U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
Carl Gordon
PURDUM -- Carl Ernest Gordon, 87, of Purdum died Monday, May 18, 1998, at Jennie Melham Memorial Medical Center in Broken Bow after a long illness.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Friday at the United Church of Christ in Purdum. The Rev. David Hansen will officiate. Burial will be in the Purdum Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday at Govier Brothers Mortuary and from 10 a.m. until service time Friday at the church.
Memorials are suggested to the church.
Mr. Gordon was born on Dec. 10, 1910, at Sharps, Fla., to George and Josephine (Robinson) Gordon. He was raised by his grandparents, Barbara and Ezekiel Robinson, until he was 12 years old and lived for a short time with his mother.
He worked for the railroad, at a restaurant, in construction and as "man Friday" to a wealthy family in Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Ohio. He next worked for another wealthy family in Winter Park, Fla.
He married
his first wife at this time.
He later lived in the Chicago area and worked as a cook and in a garage, restaurant, steel mill and filling station. He worked in war plants during World War II, took classes at night in electronics and radio and set up his own radio shop.
He married
again and built a home and store in Zion, Ill.
He bought a home in Pasadena, Calif., in 1951. He worked as a Los Angeles County deputy sheriff, U.S. Army signal corps inspector and U.S. Air Force systems specialist and buyer. He later bought a radio and television store in Pasadena.
His wife died, and he remarried. They were later divorced. He sold his radio and television store and established a Coin Exchange store.
He married
his fourth wife, Lois, on June 11, 1988, at Las Vegas. They lived in Purdum.
His interests included church, cooking, gardening and fishing.
Survivors include his wife; two sons, Ernie Gordon of Seattle and Mark Gordon of West Covina, Calif.; one daughter, LaDeen Gitaway of Tulare, Calif.; several grandchildren; and his half brothers and sisters, Chester Gordon of New York, Phyllis Huston of Homestead, N.Y., Leora Lewis of Freeport, N.Y., Sam James of Seattle and Barbara Chapman of Evanston, Ill.
He was preceded in death by his half brothers and sisters, Elizabeth Williams, George Gordon III, Rudolph Gordon, Beatrice Kelly, Charles Perry and Columbus Perry.
Gertrude Preston
YORK -- Gertrude R. Preston, 83, of York died Monday, May 18, 1998, in York.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in York. The Rev. James Divis will officiate. Burial will be in the church cemetery.
A rosary will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Metz Chapel in York.
Memorials are suggested to the family.
Mrs. Preston was born on Aug. 30, 1914, on a farm south of York to John and Isabel (Fryer) Friel. She graduated from high school.
She married
Milton Preston on Sept. 3, 1941, in York. The couple farmed northwest of York until their retirement. Mr. Preston died in October 1993.
Mrs. Preston was a member of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in York and the church altar society.
Survivors include two daughters, Janet (Mrs. Gary) Hild of Davenport and Barbara (Mrs. Larry) Ehlers of Waco; five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Other than her husband, she was preceded in death by two brothers and one sister.
Cay Ewoldt
KNOXVILLE, Iowa -- Cay Ewoldt, 95, of Knoxville, Iowa, formerly of Grand Island and a grandson of a Hall County pioneer family, died Monday, May 18, 1998, in Knoxville.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at Apfel-Butler-Geddes Funeral Home in Grand Island. John Baker will officiate. Burial will be in Westlawn Memorial Park Cemetery.
There will be no visitation.
Memorials are suggested to the Jehovah's Witnesses Church of Kingdom Hall.
Mr. Ewoldt was born on Sept. 12, 1902, in Hall County to Henry and Maggie (Husen) Ewoldt. He grew up in Hall County and was educated in District 3 School.
He married
Eda Springsguth on Feb. 3, 1931, at York. The couple lived in Grand Island. He began working for Sothman Lumber Co. in 1923 and retired in 1963 as a mill hand. They continued to live in Grand Island. Mrs. Ewoldt died in 1996. Mr. Ewoldt continued to live in Grand Island until recently moving to Iowa to be near his son.
He was a member of Jehovah's Witnesses Church and the Platt-Duetsche. He enjoyed hunting and fishing.
Survivors include two sons, Lee Ewoldt of Knoxville and George Ewoldt of Phoenix; one daughter, Eva Jean Fisher of Arvada, Colo.; eight grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; one brother, Bernard Ewoldt of Seneca; and one sister, Olga Ewoldt of Grand Island.
Other than his wife, he was preceded in death by seven brothers and one sister.
Leota Lee
Leota Mary Lee, 82, of Grand Island died Monday, May 24, 1999, at Lakeview Rehab/Nursing Center.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday at Apfel-Butler-Geddes Funeral Home. The Rev. Eric Ford will officiate. Burial will be in the Grand Island City Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 3 to 9 p.m., with the family receiving friends from 5 to 7 p.m., Thursday at the funeral home.
Memorials are suggested to the American Heart Association, American Cancer Society or the VA Memorial Wall at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
Mrs. Lee was born on Sept. 16, 1916, at Giltner to Albert and Mabel (Florence) Gannon. She grew up and was educated in Giltner. She attended Grand Island Beauty School
She married
Leonard Lee on Nov. 10, 1934, at Aurora. She worked at the Stockman's Cafe, the Liederkranz and the Diner Cafe. She also worked at the Hastings Ordnance Plant before moving back to Grand Island. She retired in 1956.
Mrs. Lee began volunteering at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in 1976 and accumulated nearly 10,000 hours of volunteer time.
She was a member of Trinity United Methodist Church, the Eagles Auxiliary and the American Legion Auxiliary. She was also a Brownie leader for several years, past president of the Eagles Auxiliary and past president of the American Legion in Grand Island. She enjoyed knitting and crocheting.
Survivors include one daughter, Donna Rae (Mrs. Gary) Talich of Hastings; two grandchildren; one great-grandson; two brothers, Wilbur Gannon of Grand Island and Clyde Eugene Gannon of Arlington, Texas; and two sisters, Viola Butler of Aurora and Erma McHargue of Central City.
Her husband died on Jan. 1, 1991. She also was preceded in death by three brothers and two sisters.
Caroline Scott
Caroline A. Scott, 105, of the Grand Island Veterans Home died Monday, May 24, 1999, at the home.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at Livingston-Sondermann Funeral Home. The Rev. Jerry Quandt will officiate. Burial will be in the Grand Island City Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home.
Memorials are suggested to the veterans home.
Mrs. Scott was born on March 10, 1894, in Grand Island to Herman and Katherine (Wiese) Seier. She was educated in Grand Island.
She married
E.L.W. Scott in Wahoo. Mrs. Scott worked for many years at Wolbach's Department Store in Grand Island.
She enjoyed her dogs, working in her flower garden and sewing.
She was a member of the Lutheran faith.
Survivors include one daughter, Maxine Lage of Moline, Ill.; four grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband and one daughter, Geraldine Thomsen.
