be 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday at St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church, near 152nd at Pacific Streets, and the memorial service follows at 7 p.m. The funeral Mass will be 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the church.

Survivors include Fitzgerald’s husband, John Fitzgerald, daughters Meaghan Walls and Kathleen Folkerts, two granddaughters, parents Joe and Edie Macchietto, all of Omaha, and sisters Karen DeHeer of Baltimore, Susan Hughes of Eagle, Nebraska, and Johnson.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1304, [email protected]

Whether it was in the classroom, at church or at home with her 3-year-old daughter, Elicia Ross cared for children.

The former Bellevue West High School teacher volunteered as a high school ministry leader at Dundee Presbyterian Church with her husband, Ken Ross. They attended high school mission trips and mentored confirmation classes.

Ken said the two wanted to embody a godly marriage.

“We dedicated ourselves to being an example for others,” Ken Ross said. “A lot of couples would say that we persevered through so much. We never wavered, we continued to love each other.”

Elicia Ross died Feb. 20 at Josie Harper Hospice House in Omaha after suffering adrenal gland failure. She was 30.

Ross was born Aug. 1, 1985, in Iowa City to Michael and Rhonda Gleason. Ross earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from Buena Vista University in Storm Lake. It was at Buena Vista that she met her husband. The two were married on May 16, 2009, in Omaha.

Ross worked for Schering-Plough Corp. and then taught medical biology at Bellevue West. She left the school in 2013 to stay home with her daughter, Lydia.

Bellevue West principal Kevin Rohlfs said Ross made a lasting impact at the school.

“Students gravitated to her,” Rohlfs said. “She was truly compassionate and cared about every student that she worked with.”

Elicia’s love is what Ken said will leave an impression on those who knew her.

“She loved God and loved people,” Ross said. “She would have so much outpouring of love whether it was toward a student she had or when she volunteered at the church.

“We just need to love people because that’s what she would be doing if she was here.”

She was preceded in death by two daughters in infancy, Olivia Beth and Elliana Ross; her maternal grandfather, Joseph Caldwell and her father-in-law, Kenneth Ross Sr.

Survivors include her husband and her daughter; her parents Michael and Rhonda Gleason of La Porte City, Iowa; a brother, Nathan (Jessica) Gleason of Bellevue; her maternal grandmother, Shirley Caldwell of La Porte City, Iowa; her paternal grandparents, Richard and JoAnn Gleason of Gilbertville, Iowa; her mother-in-law, Michele Ross of Omaha; and many aunts, uncles, cousins and special friends.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1304, [email protected]

Cindy Kraft devoted her life to caring for her ill son.

So when Zachary Kraft died at age 28 on Valentine’s Day, life as Cindy knew it came to an end, too.

Mother followed son in death two days later.

Cindy Kraft was 56 years old.

A joint service for the two was held Monday at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church.

Charles Womack, Cindy Kraft’s brother, said the family doesn’t know the cause of her death, and an autopsy wasn’t done.

Womack said his sister was by her son’s side 24/7, and stayed with him through his many hospital stays — even over the objections of medical personnel. Zachary was born lacking one of his four heart chambers and wasn’t expected to live beyond childhood. He underwent multiple heart surgeries.

“She was truly obligated 100 percent to that boy, as much as anyone could be,” Womack said.

Mother and son were at home Feb. 14 when Zachary became acutely ill. She called 911 and went with him to the hospital, where he died.

Cindy Kraft had her own health problems, including asthma and a bad back, but Womack said he didn’t think she had anything that was life-threatening.

“It was a surprise, I’m still in shock,” he said of his sister’s death.

Omahans came to the family’s aid in 1993 after someone broke into their home over the Christmas holidays, taking their presents and damaging Zachary’s breathing machine. The outpouring of presents dwarfed the family’s Christmas tree and was chronicled in The World-Herald.

In addition to Charles Womack, survivors include Cindy Kraft’s daughter and Zachary’s sister, Jessica; Zachary’s father, Ronald Swigart, and paternal grandmother, Elizabeth Swigart; and Cindy Kraft’s sister, Candy Bacome.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1102, [email protected]

As a child in England, Barbara Rimington survived the bombing of her hometown by the German air force in World War II. As an adult in Nebraska, the memories would return with the blare of a civil defense siren.

“When the tornado sirens would go off here, she literally would go berserk because it would remind her of the air raids as a child,” said Doug Rimington, 52, of Omaha, one of her sons.

Rimington, the mother of Nebraska Cornhusker football great Dave Rimington, died Feb. 9. She was 79.

Doug Rimington described his mother as a generous, devout and intelligent person with a pleasant disposition, who loved to travel, take her children camping, and knit and crochet.

“She would go overboard to help people,” he said. “She had her bouts of not being afraid to tell you what she thought, regardless of what it was. She was very strong-willed.”

Barbara Ramsbottom was born in Birkenhead, England, on July 4, 1936. The town is across the River Mersey from the shipping center of Liverpool and was a prime target for Germans bombs.

Her father died from injuries suffered during the war. One of her sisters married an American GI, inspiring another sister to immigrate to the United States. In the early 1950s, Barbara and her mother did the same, following that sister to Bellevue.

She got a job at the Wilson Packing Plant in South Omaha, where she met Emile Rimington.

The couple married in 1955 and had four children. If the Rimington siblings complained about anything, she would draw on her World War II experiences to give her kids a reality check.

“She was like, ‘This is what I persevered (through),’ ” Doug Rimington said. “It kind of made us realize, no matter how bad it got, it could always be worse.”

Dave Rimington redefined the center position at Nebraska, helping NU come within a few plays of national championships in 1981 and 1982, winning two Outland Trophies and a Lombardi Award before a seven-year NFL career.

Emile Rimington died in 1991. The couple’s children — Doug, Dave and Dennis Rimington and Diane Hempel — survive them.

A number of medical issues played a role in Barbara Rimington’s death, Doug Rimington said.

Services will be 10 a.m. Thursday at the funeral home.

Doug Rimington said one of the things he would remember most about his mother was her sense of adventure. In retirement, she would sometimes decide, on a whim, to visit her sister in Seattle. She would drive to and from the West Coast by herself.

“She wasn’t afraid to explore,” he said.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1310, [email protected], twitter.com/nelson_aj

Like a lot of World War II veterans, Dorothy Steele didn’t talk much about her service and said almost nothing about what must have been a fascinating job — translating codes for the Allied forces.

She didn’t reveal any wartime secrets to her son Richard, and she certainly kept mum when I asked in an interview a couple of years ago.

Instead, Dorothy closed the book on those stories when she drew her last breath last Thursday. She died at age 95, having lived a long and colorful life that included wartime service in her native England and a full life in Omaha.

A memorial service will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church at 84th and Pacific Streets.

“She had a good run,” Richard Steele said.

Dorothy was born in London in 1920. On her 18th birthday, she joined a then-new branch of the British Army, called the Auxiliary Territorial Service, and was among the first British women to serve in World War II. She served in a number of roles: orderly, cook and switchboard operator. She later was assigned to Whitehall, the brains of the British war machine, where she worked as a cryptographer, translating codes.

She later was transferred to Washington, D.C., arriving in the U.S. by steamship and feeling guilty about the comparative luxury she had in America while her family, back in London, suffered under strict rations. She met a soldier, Elery Steele, whom she called Roy. Though their wartime service separated them — he served in North Africa and Italy; she went back to London — they later married and returned to the United States.

They eventually settled in Omaha, where Roy was an economics professor and later department head at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He died in 1998.

Dorothy was a homemaker who had three sons, as well as a daughter who died within a week of being born. She got involved with costuming and theater at the Omaha Community Playhouse and threw herself into volunteer work at St. Andrew’s, which runs a thrift store called the Nearly New Shop. She volunteered there for more than 50 years.

Her vision began failing a couple of years ago, though when I met her she was still going strong. She had moved into a retirement home but had made us a pot of tea, naturally. And she told stories with crystal clarity of her wartime service — minus potentially juicy code-deciphering details.

I had begged for information — what kind of codes had she deciphered? Allied? Axis? Did she break any big German messages?

Dorothy was ever stalwart.

“No,” she had said in her English accent, adding: “I wouldn’t say so if I did!”

