U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
Lillian Pokraka
ORD -- Lillian V. Pokraka, 92, of Ord died Thursday, Dec. 10, 1998, at the Valley County Nursing Home in Ord.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Ord. The Rev. Jim Warner will officiate. Burial will be in the Ord City Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8:30 p.m., with a rosary at 7:30 p.m., Monday at Ord Memorial Chapel.
Memorials are suggested to the Valley County Hospital or the American Cancer Society.
JoAnn Anderson
LINCOLN -- JoAnn C. Anderson, 63, of Lincoln, formerly of Arcadia, died Thursday, Dec. 10, 1998, at Lincoln.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Arcadia United Methodist Church. The Rev. Murry Johnston will officiate. Burial will be in the Arcadia Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8:30 p.m. Monday at Ord Memorial Chapel.
Leona Shaffer
PAPILLION -- Leona Shaffer, 88, of Papillion, formerly of Gothenburg, died Thursday, Dec. 10, 1998, in Papillion.
Services will be at 1 p.m. Monday at Rasmussen Mortuary in Ravenna. Burial will be in the Litchfield Cemetery.
Visitation will be prior to service time Monday at the mortuary.
Memorials are suggested to Mabel Rose Estates.
Survivors include her husband, Lowell; three daughters, LaVonne "Mitzi" Keuter of Papillion, Marilyn Barton of Denver and Carol Turner of Lubbock, Texas; eight grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.
Bruce Steele
CLARKSVILLE, Ark. -- Bruce W. Steele, 79, of Clarksville, Ark., died Dec. 5, 1998, at Johnson Regional Medical Center.
Services were on Tuesday at Roller-Cox Funeral Home in Clarksville. The Rev. Glenn Newton officiated. Burial was in Oakland Cemetery.
Mr. Steele was born on Sept. 2, 1919, at Smith Center, Kan., to Benjamin and Zula (Francico) Steele.
He was a retired over-the-road truck driver. He had served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He was a member of the Nazarene Church.
Survivors include his wife, Bernice Allison Steele; two sons, Ray and Kenneth, both of Grand Island; five grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.
Clarence Milo Austin
STROMSBURG -- Clarence Milo Austin, 92, of Stromsburg died Monday, Nov. 23, 1998, at his home.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at the United Methodist Church in Stromsburg. The Rev. Jeffery Thurman will officiate. Burial will be in the Stromsburg Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday at Palmer Funeral Home in Stromsburg.
Mr. Austin was born on May 13, 1906, on a farm near Gresham to Charles and Maggie (Blaine) Austin. He attended Blue Ridge and Victor schools and Osceola High School.
He attended the American Auctioneering School in Kansas City, Mo., and launched a 62-year auctioneering career.
He married
Bernice Carlson on June 2, 1929. He farmed until the early 1960s and later worked for the Stromsburg Farmers Co-op Elevator as a feed and grain representative and salesman. He spent his entire life in the Stromsburg area.
He was a member of the United Methodist Church, Stromsburg Masonic Lodge No. 126 and Odd Fellows Order of Polk No. 328. His hobbies included antiques, refinishing furniture and collecting and selling.
Survivors include two daughters, Clarice (Mrs. Don) Baker of Stromsburg and Gloria (Mrs. Dan) Christiansen of Bozeman, Mont.; one son, Daniel Austin of Apache Junction, Ariz.; seven grandchildren; and 15 great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his wife, one grandson and one brother, Jesse Austin.
Paul Kohls
FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- Paul Kohls, 86, of Fort Collins, Colo., formerly of Litchfield, died Sunday, Nov. 22, 1998, at his home.
Services will be at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Christian Church in Litchfield. Burial will be in the Litchfield Cemetery.
Memorials are suggested to the Paul J. Kohls Memorial Fund.
Reager Funeral Home in Fort Collins is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Kohls was born on Jan. 1, 1912, on a farm near Litchfield. He grew up on the farm, which was first owned by his grandfather and then by his parents. After working as a welder in the shipyards at Bremerton, Wash., during World War II, he bought the farm.
He married
Elda Anderson on Nov. 7, 1953.
He enjoyed farming, irrigating and working with machinery. During the Dust Bowl years, he designed and constructed a device to drill the first irrigation well in the neighborhood.
Survivors include his wife; a son, John Kohls of Litchfield; a daughter, Jeanne (Mrs. Daryl) Lutes of Grand Island; and eight grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by two brothers, Elmer Kohls and Lyle Kohls; and two sisters, Ruth Barrick and Helen McFadden.
Ronald 'Boomer' Watts
WOOD RIVER -- Ronald W. "Boomer" Watts, 29, of Wood River died Tuesday, Nov. 24, 1998, at his home.
Services will be at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at the First United Methodist Church in Wood River. The Rev. Larry Nothstine will officiate. Burial will be in the Grand Island City Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday at Apfel Funeral Home in Wood River.
Memorials are suggested to juvenile diabetes or the Wood River Fire Department.
Mr. Watts was born on July 27, 1969, at Grand Island to Phillip and Anita (Hinton) Watts. He attended school in Wood River and graduated from Hastings High School in 1988.
After high school, he worked at the IGA Grocery Store in Hastings. He was injured in 1993 in an automobile accident, which rendered him unable to continue working. He joined the Wood River Fire Department after his accident, manning the radio system and taking coffee to the firefighters on duty.
He was a member of the First United Methodist Church and the Wood River Fire Department.
Survivors include his mother, Anita Brown of Charlotte, N.C.; and one brother, Phil of Wood River.
He was preceded in death by his father and his grandparents.
Teresa De Cardoza
Teresa Romero De Cardoza, 49, of Grand Island died Tuesday, May 5, 1998, at her home.
No services are planned in Grand Island. Services will take place at a later date in Mexico.
There will be no visitation. Memorials are suggested to the family.
Apfel-Butler-Geddes Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
