U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
Glen Liebhart
ST. PAUL -- Glen E. Liebhart, 76, of St. Paul, died Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2000, at Park Place Care Center in Grand Island.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at Trinity Lutheran Church in Grand Island. The Rev. Martin Schmidt will officiate. Burial will be in Westlawn Memorial Park Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at Livingston-Sondermann funeral Home with the family receiving friends from 5 to 6 p.m.
Memorials are suggested to Trinity Lutheran Church or Heartland Lutheran High School.
Mr. Liebhart was born July 29, 1924, at Aurora, to Willie and May (Mann) Liebhart. He attended Phillips High School. After high school, he did carpentry work and later worked at Fairmont Dairy. He owned and operated Glen's Garage and Trailer Sales from 1954 until his retirement in 1976.
He married
Doris Carnes on April 7, 1945. Mrs. Liebhart died on Oct. 14, 1946.
He then married
Lorraine Kurz on Dec. 14, 1947 at Worms.
He was a member of the Platt-Duetsche Society and the Carpenter's Union. He loved fishing and camping and visiting with friends. He and his wife spent their winters in Apache Junction, Ariz. for the past seven years.
Survivors include is wife; two daughters, Carletta (Mrs. Perry) Siebert of Bradshaw and Glenda Stevenson of Lincoln; four grandchildren; one great-granddaughter; one brother, Donald Liebhart of Aurora; and one sister, Imogene (Mrs. Ted) George of Grand Island.
In addition to his first wife he was preceded in death by an infant granddaughter.
Velva Titman
AURORA -- Velva Titman, 92, of Aurora died Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2000, at the Memorial Community Care in Aurora.
Services will be at 3 p.m. Friday at the Presbyterian-United Church of Christ in Aurora. The Rev. Monty Nelson will officiate. Burial will be at the Aurora Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday at Higby Mortuary.
Memorials are suggested to the Presbyterian-Untied Church of Christ.
Miss Titman was born Feb. 17, 1908, at Aurora to Edward and Phoebe (Zehr) Titman. She graduated from Aurora High School and attended Hastings College. She later graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
She taught school in David City and the Aurora elementary schools until her retirement.
Miss Titman was a member of Delta Kappa Gamma Teachers Society International and the Aurora area of Retired Teachers Association. She was also a past board member of the Hamilton Manor Auxiliary, and was honored by Zeta lota of Beta Sigma Phi, Lady of the Rose.
She was a member of the Presbyterian United Church of Christ in Aurora for more than 50 years. She directed the children's junior choir, taught Sunday school and summer Bible school for 40 years. She was also an active member of the women's association, past church council member and Bible Study leader for a number of years.
Survivors include nephews, nieces, great-nieces, great-nephews and cousins.
She was preceded in death by three brothers, Elwin, Chauncey and Merton; and two sisters, Faera and Maizie.
Joan Bjorkman
OMAHA -- Joan Bjorkman, 79, of Omaha died Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2000, in Omaha.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Higby Mortuary in Aurora. The Rev. Marvin Smith will officiate. Burial will be in the Mamre Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the mortuary.
Mrs. Bjorkman was born on April 9, 1921, in Manchester, England, to William and Frances (Tomkins) Brumfitt. She grew up in Manchester.
She met Miley Bjorkman during World War II, and they were married
on Feb. 16, 1946, in Manchester.
Samuel McCulla
Samuel "Warren" McCulla, 83, of Grand Island died Saturday, Nov. 18, 2000, at his home.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church. The Rev. Andrew M. Augustyn will officiate. Burial will be in Westlawn Memorial Park cemetery with military rites by personnel from Fort Riley, Kan.
Visitation will be from 3 to 8 p.m., with the family receiving friends throughout the afternoon and evening, Tuesday at Kleine Funeral Home.
Memorials are suggested to the family.
Mr. McCulla was born on March 13, 1917, at Shelton to Samuel T. and Maude (Wilke) McCulla. He grew up and was educated in Shelton. He moved to Grand Island in 1935 and worked for Donald Moving Co. as a truck driver.