Richard said both of his parents, much like the other service members of their generation, didn’t talk much about the war years. He said their attitude was: It’s what you do.

“It wasn’t something they considered extraordinary,” he said. “From the outside, you’d think it was amazing.”

Dorothy did keep a reminder of that period in time. For years, hanging above her kitchen table, was a picture of Winston Churchill.

Around the new year, Dorothy contracted pneumonia and entered Josie Harper Hospice House earlier this month. She died just after midnight, her son said.

In addition to Richard, she is survived by sons Mike in Kansas City, Missouri, and Dave in Seattle; and two grandsons.

Richard marveled at his mother’s wit, tenacity and long and interesting life.

Among her many talents was music. She had written a song that will be performed at her service.

It is called: “Go in Peace.”

Contact the writer: 402-444-1136, [email protected], twitter.com/ErinGraceOWH

Ada Belle McDermott was the person who held together Loveland Lawns from behind the counter of the Omaha landscaping company.

McDermott handled such responsibilities as answering the phones and balancing the books, her son Michael said.

But she also balanced her husband, Joe, who was Ada’s business partner and the creative genius of the family before he died in 2010, Michael said.

Ada died of pancreatic cancer on Feb. 13 at age 94.

“My mother was the glue that kept my crazy father from spinning off into outer space,” Michael said.

Ada grew up on the farm in Steele City and Wilber, Nebraska. Her father died just after she graduated from high school, and she helped her mother and some of her six siblings who still lived on the family farm.

She also attended the University of Nebraska, where she met Joe McDermott in 1942.

Her son said that provided McDermott with a sense of responsibility for the rest of her life, especially when it came to the family business.

That business had its roots in the McDermotts’ sons, Michael and Patrick, starting a neighborhood lawn mowing business in 1958 when Joe was ill. Neighbors were impressed with the service, and after Joe recovered, he and Ada were looking for a new opportunity.

They bought a greenhouse at 9816 F St., started selling grass seed out of the garage and created Loveland Lawns.

The company, which still exists as Loveland Grass Pad, a combination of the original name and their popular sod farm, the Grass Pad, has become a staple in Midwest lawn and garden products.

Michael said his mother always provided a solid moral base for the family and had a passion for charity, giving to the Catholic community and supporting Mount Michael Benedictine High School and Creighton Prep.

Ada was preceded in death by her husband, her sisters, Angeline Barta and Dorothy Applegate, and brother, Daniel Barta. She is survived by her sister, Eunice Kuhns; brothers, Eugene Barta and Clair Barta, her two sons and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1304, [email protected]

Lois Friedman understood the importance of giving back to the community, whether it was organizing fundraisers, volunteering at a thrift shop or serving on boards, her family says.

“That was one of her many passions,’’ said her son, Scott Friedman of Omaha.

Friedman, 92, died Friday at Methodist Hospital following a stroke, her son said.

She was born in Omaha in 1923 and her family moved to Sioux City when she was 12.

As a teen she became active in the Jewish community in Sioux City by founding an organization for young Jewish women.

After graduating from Sioux City Central High she attended the University of Illinois. She married Lloyd Friedman in 1947 and moved back to Omaha where she joined the board of the Omaha Section of the National Council of Jewish Women. She also served as president of the Omaha section, as regional president and on the national board.

The organization honored her three times, including selecting her to receive its highest national honor — the Hannah G. Solomon award.

Debbie Friedman, her daughter-in-law, said Friedman believed in helping not just the Jewish community but also the broader Omaha community. She was honored with volunteer awards from the United Way of the Midlands.

She was also a founding member and president of the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society.

She was preceded in death by husband, Lloyd. Along with her son and daughter-in-law, survivors include a sister, Gloria Rosenblum of Los Angeles.

Services are set for 1 p.m. Sunday at Temple Israel.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1122, michael.o’[email protected]

Dale Te Kolste retired in 1982 from former energy giant InterNorth, but that didn’t end his role as one of Omaha’s community leaders.

For years after, he continued to put on a suit each morning to work on civic efforts, including co-founding the nonprofit Omaha Community Foundation in 1982 and serving as a trustee to the University of Nebraska Foundation.

“He always set a high standard in the way he conducted himself, and that showed in his work,” said Robert Te Kolste, Dale’s son.

Te Kolste died Feb. 13 from pneumonia. He was 95.

Te Kolste’s record of community service included a major role in helping Omaha Public Schools implement its integration plan in the 1970s. He helmed a U.S. District Court-ordered citizen committee to help provide an orderly transition to busing — an effort that largely avoided the angry confrontations and violence that marked school integration elsewhere in the country.

“It really gave me faith in the people of Omaha,” Te Kolste said in a 1996 World-Herald article.

Born in 1920 on a farm near Hickman, Nebraska, Te Kolste attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. While at college, he met his future wife, Patricia, on a blind date. The couple celebrated their 70th anniversary together in December.

After World War II began, he was inducted into the Army in 1942 as a lieutenant and served in Europe under Gen. George S. Patton, Robert Te Kolste said. He was a captain at the time of his discharge. He returned home and obtained his law degree from UNL in 1948.

He then joined Northern Natural Gas, which later became InterNorth, and worked his way up to chief financial officer.

Years after Te Kolste left the company, it became Enron and moved its headquarters to Houston, a move some thought would hurt Omaha’s economy. Enron collapsed in 2001 amid a financial scandal.

Among his many civic roles, Te Kolste also served as president of the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce.

Dale and Pat Te Kolste enjoyed spending time at their cabin in Minnesota, a property they’ve owned since the 1950s.

Besides his wife and son, Te Kolste is survived by two daughters, Sara Pickens and Nancy Velardi. The funeral is at 11:30 a.m. Thursday at the Presbyterian Church of the Cross, 1517 S. 114th St.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1304, [email protected]

Those who love Nebraska’s natural resources are better off because of people like Ione Werthman.

Werthman’s love of nature became her passion after her five children grew up, and she was among those who played an important role in protecting the Platte River system and Niobrara River, and in preserving from development Heron Haven, one of Omaha’s last natural springs and wetlands.

Werthman, a longtime member of the National Audubon Society and Audubon Society of Omaha and a recipient of state and national environmental honors, died Thursday. She was 89.

“I see Ione as one of the iconic conservationists for the state of Nebraska,” said Mark Brohman, executive director of the Nebraska Environmental Trust. “We had her for a long time; she did a lot of work for us, and we’re grateful for that.”

In Omaha, Werthman is best known for her work in the 1990s to protect one of the last oxbow wetlands of the Big Papillion Creek, near 120th Street and West Maple Road. Not as well known was her contribution in blocking an Interstate proposed through the Cathedral neighborhood.

[Read also: Hansen: Heron Haven sanctuary a sign that Omahan won the fight she picked with developers]

Heron Haven, as the wetlands area is now known, was on the verge of being developed as a 168-unit apartment complex when Werthman, the property’s neighbors and others, including the Audubon Society of Omaha and the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District, went to bat for it.

“There were a whole lot of people who did a lot of work to protect that wetland, but it’s fair to say that if Ione hadn’t been there, there’s a good chance the wetlands would be apartments now,” said Duane Hovorka, executive director of the Nebraska Wildlife Federation.

Werthman didn’t back down when the developer told her to find the money if she wanted to save the wetlands, said Sam Bennett, president of the board of Friends of Heron Haven.

“Ione had a personality like nobody I ever met in my life,” he said. “She was one of those people who, if you said, ‘No, you can’t,’ she dug in her heels that much deeper and tried that much harder to prove you wrong. And she did it time and again.”

Werthman volunteered at Heron Haven well into her 80s.

Earlier in her life she fought dams on the South Platte and Niobrara Rivers, lobbied for scenic river protection of the Niobrara and was among those who faithfully engaged in the tedious, years-long development of a conservation plan for the Platte, Hovorka and Brohman said.

A congressional plaque recognizes her work on the Niobrara. The Nebraska Wildlife Federation gave her a Lifetime Achievement Award, and the National Audubon Society honored her with the William Dutcher Award for her commitment to conservation. She also was a recipient of the Howard L. Wiegers Nebraska Outstanding Wildlife Conservation Award.

