U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
Leonard Rerucha
DAVID CITY -- Leonard A. Rerucha, 88, of David City died Friday, Jan. 16, 1998, at David City.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Monday at St. Mary's Catholic Church in David City. Monsignor Adrian Herbek will officiate. Burial will be in St. Mary's cemetery at David City.
Visitation will begin at 5 p.m. Sunday at St. Mary's Catholic Church.
Mr. Rerucha was born on Jan. 18, 1909, to Raymond and Helen (Yindrick) Rerucha at Bruno. He was educated through the eighth grade.
He married
Georgia Bartunek in 1932 in Bee.
He was a farmer and was a salesman for Garst Seed Company for 52 years. He was a 68-year member of the Knights of Columbus, Aksarben, St. Mary's Church board, director of Farmarco and director of Farm Credit Banks-Omaha. He enjoyed travel and playing cards, especially pitch.
Survivors include three sons, Adrian and Lynos of Grand Island, and Richard of David City; four daughters, Grace Halouska of Grand Island, Margaret Meysenburg of David City, Doris Jensen of Geneva and Connie Wildermuth of Norfolk; one sister, Edith Havlovic; 18 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his wife; two brothers, Jim and Ted Rerucha and one grandson.
Ervin Tews
DALLAS, TEXAS -- Ervin A. Tews, 83, of Dallas, Texas, formerly of Grand Island, died Saturday, Jan. 17, 1998, at the Walnut Place Nursing Home in Dallas.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Grand Island City Cemetery. The Rev. Richard Karhol will officiate.
Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday at Apfel-Butler-Geddes Funeral Home.
Memorials may be made to the Faith United Methodist Church, Grand Island Public School Library or the Edith Abbot Public Library Foundation.
Marvin Fry
Marvin S. Fry, 81, of 3720 W. State St. Apt. D7 died Monday, Dec. 1, 1997, at Lakeview Rehab/Nursing Center.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at the First United Methodist Church in Norfolk. The Rev. Dean Vaughn will officiate. Burial will be at 2:30 p.m. in the Bassett Memorial Park cemetery with military rites by American Legion Post 123 of Bassett.
Visitation will be from 3 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Home for Funerals in Norfolk.
Mr. Fry was born on Aug. 26, 1916, at Irvington to Samuel and Mathilda (Petersen) Fry. He attended school at Bassett and graduated from Rock County High School.
He married
Mildred Gilg on April 26, 1943, at Ainsworth.
He served in the U.S. Army as a military policeman during World War II. He farmed and ranched in Rock County for a number of years and later owned and operated motels in Scottsbluff and Liberal, Kan. He moved in 1965 to Norfolk, where he worked for Dudley's Laundry until 1988. He moved to Grand Island in April 1997.
He was a member of the Methodist Church, Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion and Elks Lodge.
Survivors include his wife; two sons, Richard of Independence, Mo., and Brent of Grand Island; three grandchildren; and one sister, Maudie Mauch of Sun City, Ariz.
He was preceded in death by one brother and one sister.
Area death
Hattie French
CENTRAL CITY -- Hattie F. French, 92, of Central City died Friday, Nov. 28, 1997, at Community Care of America in Central City.
Memorials are suggested to the Central City Library, the Salvation Army or the donor's choice. Solt Funeral Home of Central City was in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. French was born on Aug. 1, 1905, in Norfolk to Julius and Martha Kell.
She owned Kell Grocery Store in Norfolk with a sister and a brother until moving to Central City in 1946.
Survivors include one daughter, Norma Burchard of Palo Alto, Calif.; three grandchildren; four sisters and one brother.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Presley; two sisters and a brother.
Wilber Thomazin
COLUMBUS -- Wilber Elmer Thomazin, 84, of Columbus, formerly of St. Edward, died Monday, Dec. 1, 1997, at the Columbus Community Hospital.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the St. Edward Catholic Church. The Rev. Edward Gill will officiate. Burial will be in the St. Edward Catholic Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 3 to 5 p.m. Wednesday at Miller-Levander Funeral Home in St. Edward. Visitation will continue after 7 p.m. at the church, with a 7:30 p.m. wake service. Visitation will resume from 8:30 to 10 a.m. Thursday at the funeral home.
