U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
Robert Thurston
Robert L. Thurston, 77, of Grand Island, formerly of Shelton, died Monday, Nov. 16, 1998, at St. Francis Medical Center.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Friday at the Shelton United Methodist Church. The Rev. Charles Spence will officiate. Burial will be in the Gibbon Riverside Cemetery. Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the church. Godberson Mortuary of Gibbon/Shelton is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Thurston was born Nov. 16, 1921, in Kearney to William H. and Anne (Rhoades) Thurston. He grew up and received his education in Kearney.
On Oct. 22, 1939, he married
Helen Homburg at Smith Center, Kan. They lived in Kearney. They moved to Colorado for a period of time and returned to Nebraska to live in Shelton where they were owner/operators of the Shelton Cafe for the next 19 years. He later was employed by Eaton Corp. of Kearney as a security guard for 17 years.
They retired and moved to Cocoa Beach, Fla. in 1987. They moved back to Grand Island in September 1998.
He was a member of the Shelton Fire Department, where he was an EMT for 34 years
He was a member of the Shelton Fire Department where he was an EMT for 34 years, Shelton Lions Club, Masonic Lodge of Wood River and the B.P.O.E. Elk Lodge 984 of Kearney.
Survivors include his wife of Grand Island; two daughters, Mrs. Lynn Abbit of Chesterfield, Mo. and Mrs. Kathy Bohnart of Grand Island; two sisters, Elizabeth Yenckel of Fresno, Calif., and Blanche Bauer of Clovis, Calif.; four grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
He was preceded in death by two brothers, William and John and two sisters, Harriet Dixon and Clara Wiester.
Jerry Chapin
BROKEN BOW -- Gerald "Jerry" Joseph Chapin, 59, of Broken Bow died Tuesday, Nov. 17, 1998, at his home in Broken Bow.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Friday at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Broken Bow. The Rev. Bob Rooney will officiate. Burial will be in the parish cemetery.
Visitation will be from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday at Govier Brothers Mortuary in Broken Bow with the rosary to be recited at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the church.
A memorial has been established to the family.
Mr. Chapin was born June 1, 1939, at Broken Bow to Glen and Celestine (Rourke) Chapin. He spent his childhood in Broken Bow and graduated from Broken Bow High School in 1957. He also attended Chadron State College for two years.
On Dec. 30, 1968, he married
Bonnie Prescott of Broken Bow. They bought an acreage on the southeast edge of Broken Bow, where they spent their entire married
life. He was employed at Custer Public Power District for almost 30 years. His last position there was field engineer.
He attended St. Joseph's Catholic Church, was a member of Pressey Promenaders Square Dance Club, Broken Bow Elks Lodge, Sandhills Anglers Fishing Club, and was an Aquatic Instructor.
His hobbies included outside nature, woodworking, fishing, hunting and camping.
Survivors include his wife; one son, Dwayne of Omaha; one daughter, Addy (Mrs. Jeff) Catlett of Broken Bow; two grandchildren; one sister, Patty (Mrs. Jerry) Jacquot of Merna; two brothers, Gene of Broken Bow and Jim of Merna; and his parents, Glen and Celestine Chapin of Broken Bow.
He was preceded in death by his maternal grandparents, John and Loretta Rourke and his paternal grandparents, Harry and Della Chapin.
Jack Sawdey
ORD -- Jack Harry Sawdey, 74, of Ord, died Tuesday, Nov. 17, 1998, at his home in Ord.
Graveside services will be at 10:30 a.m. at the Ord Catholic Cemetery. The Rev. Roger Gillming will officiate. Military rites will be conducted by the Ord VFW and American Legion. Visitation will be held prior to service time at the Ord Memorial Chapel.
Memorials are suggested to the family.
Emily Stobbe
LOUP CITY -- Emily M. Stobbe, 85, of Loup City died Tuesday, Nov. 17, 1998, at the Rose Lane Home in Loup City.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday at St. Josaphat's Catholic Church in Loup City. The Rev. Reginald A. Urban will officiate. Visitation will be from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday at Peters Funeral Home in Loup City and will continue from 7 to 8 p.m. at the church with a 7:30 p.m. vigil service.