“She’s a legacy of the start of the modern environmental movement ... in which a lot of people with very little money got together and did some pretty remarkable things,” Hovorka said. “She didn’t wait around when she saw something that needed to be done.”

Among those whose lives Werthman touched is a relative newcomer to Omaha: Chris Robie, a naturalist and educator who has followed her Navy husband around the world. Robie said the city has a jewel in Heron Haven.

Robie takes students from Brownell-Talbot School to Heron Haven and uses it as more than an outdoor classroom.

“I use (Ione) as an example of one person standing up for what she believes in and how a small group can make a difference,” Robie said. “It’s an important concept to share with children, who often think they can’t make a difference. I want them to know that they can — she’s a great example of that.”

Werthman was born Iona Jane Dirks on a dairy farm near Coleridge, Nebraska. She grew up accustomed to the hard work of farm life: milking cows, separating the cream and delivering the milk door-to-door in town, according to a family obituary written by a son, Jerry Werthman of Fairfax Station, Virginia.

She married Alfred Werthman, a photographer from Hartington, Nebraska. They shared a love of photography that would feed their growing family and earn them acclaim.

Werthman was preceded in death by her husband. In addition to her son Jerry, she is survived by daughters Jeanne Zukowski of Estes Park, Colorado; and Mary Werthman and Patricia Whetstone of Omaha; son Roger Werthman of Omaha; eight grandchildren; and numerous great-grandchildren.

Visitation is scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at John A. Gentleman Chapel, 1010 N. 72nd St.

Services will be at 11:15 a.m. Wednesday at St. Cecilia Cathedral, 701 N. 40th St.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1102, [email protected]

Jim Lindsay, who led Omaha firm Ag Processing Inc. from its founding in 1983 to its position as the world’s largest soybean processing cooperative, died Wednesday at 81.

“Jim Lindsay was a true leader in the agriculture industry,” current company Chief Executive Keith Spackler said. “AGP was fortunate to have selected Jim to lead the new company during tough times for agriculture in the early 1980s. He set the foundation for future growth and success at AGP.”

Known as AGP, the firm today employs 1,100, with 200 in its Omaha headquarters.

Lindsay left a career with Archer Daniels Midland to take the helm at AGP, which formed when a co-op in Iowa acquired foundering soybean plants from other firms.

Lindsay had to make cuts including layoffs to right the ship, bringing the firm into the black. The company nearly quadrupled earnings in its second year, despite falling grain prices and competition with big corporations, The World-Herald reported in 1985.

Lindsay is survived by his wife, Jean, four children and five grandchildren. A World-Herald story in 2014 described the custom house the Lindsays built in Elkhorn for daughter Amanda, who uses a wheelchair and needed a more accessible home.

Lindsay was known for taking an interest in his employees’ families, too. In 2000, AGP opened what was believed to be the first on-site child care center at an Omaha corporate office. “We demand top-quality employees, and we recognize the demands of parenthood,” Lindsay said at the time.

Lindsay retired in 2000 and volunteered at Elkhorn Middle School. Jean Lindsay said her husband had been ill and died at home under hospice care.

Burial Mass will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Elkhorn.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1336, [email protected]

Throughout 32 years as a pastor, the Rev. Adam Burton lived a life of service.

Burton served his faithful parishioners as the leader of St. Mark Baptist Church in Omaha. His wife, Dorothy, said that after his funeral Saturday, she found out he often traveled around the community, meeting with people and letting them know he was available if they needed him.

“I guess I didn’t realize how the community felt about him until the funeral, but he will surely be missed,” Dorothy said. “He left such peace here.”

Burton died Jan. 26 of multiple myeloma, cancer of the plasma cells. He was 64.

Dorothy said Burton was called by the Lord to serve at age 13. He turned away from it at first, but a year later, he accepted the call.

He served those he met in the military. His love of service would lead him to be a pastor for the Air Force at Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier City, Louisiana. There, Burton met about 20 men who did not share his beliefs, Dorothy said. But Burton did what he was best at: He connected with them.

“They weren’t believers, but today, some of them are pastors, some school superintendents and some deacons because of his leadership and his life,” Dorothy said.

He also served his wife. Burton and Dorothy met in Hermandale, Missouri, and married in 1970. She was Burton’s co-captain on their many cruises, a yearly tradition they started in 1991. The two sailed to Trinidad and Tobago, St. Lucia, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Grenada, St. Kitts, Aruba and many other countries. Dorothy said Burton got up each morning, the sea still dark, and waited for the sunrise to warm his face.

After his many years of service, Burton’s community gave back. A handful of heart-shaped balloons and a picture of a rose were left outside his church at 36th Avenue and Spaulding Street to honor its decades-long leader. It was a gesture Dorothy knew spoke to his impact.

“I just feel like I can go forward because of the peace he left here,” she said. “He’s still here, watching over us. I can go forward because of the legacy he left behind.”

Burton is survived by sons Larry Smith and Brandyn Burton and daughters Brooke Burton and Brianna Turner. The funeral service was Saturday at Morning Star Baptist Church.

Rupert Dunklau supported many causes during his lifetime, but perhaps none as faithfully as Lutheran Family Services.

“He built his family through adoption of two children through LFS and then helped to build many other families through a constant, continued connection” to the social services agency, said Ruth Henrichs, the Nebraska president and CEO of the organization.

“Rupert lived the gospel call to care for your neighbor,” Henrichs said. “He was very generous with the blessings he had in his life.”

Added his daughter, Janet Love of Omaha: “The most beautiful thing he was involved in was Lutheran Family Services. It gave him lifelong impact and purpose.”

Dunklau, 88, died Wednesday in Fremont. He had been in failing health since a fall several months ago, Love said.

Dunklau was born May 19, 1927, and raised on a farm near Arlington, Nebraska, and later moved to Fremont. After graduation from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln with a bachelor’s degree in business, Dunklau started working at Valmont Industries in 1950 as a bookkeeper. He retired in 1973 as the executive vice president. He was among the leaders who took the company public in 1968.

His years at the company, Dunklau said, gave him the funds to help others.

“That’s part of my religious beliefs,” he told the Fremont Tribune in a 2010 interview. “I have been a very active member of the Lutheran Church and always had strong feelings of doing things that are good for mankind. Because I was able to achieve financial success, I was able to do a lot of that.”

Dunklau was generous throughout his life to the Lutheran Church and its ministries, especially those focused on children, youth and families such as education and care services.

Dunklau volunteered at LFS and served on the agency’s board of directors from 1950 to 1966.

“He always enjoyed meeting people helped by LFS,” Henrichs said. “He liked to see and hear the impact his gifts had on others.”

In 1992, he and his first wife, Ruth, gave the lead gift to purchase the building at 24th and Douglas Streets that serves as the statewide corporate offices for Lutheran Family Services, and it was named the Dunklau Building in their honor. Ruth died in 1998. Rupert later remarried, and his wife — also named Ruth — survives him. He also is survived by his children, Paul and his wife Diana of Denton, Texas, and Love and her husband Jack, and their children.

In 2007, Dunklau again gave the lead gift that allowed LFS to purchase and remodel a building in Fremont that stood on the site of the organization’s original orphanage. The building now is the Rupert Dunklau Center for Healthy Families.

Dunklau received Lutheran Family Services’ Faith in Action Award in 2001 and, in 2004, the Heartland Chapter of the Association of Lutheran Development Executives presented him the Spirit of Giving Award.

“He was a man of deep faith — for him, giving was just part of living,” Henrichs said.

Dunklau was deeply committed to service in Fremont. He was chairman of Fremont Health’s board of trustees for 24 years, on the board of directors of Fremont National Bank for 31 years and a longtime trustee for Midland University.

In addition to his work on the Midland board, his financial support of the Fremont university is reflected on the Rupert and Ruth Dunklau Center for Journalism and the Dunklau School of Business.

His support of the medical center included a gift in 2014 that led to renaming its long-term care facility Dunklau Gardens.

Dunklau was the great-uncle of U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse. The senator said, “Rupert lived a long life of service to his neighbors and community. He believed in giving back to the institutions and individuals that played an important role in his life. His generosity will be felt for years to come.”

“He helped so many people,” his daughter said, “and not just with donations — personally.”

