U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
Iva Cramer
AURORA -- Iva Cramer, 88, of Aurora died Sunday, Jan. 18, 1998, at the Hamilton Manor in Aurora.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at Higby Mortuary in Aurora. The Rev. Joe Scahill will officiate. Burial will be in the Arborville Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at the mortuary.
Mrs. Cramer was born on Sept. 21, 1909, in Madison County to Edward and Lilly (Moberg) Stewart. She moved with her family to a farm in Polk County and then moved to Stromsburg, where she grew up and attended school.
She married
Clifford Cramer on July 1, 1926. He died in March 1970. She lived for a few years at Colonial Corner in Aurora and entered the Hamilton Manor in January 1997.
Mrs. Cramer was a certified ceramics instructor for 21 years and owned and operated ceramics studios and gift shops in Polk, York, Geneva and Aurora.
She was an active member of the Aurora Methodist Church. She was past district president of the Rebekah Lodge and the Federated Garden Clubs of Nebraska. She held several offices in the local and county organizations of the Federated Women's Club.
Survivors include a son, Darryl of Apache Junction, Ariz.; two daughters, Phyllis (Mrs. Doyle) Munn of Lava Hot Springs, Idaho, and Shirley (Mrs. Ross) Krabiel of Aurora; 11 grandchildren; 25 great-grandchildren; 18 great-great-grandchildren; and two sisters, Irene Ballard of Las Vegas and Merry Schmidt of Seattle.
She was preceded in death by a son, Dennis; two grandchildren; one great-grandson; two brothers, Merle and Lee Stewart; and a sister, Inez Stewart.
Aubrey Curry
RAVENNA -- Aubrey E. Curry, 80, of Ravenna died Sunday, Jan. 18, 1998, at Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Ravenna. The Rev. Steven Schlund will officiate. Burial will be in the Litchfield Cemetery.
Visitation will be prior to services Wednesday at the church. Rasmussen Mortuary in Ravenna is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Curry was born on June 6, 1917, in Sherman County to Wilbur and Winifred (Goodwin) Curry. He was educated at Wiggle Creek.
He served in the U.S. Navy from April 1942 to November 1945. He served in the Pacific aboard the USS San Francisco.
He married
Erma Kohls on March 17, 1947. The couple farmed near Litchfield until 1956, when they moved to Longmont, Colo., where he worked for the Bureau of Standards. They retired to Ravenna in 1982.
Mr. Curry was a member of Bethlehem Lutheran Church, the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Survivors include his wife; one daughter, JoAnn Unick of Kearney; four grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; two brothers, Berton of Lincoln and Jerry of Fort Collins, Colo.; and five sisters, Dorothy Hoffman of Atwater, Calif., Marjorie Hawley of Nampa, Idaho, Ruth Sigler of San Jose, Calif., and Leola Lewis and Blanche Jahn, both of Ravenna.
He was preceded in death by two brothers.
George Habe
RAVENNA -- George Habe, 68, of Ravenna died Monday, Jan. 19, 1998, at Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Ravenna. The Rev. Rod Pruss will officiate. Burial will be in Highland Park cemetery in Ravenna.
A wake service will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the church. Rasmussen Mortuary of Ravenna is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Habe was born on June 16, 1929, in Sherman County to George and Esther (Schneider) Habe. He went to school in Ravenna and attended a seminary in Missouri for one year.
He served in the U.S. Army from Jan. 24, 1952, to Oct. 23, 1953. He farmed near Ravenna and worked for Fox Fertilizer in Ravenna and the Nebraska Department of Roads.
He married
Erma Peterson on Sept. 30, 1983. They moved to Ravenna in 1985.
He was a member of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Eagles in Kearney.
Survivors include his wife; one stepson; three stepdaughters; nine grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; one brother, Henry of Ravenna; and one sister, Catherine Chramosta of Ravenna.
Millard Hollister
DONIPHAN -- Millard C. Hollister, 90, of Doniphan died Sunday, Jan. 18, 1998, at St. Francis Medical Center.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the United Methodist Church in Doniphan. The Rev. Bill Hunter will officiate. Burial will be in Greenwood cemetery at Trumbull.