Memorials are suggested to the donor's choice.
Mrs. Stobbe was born on July 8, 1913, to Walter and Johanna (Zielinski) Palu on a farm north of Ashton. She attended Sherman County District 56 School. Upon completing her education, she worked at the Fairmont Creamery, the Frederick Hotel in Loup City and later at the Cornhusker Army Ammunition Plant in Grand Island.
She married
Harry E. Stobbe on June 3, 1944, at Fort Smith, Ark. The couple first farmed southeast of Loup City, later farming north of Loup City until retirement in 1974. At that time, they moved into Loup City. Mr. Stobbe died Sept. 20, 1990, and she entered the Rose Lane Home in November of 1991 where she lived the rest of her life.
She enjoyed flowers, gardening and playing cards.
She was a member of St. Josaphat's Catholic Church and the Council of Catholic Women.
Survivors include one sister, Clara (Mrs. Lloyd) Grudzinski of Loup City and three brothers, Arnold Palu Sr., Harry Palu and James Palu, all of Loup City.
She was preceded in death by her husband.
Dr. N.L. Ditman
WINSIDE -- Dr. Noran Lyle Ditman, 90, of Winside died Monday, Nov. 16, 1998, at the Stanton Nursing Home.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday at St. Paul's Lutheran Church at Winside. The Revs. Richard Tino and Rodney Hilpert will officiate. Burial will be in Pleasantview cemetery at Winside.
Visitation will be from noon until 8 p.m. on Thursday at Schumacher-Hasemann Funeral Home of Winside.
Dr. Ditman was born Aug. 3, 1908, at Stanton to Charles and Blanche (Barnett) Ditman. He graduated from Stanton High School in 1927 with a doctorate in Veterinary Medicine in 1932 from Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.
Following his graduation, he was employed by his uncle at his Veterinarian Office in Stanton until 1933, when he set up his own practice in Winside.
He married
Irene Weible on March 26, 1935, at Lincoln. The couple lived all of their married
life in Winside. Dr. Ditman practiced veterinary medicine for 44 years, retiring in 1977.
He was a member of St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Winside Community Club, Winside City Council and was the former mayor of Winside for 30 years.
He was a member of the Nebraska and American Veterinary Medical Association since 1932 and served on the State board of Examiners for several years.
In 1973, Dr. Ditman received an award from the Nebraska Funeral Directors for saving the life of a farmer who had suffered a heart attack. On Jan. 28, 1977, he received the Annual Veterinarian of the Year Award of the Nebraska Veterinarian Medical Association at the 80th convention.
Survivors include his wife; three sons, Richard and Robert of Omaha and William of Thorton, Colo.; six grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by one brother and one sister.
Anna Grudzinski
NORFOLK -- Anna Marie Grudzinski, 62, of Norfolk, formerly of Grand Island, died Monday, Nov. 16, 1998, at the Immanuel Medical Center in Omaha after a sudden illness.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Norfolk. The Rev. Joseph Taphorn will officiate. Burial will be at 3 p.m. at the Aurora Catholic cemetery at Aurora. The Rev. John J. Keefe of St. Mary's Catholic Church will officiate.
The Home for Funerals at Norfolk is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Grudzinski was born Jan. 27, 1936, to Horace Maurice and Margaret (Donnelly) Nealon at Greeley. She attended school at Grand Island and Aurora and graduated from Aurora High School.
She married
Raymond Grudzinski on Sept. 6, 1954, at Aurora. They lived at Aurora and Council Bluffs, Iowa, and moved to Norfolk in 1976. She worked at Dale Electronics.
Survivors include a son, James Grudzinski of Sioux City, Iowa; three daughters, Cathy (Mrs. Tim) Battershaw of Columbus, Barbara Grudzinski of Norfolk, and Jean (Mrs. Ken) Beach of South Sioux City; four grandchildren; six sisters, Maureen Smollen and Alice Smollen, both of Grand Island, Marcella Murphy of Giltner, Rita Boeck of Berlin, Wis., Betty Pohlmeier of Slater, Iowa, and Debbie Eckstrom of Palmer.
She was preceded in death by her by parents, one daughter and one sister.