Henrichs said that if she could say one thing to Dunklau it would be: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

His funeral is set for 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at Trinity Lutheran in Fremont. Visitation will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday at Dugan Funeral Chapel in Fremont, with the family present from 6 to 8 p.m.

While working as a bouncer in South Omaha bars, Eddie A. Abraham was known for “knocking a guy down and then offering him a hand up,” his son said Tuesday.

“I’ve heard a lot of stories about my dad doing that,” said Eddie Van Sant of Omaha. “People tell me that he hit hard, but he had a heart of gold.”

Abraham, 59, of Council Bluffs, died Monday at the Nebraska Medical Center from injuries he suffered Friday in a crash on Ninth Avenue near 31st Street in the Bluffs. He was working as a driver for a cab company when his minivan rear-ended an unoccupied parked car, police said.

Abraham apparently veered off the right side of the road into the parking lane, pushing the car about 50 feet before stopping. Police said they are investigating whether a medical condition contributed to the accident.

A funeral service will be held Friday at 10 a.m. in the Korisko Larkin Staskiewicz Funeral Home, 5108 F. St. Visitation will be Thursday at 5 p.m.

Abraham, a 1973 graduate of Omaha South High, had worked as a cabdriver for about eight years, his son said. The many friends he made as a bouncer and cabdriver were evident Monday when his family invited acquaintances to stop by the hospital to say goodbye.

“A few hundred people showed up,” Van Sant said. “A 97-year-old man came up and told me that whenever he got a cab ride, my dad would refuse to take his money. Sometimes, it seemed like it cost Dad money to go to work.”

Van Sant learned many things from his dad, who loved to hunt pheasant and fish. He said the biggest lesson was “an old school thing” about treating people like you would want to be treated yourself.

“It sounds corny, but that’s really something that he believed,” Van Sant said. “He also taught me to always shake a man’s hand and look him straight in the eye.”

Van Sant said he also learned the importance of family from his father, who had eight sisters and one brother. Van Sant often heard about his dad “going all in” for family members, including the time that he drove to California to bring back a sister who had run away from home.

Abraham was also a bit of a camera bug and enjoyed taking pictures of old barn doors, sunsets and bald eagles nesting near his home. That softer side also appeared when Abraham talked about his late son, Tony Van Sant, who was just 6 years old when he died from cancer in 1998.

“Dad would talk about Tony all the time even though he died a long time back,” Van Sant said. “Tony was his world.”

In addition to his son, Abraham is survived by Sandy Van Sant; mother Janice Vopalka; father Edward A. Abraham; brothers Mark Abraham and Alan Vopalka; sisters Brenda Abraham, Vicky Abraham, Lori Briers, Christine Antoniak, Kim Reed, Jody Baratta, Roni Plescia and Sarah Jordan. A gofundme account has been set up to help Abraham’s family with funeral expenses.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1272, [email protected]

William “Bill” W. Marshall may have spent his entire career at the Grand Island bank he founded with his father in 1971, but his legacy as an ardent booster for the city touches countless state and local organizations, his daughter said.

Marshall, who was president and chairman of Five Points Bank, died from complications of cancer on Saturday at his home in Grand Island. He was 71.

Kristen Marshall Maser said her father was “all in” for “anything he thought would improve the community and drive progress,” whether that was a successful effort to move the Nebraska State Fair from Lincoln to Grand Island in 2010 or his involvement on the local and state boards of education.

Marshall’s support for the community was matched by his commitment to his family, she said.

Maser said her father was a fixture at the sporting events she and her sister competed in, as well as at those of his six grandchildren.

“He was a tremendous father,” Maser said. “He always made time for the family, whether it was for sporting events and activities or homework.”

In addition to raising a family with his wife, Sherry, Marshall also steered Five Points Bank to become a financial institution that today has the sixth-most deposits among Nebraska-based banks.

With locations in Hastings, Kearney, Sumner and Omaha, the bank grew from Grand Island.

It was from there that Marshall, whose proclivity for academics and athletics in his early years was eclipsed by his acumen for business and community development as an adult, helped build Five Points into a $1.25 billion financial institution.

Meanwhile, Marshall helped champion projects including Grand Island’s Heartland Event Center and College Park, a consortium of public and private institutions of higher education, arts and health.

During his 45-year banking career, Marshall held various executive, board and trustee seats at organizations including the Nebraska Bankers Association, the University of Nebraska Foundation, the College Park Board of Directors and the Grand Island Community Foundation.

“He was pure class and he always exuded it,” said Tom Kelley, Marshall’s son-in-law and president of Five Points’ Omaha market. “As I got into the banking industry, I’ve really grown to appreciate how much his colleagues admired and respected the success he achieved.”

A visitation is scheduled at First Presbyterian Church in Grand Island on Wednesday from 5 to 7 p.m. Services will be Thursday at 11 a.m., also at First Presbyterian.

Wayne Atchley considered it a combination of hard work and good luck that propelled him from a poor childhood to ownership of what was for several years the largest auto dealership in Nebraska.

The former owner of Atchley Ford died Wednesday from complications of Alzheimer’s disease at a care facility, said his son, Zach Atchley, current owner of the business. He was 72.

Wayne Atchley’s career in cars started as a high school summer job at Courtesy Ford in Littleton, Colorado. He was headed to college on a wrestling scholarship, with plans to become a history teacher, and hoped to earn some spending money.

He envied the car salesmen, though, with their nice clothes, new cars and big personalities, and asked for a job selling cars, even though it meant lying about his age, he told The World-Herald in 1975. He sold about 60 cars that summer and reconsidered his career.

He stayed on at Courtesy, hustling to do work other salesmen might not, like cleaning snow off a car in the winter for a customer who wanted a test drive.

Ford saw his potential. In 1975, with the help of the Ford Dealership Development Program, he bought Omaha dealership Sample Hart. Renamed Atchley Ford, the business was Nebraska’s biggest dealer in the late ’80s and early ’90s, Zach Atchley said. The dealership remodeled in 2014 and today continues to sell more than 2,500 vehicles a year.

The business was the pride of the family. Atchley, born in Oklahoma, was raised by his mother and grandmothers after his parents divorced in his youth.

One time, recalled his wife, Sue Atchley, “Grandma Atchley drove up and he drove her down there,” she said of the dealership. “She stood in front of the building and just cried and cried. She never thought she’d see something like that.”

Atchley passed that pride down to his children, Sue Atchley said. On Sundays, when the dealership was closed, the family would drive to the car lot, and Wayne would have the kids pick up any litter on the ground.

Wayne Atchley built a successful business on the principle that the customer is always right, said his son, who recalled that even when a buyer was difficult to deal with, his father would say, “You better find a way to work with the customers to make sure they feel they’re being listened to. Whether you agree with it or not, the customer is king.”

Despite his hard work and poor upbringing, Atchley felt he was lucky, too, to have had good mentors and a natural talent for salesmanship, his son said, and tried to give his employees their own opportunities to succeed.

Atchley was an active member of the Nebraska New Car & Truck Dealers Association, said Loy Todd, the group’s president.

His peers in 2006 nominated him for the Time Magazine Quality Dealer of the Year, a reflection of the respect other local dealers had for him, Todd said.

“He always had a smile on his face,” Todd said. “It was clear he enjoyed his family, and he enjoyed the business. He was very proud of being a successful dealer and taking care of his customers.”

In addition to son Zach, Atchley is survived by a daughter, Tish; two grandsons; and his wife, Sue, of Elkhorn, with whom he had celebrated 50 years of marriage in 2014 with a dinner for family and friends at the Omaha Country Club.

A wake is planned from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at Reichmuth Mortuary in the Elkhorn area. Services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church in Elkhorn.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1336, [email protected]

Velma Crumbley was a student of the world, visiting Bermuda, Louisiana, Puerto Rico, Mexico City and Jamaica, just to name a few.

New York City and Chicago were two of her favorite stops. And when Crumbley wasn’t learning more about the globe, she was passing on her vast knowledge to her Omaha Public Schools students. With 33 years in education, she taught a lot of them.

Crumbley, 62, died Jan. 27 from appendix cancer.