Mr. Thomazin was born on Feb. 12, 1913, in Burrows Township north of Monroe to Thomas R. and Frieda (Albers) Thomazin. He was educated at Postville District 31 and Platte County District 68 schools and attended St. Edward High School.
He married
Kathryn Koerber on June 1, 1939, in Genoa. They lived in the Woodville and Big Cut communities between St. Edward and Genoa throughout their marriage. He was a farmer.
Mrs. Thomazin died on March 19, 1994. Mr. Thomazin had lived at the Columbus Community Hospital Skilled Nursing Unit since February 1996.
He was a longtime member of the St. Edward Catholic Church. He served as a board member of both Big Cut School District 12 in Nance County and the St. Edward Rural Fire Department.
Survivors include two daughters, Kathleen (Mrs. Kenneth) Johnson of Columbus and Ann (Mrs. Rob) Johnson of Olympia, Wash.; two sons, Kenneth Thomazin of Sacramento, Calif., and Max Thomazin of Genoa; 11 grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.
Besides his wife, he was preceded in death by one brother, Glenn; and three sisters, Mildred Werts, Lola Iverson and Cleo Nauenberg.
Martha Arndt
BISMARCK, N.D. -- Martha Arndt, 95, of Missouri Slope Lutheran Care Center in Bismarck, N.D., died Sunday, Nov. 30, 1997, at the home.
Services will be Wednesday at Zion Lutheran Church in Bismarck. The Rev. Thomas R. Marcis Jr. will officiate. Burial will be in Fairview cemetery at Bismarck.
Boelter Funeral Home of Bismarck is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Arndt was born on May 1, 1902, in the Bismarck area. As a young girl, she moved with her family to the Garrison area. She was educated east of Garrison.
She married
Jacob Arndt on July 21, 1921, at her parents' farm. They lived in the Kief area, where he owned and operated a garage. The Arndts moved their family west of Garrison. After leaving the farm, they lived in several places, finally settling in Bismarck.
Mrs. Arndt was a volunteer at the Burleigh County Senior Center and was in charge of the sewing center.
Survivors include three daughters, Elsie Hagge of Bismarck, Edna (Mrs. Art) Mahowald of Garrison and Ethel (Mrs. Elwood) Sayler of Great Falls, Mont.; one son, Erhart of Grand Island; 18 grandchildren; 29 great-grandchildren; nine great-great-grandchildren; and one brother, Edward Abel of Auburn, Wash.
Her husband died in 1968. She also was preceded in death by two sons, William and Edward; one granddaughter; two sisters, Lydia and Emma; and three brothers, Reinhold, Jake and John.
Florence Troester
Young America, Minn. -- Florence Eureka Troester, 88, of Young America, Minn., formerly of Hampton, died Saturday, Nov. 29, 1997, at Glencoe, Minn.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Hampton. The Rev. George Damm will officiate. Burial will be in the Hampton Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday at Higby Mortuary in Aurora.
Mrs. Troester was born on May 27, 1909, at Columbia, S.D., to Charles and Anna (Yeske) Zastrow. She grew up and attended high school at Columbia. She later attended Concordia Teachers College in Seward for two years. She taught in country schools for three years, including at Salem School near Hampton and two years at Wayne.
She married
Walter Troester on Aug. 7, 1933, at Columbia. They farmed near Hampton. They moved into Hampton after a tornado in 1964. Mr. Troester died on Dec. 28, 1991.
Mrs. Troester had lived between Lakewood, Colo., and Young America, Minn., with her family for the past six years.
She was a member of St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Hampton.
Survivors include two daughters, Carolyn (Mrs. Robert) Durbin of Young America, Minn., and Laures Runnels of Lakewood, Colo.; seven grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild; and a sister, Ida Matthies of Dearborn, Mich.
Besides her husband, she was preceded in death by five brothers and five sisters.