He enlisted in the U.S. Army on Dec. 2, 1940, in Kearney and was discharged on Nov. 10, 1945, at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. He served in the 2nd Battalion, 110th Quartermasters at Camp Robinson, Ark., in 1941 and later as a technician in the 136th Quartermaster Truck Company in Normandy, northern France and the Rhineland. After returning from the service, he worked as a truck driver for Nash Finch, retiring in 1982.
He married
Eva Kanouff in 1952 in Long Pine. They lived in Grand Island. Mrs. McCulla died in January 1992.
Mr. McCulla was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Platt-Duetsche, Eagles and American Legion. He enjoyed fishing.
Survivors include one son, Francis of Chapman; three grandchildren; and two sisters, Theresa "Dot" Moffet of Shelton and Madeline Hess of Tacoma, Wash.
In addition to his wife, he was preceded in death by three brothers, Wayne, Frank and Glenn; and one sister, Edith.
Donald Bayne
CALLAWAY -- Donald C. Bayne, 74, of Callaway, formerly of Eddyville, died Sunday, Nov. 19, 2000, at the Callaway District Hospital.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Lomax cemetery southeast of Oconto in Custer County. The Rev. Dale Coates will officiate.
Visitation will be from 3 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Govier Brothers Mortuary in Broken Bow.
Mr. Bayne was born on Oct. 2, 1926, in Custer County to Mr. and Mrs. Claude A. Bayne. He contracted polio at an early age and was later raised by his grandparents.
He lived most of his life in the Eddyville area. He had a newspaper route and mowed lawns for several years. He served on the Eddyville Volunteer Fire Department and belonged to the Eddyville Rodeo Club.
He became a resident of Sandhills Manor Nursing Home in Broken Bow in the early 1980s. Later, he moved to Callaway and had been a resident of the Good Samaritan Center for the last four years.
Survivors include a half sister, Dixie Culligan of Denver; and a half brother, Charles Bayne of Laramie, Wyo.
Jane DeGroff
BURWELL -- Jane Adams DeGroff, 87, of Burwell died Sunday, Nov. 19, 2000, at Valley County Hospital in Ord.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the United Methodist Church in Burwell. The Rev. Max Kelley will officiate. Burial will be in Cottonwood cemetery in Burwell.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Hitchcock Funeral Home in Burwell.
Memorials are suggested to the Burwell firefighters or the Burwell ambulance fund.
Mrs. DeGroff was born on Aug. 23, 1913, on the homestead in Holt County to Baird Balou and Jessie (Whitney) Kelley. With both her parents being teachers, she was taught at home. She later served on the school board for 30 years and boarded a teacher almost as long to ensure that her children could attend public school.
She and her twin brother, Gene, learned the meaning of work at an early age, milking their share of the cow herd by the time they were 7 years old. They helped harvest prairie hay each summer with the aid of mule teams and helped their father freight hay with mules.
She enjoyed playing some of her grandfather's musical instruments, her favorite being a squeeze-box accordion.
She married
Gerald DeGroff on Oct. 1, 1935. They lived in Holt County for 25 years, Blaine County for 25 years and Valley County for the last 15 years.
They ranched until moving to their current home. For 50 years, she boarded and cooked for the hired men on the ranch. She had a big vegetable and flower garden, raised as many as 300 chickens, maintained a house and a large yard and sewed for the family.
She enjoyed playing cards, baking bread, crocheting afghans and quilting. She especially liked flying over the pastures with her sons or son-in-law in the ranch plane.
Survivors include her husband; two sons, Lee of Brewster and Ray of Burwell; three daughters, Fay (Mrs. Darrell) White of Burwell, Mary Jane (Mrs. John) Ribotta of Queen Creek, Ariz., and Connie (Mrs. Russell) Strand of Burwell; 15 grandchildren; and 16 great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by one infant daughter, Donna; three brothers, Ralph, George and Gene; and two sisters, Frankie Larson and Rita Vang.