She spent a large part of her career at Gilder Elementary School, first as a teacher in 1975, then as an instructional supervisor in special education and finally as principal for a decade, until her retirement in 2008. Her husband, Elmer Crumbley, 63, said she excelled at teaching by connecting with each student.

“She had a personality that people gravitated to,” Elmer said. “You thought that in talking with her that you were the most important individual that there was because she was in tune with you that much.”

In a 2008 World-Herald article, Crumbley said some of her proudest teaching moments came from educating students from other countries.

“We’ve had an influx of Sudanese children and children from Somalia — and to hear them read essays after they’ve been here a year or two ... that really makes you feel good, that you’ve really done your job.”

Elmer and Velma met at Omaha North High School, where he said he saw something special in her immediately. The couple then went to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, something he said she encouraged him to do.

Crumbley was born in 1954 in New Orleans and a few years later, her family moved to Omaha, where she attended Lothrop Magnet Center and then Horace Mann Junior High School. At both schools, Crumbley was taught by Eugene Skinner, Omaha’s first African-American principal. She graduated from Omaha North in 1971.

Elmer said the two would often visit family in New Orleans. When in New York and Chicago, the two enjoyed Broadway musicals. As for their favorite, Elmer said that was easy.

“Always the last one that we saw,” he said. He said “The Color Purple” was at the top of their list.

Crumbley’s love of exploring new countries with her husband never ceased. The two were planning a trip to Nigeria before her final bout of cancer restricted her travel ability.

Crumbley is survived by her children: Jason, 37, and Nicole, 35.

A visitation is set for Sunday at St. Benedict the Moor Parish from 4 to 8 p.m. The funeral will be 10 a.m. Monday at St. Benedict.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1304, [email protected]

Charles “Chuck” Davidson suffered from leukemia for nearly 20 years. But you’d never know it, his daughter said.

“He had the most amazing, positive attitude,” said Chelle Davidson of Carter Lake. “He always had a drive to get better.”

Davidson died Jan. 14 at his Carter Lake home. He was 76.

As a young man, Davidson spent his summers working for a traveling carnival, operating various games, his daughter said. During the winters he worked as a truck driver from the time he was a teenager until age 25.

Chelle Davidson said that in 1984 her father opened one of the first car dealerships in Carter Lake. He ran Carter Lake Auto until 1997, a little over a year after he was diagnosed with leukemia.

He fought the disease for nearly two decades, she said, and refused to give up, no matter how tired or sick he felt. Davidson loved watching NASCAR, making homemade fudge and taking road trips.

“He took his medicine religiously,” Chelle Davidson said. “He had so much strength and character.”

In February 2015 Davidson’s wife of 50 years died of liver failure. Chelle Davidson said once her mother died — and after the birth of a great-grandchild — it was as if her father felt he finally could let go.

“He just really declined then,” she said.

In addition to Chelle and his great-grandchild, Davidson is survived by daughter Roxie Krasno; a brother, Max Davidson; and six grandchildren. A celebration of life service was held Saturday at the Carter Lake Public Library.

“Hopefully his story will give hope to other people who are sick,” Chelle Davidson said.

“That you really can fight and live for a long time.”

Jack Feierman “ran away” from his home in Omaha to pursue music in New York.

Feierman’s father owned a bottling company, and Feierman was expected to take it over after he graduated from the University of Omaha. Instead, the trumpet player left Nebraska to pursue his dream.

Feierman, 91, went on to become one of the premier musical conductors in the country.

He was the musical director for Andy Williams, Paul Anka, Johnny Mathis and the Lennon Sisters, to name a few. He was the lead trumpeter for the NBC Orchestra and played on several TV and movie scores. He also played with Count Basie and Frank Sinatra.

He conducted at Carnegie Hall and the Philadelphia Orchestra and, for 27 years, was the musical director and conductor for Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme.

Feierman died at his California home on Jan. 19, listening to a beloved artist of his era, Davenport, Iowa, cornetist Bix Beiderbecke. His wife, Judith Wilson, said he died as the last note on the album played.

Feierman was born in Omaha on Nov. 3, 1924. He began playing piano at 4, and by 13, he also could play the clarinet and trumpet. He would sneak into clubs to play trumpet with big bands, blending in with the older musicians.

Feierman was a captain in the Air Force and played lead trumpet in the Air Force band. Feierman attended New York’s Eastman School of Music to study orchestral conducting techniques. He eventually relocated to Los Angeles. He taught conducting techniques at the Grove School of Music and UCLA.

His cousin Barbara Newcomer of Omaha said he never seemed his age because he played music as though he were 30.

“He had more energy and ambition than anyone that I have ever known,” she said.

Feierman had throat cancer but chose not to have a tracheotomy, because he wouldn’t have been able to play the trumpet. Wilson said he played trumpet every day but the day he died. A week before his death, he was still performing.

A memorial is scheduled for March 12 at the Los Angeles Musicians Union Local from 2 to 4 p.m.

He also is survived by daughter Jackie Feierman and stepson Brad Wilson.

Every morning before the crack of dawn, “King” Richard Gardner headed to his basement to fill his house with the sounds of his guitar.

Gardner, 83, was one of Omaha’s most prominent jazz and blues musicians, starting in the 1950s. He was influenced by icons such as B.B. King, knew blues greats like Bobby “Blue” Bland and was inducted into the Omaha Black Music Hall of Fame in 2005.

Gardner died Jan. 21 of natural causes.

“He was just proud to be recognized for something that he loved to do,” his daughter Debbie Hunter said of her father being inducted to the hall of fame. “He didn’t consider it a job. He was honored.”

Hunter said as a child, she remembers her father getting up early to play guitar before work. By day, Gardner was a barber on 24th Street, having owned four barbershops for 46 years by the end of his career. He cut the neighborhood children’s hair and began to mentor some of them on guitar. Wali Ali, a 62-year-old Los Angeles-based musician, proudly claims the title of Gardner’s star pupil, whom he still calls “King Richard.”

“I left Omaha at 16 and came back when I was 26 and played with Marvin Gaye,” Ali said. “(Gardner) came to the concert. He got to meet him, and he was very proud.”

It was his mentorship that earned Gardner his royal nickname by friend John Goodwin, also a barber.

Gardner, who was born in Madill, Oklahoma, set down the guitar at age 18 and joined the U.S. Air Force. While in the military, he became an expert at pingpong, checkers and pool. His daughter Donna Gardner said his four daughters took him out to play pool last year. “He beat all four of us,” she said.

After four years in the service, he began to play Omaha clubs: the Offbeat, Allen’s Showcase and the Dreamland. Gardner loved to share his favorite music with his family. His children remember him playing B.B. King’s “Stormy Monday.” On Sundays, it was “Amazing Grace.”

Gardner married Shirley Bennett Gardner, a beautician, in the ’50s. Shirley died 15 years ago.

Richard “Rickey” Gardner Jr., Gardner’s son, said his father followed politics closely and was proud to have voted for President Barack Obama.

“A lot of people that were born when he was didn’t get to see that,” Rickey said. “They taught by example. They never spoke bad or ill about anybody, of any race.”

His other survivors include children Latrina Coleman, Brenda Jones, David Griffin and Jason Griffin, all of Omaha; Dajuan and Dajuana Jones of Houston; brothers Cecil Gardner of Wichita, Kansas, and Johnny Gardner of Koffman, Texas; sister Mary Gardner-Watson of Altos, Oklahoma; and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Services for Gardner are today at 11 a.m. at Forest Lawn Funeral Home.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1304, [email protected]

Betty Moller was as much a fixture at Central High football games, graduation ceremonies and road shows as her husband, former Central Principal Gaylord “Doc” Moller.

Betty enjoyed accompanying her husband, who was principal of Central from 1968 to 1995, to school functions and events, he said. The two were married for 65 years.

“This is a worn-out term, but she really was a people person,” Doc Moller said. “She just loved people, loved to talk to people. It didn’t matter what it was. She was there beside me.”

Betty Moller died Thursday at age 86. She had dementia and suffered complications after a severe fall.

Born Betty Steggs, she was raised in Alliance and went to school for nursing. After she and Doc Moller married, her work as a nurse in Chadron, Lincoln and Valentine supported them while he went to college and earned a bachelor’s and subsequent advanced degrees in education.