Butler-Volland Funeral Home of Hastings is in charge of arrangements.
Memorials are suggested to the family's choice.
Mr. Hollister was born on Feb. 18, 1907, in Inland to Earl J. and Effie (Mapes) Hollister.
He married
Myrtle Markham on June 3, 1931, in Hansen. He farmed his entire life in the Doniphan and Hansen area. He retired in 1972, and the couple continued to live on the farm. Mrs. Hollister died on June 24, 1997.
Mr. Hollister was a member of the United Methodist Church of Doniphan.
Survivors include four sons, Donald Hollister of Topeka, Kan., Richard Hollister of Hastings and James and Kenneth Hollister, both of Doniphan; two daughters, Judith (Mrs. David) Niemoth of Doniphan and Cathryn (Mrs. Gregory) Konat of Burnsville, Minn.; 23 grandchildren; 21 great-grandchildren; and two sisters, Berniece Schumm of Cairo and Lavetta Williams of Grand Island.
Besides his wife, he was preceded in death by one brother, Glenn.
Peter Jarzynka
LOUP CITY -- Peter E. Jarzynka, 100, of Loup City died Monday, Jan. 19, 1998, at Howard County Community Hospital in St. Paul.
Services are pending with Peters Funeral Home of Loup City.
'Jerry' Witt
CHAPMAN -- Gerald H. "Jerry" Witt, 56, of Chapman died Saturday, Jan. 17, 1998, at his home following a bout with cancer.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Messiah Lutheran Church. The Rev. Doug Stensby will officiate. Visitation will be prior to services on Saturday.
Memorials are suggested to the church or the Northwest Education Foundation.
Kleine Funeral Home in Grand Island is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Witt was born on July 16, 1941, at Bloomfield to Herbert and Hazel (Steffen) Witt. He graduated from Niobrara High School and the Nashville, Tenn., Auto and Diesel College.
He served in the U.S. Army from 1962 to 1964.
He married
Judy Eckmann on June 12, 1964, at Lindy. He worked in Grand Island for Island Supply Welding Co. and Swift and Co. and worked for Northwestern Public Service at the time of his death.
He was an avid hunter, enjoyed training hunting dogs and helped students at 1-R School.
He was an active member of Messiah Lutheran Church, serving on the church council, as a Sunday school teacher and as scoutmaster for the church Boy Scout troop. He started and directed Camp Messiah for several years.
Survivors include his wife; two sons, Ryan and Joel, both of Kearney; his mother, Hazel Bourn of Niobrara; one sister, JoAnn Ferguson of Decatur; one brother, Duane of Grand Island; and a stepsister, Betty Swanson of Niobrara.
He was preceded in death by his father; his stepfather, Melvin Bourn; and a stepsister, Janice Steinbach.
Ellen Becker
NEWMAN GROVE -- Ellen Becker, 92, of Newman Grove, formerly of Albion, died Sunday, Jan. 18, 1998, at the Mid-Nebraska Lutheran Home in Newman Grove.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Zion Lutheran Church in Albion. The Rev. Brian Bergum and intern Annette Minderman will officiate. Burial will be in Rose Hill cemetery in Albion.
Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Levander Funeral Home in Albion.
Mrs. Becker was born on Sept. 21, 1905, in Lindsay to William and Emma (Nuetzman) Filsinger. She was educated at Madison County District 40 School.
She married
Otto Becker on April 5, 1926, at Council Bluffs, Iowa. They lived and farmed 10 miles west of Albion for 56 years. They retired to Albion in April 1982 and lived there for eight months before moving to the Mid-Nebraska Lutheran Home.
Mrs. Becker was a member of Zion Lutheran Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church Women for 25 years, the Ladies Aid and Circle, the Happy Crochet Club and Extension Club.
Survivors include two sons, Fred and Marvin of Albion; six grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and one sister, Alma Musser of Spencer, Iowa.
She was preceded in death by her husband; one son, Duane; one daughter, Merna Clyne; and three brothers, William, Chris and Henry.