“She had a great deal of empathy,” Doc Moller said. “She really loved working with ill people and just couldn’t do enough for them.”

She eventually left nursing to raise their two daughters, Londa and Risa. Doc Moller’s long hours at school meant she took on most of the parenting responsibilities, he said.

Betty loved playing bridge and volunteered for a time to help counsel women newly diagnosed with breast cancer. She was diagnosed with the disease in 1971, but luckily doctors caught it early, her husband said.

She loved traveling, and once Doc Moller retired in 1995, the two took many trips, including a particularly memorable safari in Tanzania. Betty had no problem striking up conversations on their vacations, he said.

“She never met a stranger,” Doc Moller said.

In addition to her husband and daughters, she is survived by grandchildren, Nikki Stephens, Stacy Russ, and Jackson Hofmeister; and great grandchildren, William Stephens VI, Taylor Stephens, Krystal Carter Russ, and Jessa Garner Russ. She was preceded in death by grandson Benjamin Hofmeister, with whom she was very close.

Funeral services are scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday at the John A. Gentleman Pacific Street Chapel at 14151 Pacific St.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1210, [email protected]

A Syracuse man who was Nebraska’s longest-active licensed funeral director — for more than 60 years in Cass and Otoe Counties — died Tuesday.

John Fusselman died of pancreatic cancer. He was 88.

After serving in World War II, Fusselman went to mortuary school in San Francisco, obtaining his license in 1949, said his son, Jon Fusselman.

John, who was raised in Bristow, Nebraska, moved to Louisville to start a funeral home from his own home in 1953. In 1967 he purchased a funeral home in Syracuse and operated both businesses for decades.

Doug Allen worked with him for about 30 years and said he was a supportive friend to grieving families.

“They always felt he was part of their family after they worked with him,” Allen said.

Jon Fusselman said that over the years his father knew nearly every family in a 30-mile radius.

“He was such a genuine, caring person that didn’t have any pretense,” Jon said. “People sensed that and were automatically drawn to him and had a lot of trust in the business.”

John usually did his job correctly, but decades ago the Syracuse newspaper ran a headline: “Funeral director buries wrong cat.”

John’s daughters had cats that lived at the funeral home, off Nebraska Highway 50. When the Fusselman family returned home after a Christmas church service, a neighbor told them that their cat had been run over by a car.

The daughters were distraught. John held a funeral for the cat, digging into the frozen ground to bury the cat with its Christmas presents.

Three days later, the daughters’ real cat appeared.

“It was not quite a scandal but a little bit of a local joke,” Jon said. “It became a little bit of a local celebrity story.”

John is also survived by daughters Marcy Wilcke of Clinton, Iowa, Alice Perry of Syracuse, Laurie Shultz of Omaha and Mary Arnold of Lenexa, Kansas; eight grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and two sisters.

A visitation will be today from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Fusselman Allen Harvey Funeral Home at 644 Park Ave. in Syracuse, and the family will greet friends from 5 to 7 p.m. The funeral will be Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at Luther Memorial Church at 1162 Mohawk St. in Syracuse.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1068, [email protected]

Before realizing his passion for teaching, David Ellison was a bit of a troublemaker.

Back in high school, Ellison asked his principal for a college recommendation and was told, “I recommend you don’t go.”

Looking back, Ellison, who died Dec. 31 in Omaha at age 75, told his wife, Saundra Ellison, that was the best thing that could have happened to him.

Ellison had a long career in higher education, including serving as a professor for 21 years in the accounting department at Creighton University with three years as the department’s chairman when he first arrived in 1981. He retired in 2002. In 1997, he was awarded the College of Business Administration’s Excellence in Service award.

Saundra said the award recognized her husband’s commitment to helping his students.

“If he saw someone he thought could use some encouragement, he gave it to them,” Saundra said.

Once, he met a family who came from Utah to settle their son at Creighton, Saundra Ellison said.

Ellison gave them his business card and told them to call him if they needed anything.

About 10 days later, the new student was sick in the hospital, and the father called Ellison. He wondered if Ellison would visit his son and let them know if the family should return from Utah.

Ellison did so and told the family to fly out because their son was in critical condition. He met them at the airport and was by their side through the entire episode.

Ellison’s career also included stints at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Kansas State University and the University of Arkansas. As a student, he earned a doctorate in accounting from the University of Arkansas.

Ellison was proceeded in death by his parents, Donald and Wanetta, and his youngest brother, Jeffrey. In addition to his wife, he is survived by daughter Sara and her husband, Dave Vogltanz, and daughter Melissa and her husband, Kip Fladland; granddaughters, Hannah and Ellen Vogltanz; brother Richard and his wife, Arlene Ellison; and sister Erma Ellison.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1304, [email protected]

No one was a stranger to Addie Bandur.

The mother, wife and prolific saleswoman, who died Tuesday at age 89, never had a problem walking up to someone and saying, “Hello.” It was something she impressed early upon her daughter, Michelle Bandur.

“She just had a big personality,” her daughter said. “We always said she could sell ice to an eskimo.”

Michelle Bandur recalled that before she started school, she would go to work with her mother. Addie Bandur worked for Pennyrich Bras & Lingerie selling bras, wigs and girdles door-to-door out of a purple suitcase.

Every morning, the two of them would trek all over Omaha from their west Omaha home.

Her mother was such a good saleswoman, Michelle said, that in 1974, she won a national prize from the company — a bright red Ford Maverick.

The car didn’t last long — one of Michelle’s brothers crashed it on an icy road. But the prestige and memory lasted.

During World War II, Addie and her sisters worked in the Cornhusker Ammunition Plant west of Grand Island, manufacturing bombs and mines.

Michelle said she would most remember her mother for her Catholic faith, Polish heritage and vivacious personality.

“She always said you shouldn’t be afraid of talking to people,” Michelle Bandur said. “That everyone has a story.”

Other survivors include her husband, Edmund; children Roderic, Scott, Kurt and Doug; four grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Funeral services will be noon today at Heafey-Hoffmann-Dworak Cutler West Center Chapel.

Contact the writer:

402-444-1304, [email protected]

Walt Wilczewski’s work in horse racing brought him into contact with all kinds of people involved in the sport of kings, including bettors, jockeys, trainers and owners.

“He loved everything about it. He studied the horses, he studied the jockeys. He knew every terminology there was to know,” said his wife, Cathy Thornton. “He lived and breathed and ate it. He worked 20 years without a day off.”

Wilczewski, 62, of Las Vegas, died Jan. 2 of cardiac arrest following a quadruple bypass in November. Services were held at the South Point Hotel and Casino.

Wilczewski grew up in Omaha and graduated from Archbishop Ryan High School in 1972. The year before, he was on Ryan’s state champion baseball team.

He worked in off-track betting in Omaha before moving to Las Vegas in the 1980s, said Mike Pirruccello, 61, of Omaha, a longtime friend.

In Vegas, he worked for John D. “Jackie” Gaughan, an Omaha native who became a Las Vegas hotel-casino pioneer. Gaughan was known for giving free or discounted hotel rooms to Omahans visiting the city and for hiring ex-Nebraskans.

Wilczewski started at the El Cortez Hotel and Casino as racebook manager (a racebook is where one places bets), before moving to the Union Plaza, another Gaughan casino.

“Jackie always liked him,” Pirruccello said. “He kind of took him under his wing.”

More recently, he worked at the Las Vegas Dissemination Co., which bills itself as “the racing industry’s only full-service race information and off-track-betting hub facility.” It’s owned by John Gaughan, a grandson of Jackie Gaughan.

John Gaughan spent thousands to help the family and cover medical care as Wilczewski suffered from health problems in later years, his wife said.

“John loved him as an employee because Walt was devoted and faithful,” she said. “They could count on him for anything and everything.”

His death was noted in the Las Vegas Review Journal. “He was always great to me and old-school popular in the fair way he treated customers,” racing writer Richard Eng wrote in his column.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1310, [email protected]

Fair, smart and caring is how the Rev. Gerald “Gerry” Stockhausen is being remembered by close friends and associates.

“Those things made him unusual,” said the Rev. John Staudenmaier of the University of Detroit Mercy. “Sometimes people that smart are not so very good at being attuned to the human condition.”

Stockhausen, 66, of Omaha died Tuesday while in hospice care at the Nebraska Medical Center. He had recently been treated for leukemia.

Stockhausen held a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Michigan, a master’s degree in social ethics, a Master of Divinity degree from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, California, and a master’s degree in mathematics from St. Louis University. He was raised in Milwaukee and attended Marquette University High School before entering the Society of Jesus in 1967.

Mary Eileen Andreasen, a friend for more than 45 years, said Stockhausen was at peace when she saw him on Saturday. When she asked him what he was thinking about, the priest said he was giving thanks.

“I knew Gerry from our days as students at St. Louis University and he was beloved by so many people,” Andreasen said. “When you go back that far, I can’t imagine life without him.”

Stockhausen was a member of the board of trustees at Creighton University, where he had taught economics and was associate dean for the undergraduate program and internal operations for what is now the Heider College of Business. He was chairman of the economics and finance program in 1996 and interim dean in 1997.

“He was kind of a quiet guy until you got to know him and found that he had a droll sense of humor,” said Tom Purcell, chairman of Creighton’s department of accounting. “He loved to play guitar and sing and he loved to be with people like that.”

As an economist, Stockhausen was very direct and not afraid to make his position known, said Purcell. Stockhausen championed a “champagne glass” theory of economic injustice.

“In a champagne glass economy there’s a lot at the top but the stem is real narrow,” Purcell said. “Some (people) are not getting their share because it’s choked off by the stem.”

Most recently, Stockhausen worked as the executive assistant to the president of the Jesuit Conference. The conference performs administrative duties for the Jesuit provinces.

During 1991-1992, Stockhausen was visiting associate professor of economics at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda.

From 2004 to 2010, Stockhausen served as the president of Detroit Mercy, where he had previously served as the vice president for academic affairs and provost.

After arriving at Detroit Mercy in 2000, Stockhausen began “a top-to-bottom analysis” of every economic function of the university, Staudenmaier said.

“A lot of things we are benefiting from now, he started,” said Staudenmaier. “I’ve received (over 200) beautiful emails about what a great man he was. He knew everyone at the university by name.”

A celebration of life and funeral Mass will be held Saturday at Gesu Parish Church in Milwaukee with Stockhausen’s seminary classmate, the Rev. Roc O’Connor, presiding.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1272, [email protected]

Some people greet everything with a positive attitude and excitement.

Reid Adler, his mother said, was one of those people.

“He was like a child at an amusement park,” Joni Adler said. “When you show up, you’re only going to be there maybe once in your life and you run around like crazy because you want to see it all. You want to experience it all. That’s exactly how he treated life.”

Reid died Jan. 7. He was 15 years old.

Joni said her son was always looking for more fun, even if he was in the midst of it.

“It used to drive us crazy because we would be somewhere having a great time or he would have scads of friends over and then he would come up and ask ‘What are we going to do tomorrow? What kind of fun are we going to have tomorrow?’” Joni said. “We were like ‘Just have fun right now.’”

Reid, she said, was so consistently on the go that it felt like he barely stopped to take care of himself.

“He hardly had time to eat or go to the bathroom,” Joni said. “He would never eat unless it was made for him. He would eat anything you put in front of him. But if he had to make it himself, he would say ‘Eh, never mind.’”

Reid’s father, Ralston Public Schools Superintendent Mark Adler, said his son, for being so young, was very loving and kind to all.

“For a kid, he had one of the biggest hearts,” he said. “Even from the time he was a kid, we would take him to the playground. He would be out there and it wouldn’t even be two or three minutes and he’d be coming over ‘Hey, check out this new friend I got.’”

Reid, his parents said, made friends everywhere he went. At school, he was the first to introduce himself to new students. Even on a family vacation, he struck up a conversation with a pro football player.

“We were at Great Wolf Lodge and there were all of these people there and he’s hanging out with this hulk of a guy,” Mark said. “It wound up being one of the Kansas City Chiefs. Reid was in middle school at the time.”

Reid loved sports, participating in football, basketball, baseball and track.

Although he was only 15, Mark said his son was able to fit more into those years than many do in a longer period of time.

“He had a vigor for life,” he said. “He just did it. We did more in 15 years with that kid than most kids will ever get to do.

“As sad as I am that he’s not with us anymore, I have no regrets about what we did with him in that time.”

Reid is preceded in death by his grandfathers, Robert Schlachter and Edward Adler.

Along with his mother and father, Reid is survived by his older sister, Jade, younger sister, Kamillie, grandmothers, Theresa Adler and Eilene (Ron) Saylor; aunts and uncles, Corey Schlachter, Amy (Dave) Halbert, Jeremy Adler; cousins, Elizabeth, Dominic, Nathan, Shelby, Haley, Madison and Tyler; many friends.

Services were held Monday evening at Braman Mortuary and Tuesday at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in La Vista.

In lieu of flowers, the family has established a memorial fund for Reid.

Donations can be mailed to the Ralston Schools Foundation, 8545 Park Drive.

The Adlers hope to set up a scholarship in their son’s name.

“I was asking last night — his friends were here — and I said, ‘What would we make the criteria?’” Joni said. “And they all said ‘Fun.’”

A 26-year-old computer guru who was known as a loyal and genuine friend died Friday.

Peter Woodke went to the hospital 48 hours before his death because of an unexpected medical issue. He had woken up with stomach and side pains and immediately told his parents.

Woodke received medical help, but his health suddenly went south, and his organs began to fail, said David Woodke, his father.

“He was surrounded by his family when he passed away,” David said.

Peter, a Westside High School graduate, attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and studied economics.

He recently worked sales for Omaha Steaks and Nebraska Furniture Mart.

But his passion was fixing computers. He started at age 13, helping friends and family, and then grew his business to assist strangers.

Months ago he helped a rapper recover music tracks from a broken computer.

“I don’t care if I make no money as long as I get to fix computers for people who need it,” Peter wrote on Facebook, recalling the incident.

In December, he built a gaming machine for a 19-year-old who had a tiny budget.

“Glad I could save him $300 off store bought ... knowledge is power,” Peter wrote.

In addition to computers, Peter would install stereos to his car, upgrading it for little money.

“He was very hands-on with technology,” said David Woodke, who served on the Westside school board from 1996 to 2014. “Down the road, if he had the chance, he wanted to work with computers.”

Hundreds of people attended the funeral Monday night. David Woodke spoke to the crowd, describing his son as generous, loving and caring.

“Those weren’t words that I made up,” he said. “Those were the condolences that we got and how (people) described him.”

Peter is also survived by his mother, Marty Woodke, and brothers Seth, Drew and Cole Woodke.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1068, [email protected]

Omahan Jane Keller had three passions: teaching math, stage-managing productions at area theaters and traveling around the world.

In a way, she combined the first two in her Metropolitan Community College career, said Michael Flesch, dean of mathematics and natural sciences at Metro.

Keller, who died last week, had definite ideas about what should happen in her classroom — she got the students involved, sometimes in figuring out problems on the chalkboard in front of the class, he said.

“She was kind of a stage manager and director. (Students) were the actors, and she was directing the production,” he said. “And they learned very well.”

She loved to teach developmental math, helping first-generation college students — many from struggling backgrounds — get up to speed. On evaluations, many students who had never understood math said she was able to get through to them when others couldn’t, Flesch said.

Some of those students were at her wake service over the weekend and her funeral on Monday. Keller, 67, died Wednesday after having a stroke on New Year’s Eve.

Keller was born in Omaha and graduated from Mercy High School. She earned a bachelor’s degree at the College of St. Mary and was planning to become a nun with the Sisters of Mercy but left the order before taking her vows. She taught at the old Ryan High School, Westside High School and Creighton University before joining the faculty at Metro, where she stayed more than 30 years, teaching her last class only weeks before her death, said her brother, Paul Keller of Omaha.

She also earned a master’s degree in math from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Keller was devoted to teaching and to Metro — her Christmas request this year was for her family to purchase a fundraising brick in a garden under construction at the school. It reads “Jane Keller, MCC Math Department, touched lives,” said Paul’s wife, Karen.

Students returned the devotion, as did actors, directors and crew members at community theaters across the city. Keller was the stage manager for more than 150 productions, along with many years behind the scenes at the Omaha Press Club show. Bellevue Little Theatre engaged her services as often as it could.

“She served in the vital role of stage manager on most of our musical productions for over 15 years,” theater spokeswoman Clara Sue Arnsdorff said in an email. “Jane was very adept at doing this job with a smile but also with authority. We will miss her smiling face.”

Keller also volunteered at Film Streams and for Ibsen’s Costume Gallery. She traveled to China, Australia, Kenya, Egypt and many other locales with family and friends. She also spent a semester teaching in Denmark.

“She could honestly say she did everything on her bucket list,” her brother said. “Not many people get to say that.

Survivors include another brother, Richard of San Francisco, a niece and other relatives.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1267, [email protected]

As the third generation to run Koleys Inc., an almost-century-old church metalware business in midtown Omaha, Edward Koley probably knew every priest within 500 miles, his family says.

Since 1919, when electroplating was still a hot, young technique, the company has specialized in making and repairing religious items such as chalices — secular objects such as trophies, too — and coating them with silver or gold. Koley led the business from 1971, when his own father died, until about a decade ago, when his eyesight grew too weak, said the current company president, son Tom Koley.

He said his father died New Year’s Eve at age 95 in an area nursing home.

Born in 1920 in the family’s house near 17th and Dorcas Streets, Edward Koley attended St. Joseph’s High School.

In that school at a Catholic Youth Organization dance he met Rosemary Hruby. He married her in 1943 while on furlough from the U.S. Army Signal Corps — which led to trouble, a story he often told in later years:

Friends gave them gasoline as a wedding present — quite a gift during the World War II rationing years — and the couple drove to a honeymoon in Lincoln’s Cornhusker Hotel. Next morning they awoke to 14 inches of new snow. Despite following a snowplow back to Omaha, the bridegroom missed his train back to military duty in San Diego. He was punished with two weeks of metal work: cleaning rifles.

Back in Omaha after the war, he worked a few years for Union Pacific, then joined the family business.

“My father really liked it,” said son Tom. He would always say that “it’s not an eight-to-five job. You’ve got to love it, live it, breathe it.” Even after failing eyesight forced him to semi-retire, the elder Koley remained the sharp-minded repository of names and numbers of customers around the world, and “he loved dealing with the priests,” his son said.

On his one day off a week, Mondays, Koley would golf or bowl. He was an avid follower of politics — he switched parties, from Democratic to Republican, over the abortion issue in the 1970s — and he had a habit of anonymously paying for priests’ and nuns’ meals anytime he spotted them in restaurants, his son said.

He said that after his mother was confined to a nursing home, his father made sure to “see her every single day.” His seven children, who all live within about 20 miles, took turns driving him. She died in 2011.

A funeral Mass is set for 10 a.m. today at St. Thomas More Catholic Church.

Survivors include the seven children, Tom, Dennis, Mike, Kathy Gast, Sue Kawa, Margie Eckley and Deb Meyer; sisters Margaret Kranda and Frances Paskach; and brother, Joseph Koley Jr.

Still in shock at his sudden, mysterious death early New Year’s Day, friends and family of Bryan Croll, 30, plan to gather tonight for a celebration of his life in Castle Barrett, one of several Omaha nightspots where the gregarious, bagpipe-playing bartender and father of one was well-known.

His mother, Sheryl Croll, said he spent New Year’s Eve — traditionally one of his busiest nights of the year — working at Tiger Tom’s Pub near 72nd Street and Military Avenue, then got together afterward with co-workers and friends.

He drove a friend home before dawn Friday. Then, about 6 a.m., he was found on a street near 45th and Dodge Streets, dead at the wheel of his car, its engine running, window down and the transmission in park, his mother said. The family still doesn’t know the cause, but he was known to have an enlarged heart, she said.

By Monday, Croll’s Facebook page was plastered with scores of condolence messages.

“The Croll family is the best family I’ve ever been around. I have so much love for them and wish this was a nightmare we all could wake up from,” read one. Others recalled his love of the Grateful Dead, as well as all things Irish.

“That’s who he was,” said his mother. “He was a fun-loving guy. I’m overwhelmed at the amount of people that knew him and cared for him and loved him.”

She said her son, who attended Holy Name Elementary School and Roncalli High, learned to play the bagpipes as a child — kilt and all — taught by several cousins. He sometimes played the instrument at local funerals. Now the cousins will pipe at his, she said.

Besides Croll’s mother, survivors include his stepfather, Bill Baber; his daughter, Hannah; the child’s mother, Emilee Bogard; siblings Zach, Carly, Sara and Chris; and step-siblings Jenny Peca and Charlie Baber.

A memorial service is set for 5 p.m. today at the John A. Gentleman 72nd Street Chapel, followed by the gathering at Castle Barrett at 6:30.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1140, [email protected]

Thomas Fay collected things.

As a kid, it was trading cards. Later in life, it was model trains, antiques and art. All along the way, it was experiences — many of them rooted in his passion for music.

“He was an extraordinarily gifted musician and human being,” said Joan Squires, Fay’s wife of 24 years, and president of Omaha Performing Arts. “He was fiercely intelligent and read a lot and had a wide variety of interests. Anything he took up, he dived into all the way.”

Fay died Friday at age 75 after several years battling Lewy body dementia, a disease that shares characteristics with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

“Music gave me the opportunity to work in a wonderful field with talented people from all over the world,” Fay wrote in a 2013 autobiography. “And I was able to see the world myself. What else can you ask for, really?”

Thomas F. Fay was born in 1940 in Long Island City, a neighborhood in Queens, New York. He was the youngest of six children. He attended Catholic school and excelled in the church choir before turning his attention to orchestral music. He played the clarinet, then the oboe.

“Some guys were on the track team or student council, but I played oboe,” he wrote. “Music was a natural thing for me.”

Fay studied music at New York University before transferring to the State University of New York at Potsdam and pursuing a degree in music education. With the country’s involvement in Vietnam growing, Fay enlisted in the Army and joined the United States Military Academy Band. He later earned a master’s degree in music performance from Yale University.

In 1967 Fay joined the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra as an oboist. He spent the next 17 years performing with the orchestra while teaching at Carnegie Mellon University. He welcomed three children in that span: daughter Jennifer from his first marriage and daughter Kathleen and son Brendan from his second.

Fay later moved to Houston and took a management position with the Houston Symphony, where he came to meet Squires. The couple, married in 1991, relocated to Milwaukee, Phoenix and finally Omaha as Squires took new leadership positions with performing arts groups. They moved to Omaha in 2002 as Squires took on the role of president of the nascent Omaha Performing Arts.

By then Fay had transitioned into a new career in fundraising, including jobs with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Arizona State University and the College of Saint Mary.

Within a year of moving to Omaha, however, Fay was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and began suffering from symptoms later attributed to Lewy body dementia. His spirit remained bright, though; he wrote that his illness “hasn’t diminished my interest in lifelong pursuits.”

Eventually Fay’s condition required that he reside in an assisted-living community, where he loved to entertain fellow residents, Squires said. His actions did not go unnoticed. In 2013 Fay received the Nebraska Assisted Living Association’s Resident of the Year award.

In addition to Squires, survivors include siblings William Fay, John Fay and Agnes Bauman; children Jennifer Fay of Nashville, Tennessee, Kathleen Fossan of Houston and Brendan of Topeka, Kansas; and four grandchildren.

Visitation will begin at 1 p.m. Sunday, with a funeral service following at 3 p.m., all at the Holland Performing Arts Center, 1200 Douglas St.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1056, [email protected],, twitter.com/kclogan

A collection of year-end lists, including the most popular Omaha.com stories, our favorite photos and plenty more.

A private memorial service will be held Thursday in Omaha. In lieu of memorials, Deepe’s family suggested well-wishers “be kind to someone you love.”

James “Jim” Nelson worked for all four of Omaha’s commercial television stations. He became studio manager for KPAO, the city’s public access TV station, in 2013. He died Jan. 4 of lung cancer at a local hospice.

Folsom, who died Tuesday in Omaha, served for eight years as the national committeewoman of the Nebraska Republican Party. “She was a lifelong Republican who loved politics,” said son John Folsom II.