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Harlan Hirsch
GOTHENBURG — Harlan Hirsch, 73, of Gothenburg, died Dec. 4, 1998, at his home.
He was born
Feb. 15, 1925, at Merna to Arthur Herman and Hulda Augusta Mitz Hirsch. He graduated from New Ulm (Minn.) High School.
Mr. Hirsch served in the U.S. Army. On Oct. 28, 1947, he married Aileen Lynch at Hastings. He was a member of the American Lutheran Church, served on the church council and participated in the church choir. He was also a member of the Dawson County Historical Society Museum Board, Gothenburg Senior Center and Gothenburg Honor Guard.
He loved his family, his children and his grandchildren. His favorite hobby consisted of creating stained-glass windows. Anything that had to do with stained or beveled glass was of extreme interest to him.
Survivors include his wife; two daughters, Valerie (Brad) Brooks of Irvine, Calif. and Vicky (Gary) Boyer of LaCygne, Kan.; a son, Greg and his special friend Robin Hovie of Gothenburg; a sister, Lorraine G’Schwind of Callaway; two brothers, Loren (Chard) of Mirna and Eldon (Gwen) of Minnesota; three grandchildren, Jobey Brooks and Regan and Ryan Boyer; three step grandchildren, Terri (Brad) Morrow, Health (Maggie) Mann and Brandon (Andi) Mann.
He was preceded in death by his parents; a daughter-in-law, Diane, and a brother-in-law, Herbert G’Schwind.
Memorials to the Gothenburg Senior Center, American Lutheran Church, Dawson County Museum or the donor’s choice.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the American Lutheran Church in Gothenburg with the Rev. Steve Berke and intern David Lund officiating. Burial at Fort McPherson National Cemetery with military honors by the Gothenburg Firing Squad.
Visitation will be from 1 to 5 p.m. today and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday at Blase Memorial Chapel in Gothenburg.
Bud Skeels
GRANT— Bud Skeels, 75, long-time Grant businessman, died Dec. 4, 1998, at Perkins County Community Hospital in Grant. He was born
on Jan. 14, 1923, in Omaha to Thomas and Bessie Boytes Skeels. He attended school in Omaha and graduated from Omaha South High School.
He married Vota Weckworth at Papillion on Jan. 5, 1942. They farmed for a brief time in Kansas before returning to Omaha where he drove a truck for Safeway. In 1950, they moved to North Platte where he helped manage the Safeway store. In 1962 he bought Gauger’s Store in Grant and it became Skeels Jack and Jill. In 1972, he purchased the Imperial Jack and Jill store.
Mr. Skeels had been active in community activities and especially enjoyed square dancing.
Survivors include his wife; two sons, Nate (Linda) of Grant and Dave and his fiancee Connie Weber of Brandon; three grandsons and a great granddaughter.
A memorial to the Grant Senior Citizens Center has been established.
Services will be at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Grant United Methodist Church with Pastor Mark Hunter officiating. Burial will be in the Grant Cemetery.
Bullock-Long Funeral Home in Grant is in charge.
George W. Olson
George W. Olson, 86, local businessman and cattleman, of Hershey, died Dec. 4, 1998, at his home after a lengthy illness.
George was born
during a blizzard in a sod house on March 3, 1912, near Elsie to Andrew F. and Bertha M. Kariger Olson. He moved with his parents to a farm near Platte Valley in 1914. When he was 9 years old, he was afflicted with a bone disease and missed two years of schooling. He also spent a long period of time at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Lincoln.
He graduated from Platte Valley High School in 1929 and then moved to Hershey where he assisted his father at the Snowflake Service Station.
On June 4, 1932, he married Berdeen Overmier Haugland in Lexington. They moved to Sutherland in 1934 and ran a service station there for two years. Returning to Hershey, they bought the home they’ve lived in since.
Mr. Olson worked for Union Pacific Railroad as a billing clerk during the World War II years and also as a clerk for the North Platte Livestock Company. He started the Hershey Fertilizer Company, then acquired the Ogallala Fertilizer Company soon after. He and his son incorporated Olson Farms in 1964. His wife assisted as bookkeeper and they farmed and raised cattle as well. He retired in 1986.
He was an active member of Maria Lutheran Church, served several terms as an administrative board member and was treasurer for many years. He was a member of the Feeder and Rancher Organization and served on the Hershey School Board when the district was being reorganized. He belonged to the B.P.O. Elks No. 985 and the North Platte Country Club.
He and his wife traveled extensively in the 1970s. They visited Europe, the Orient, Australia, New Zealand, South America and the Middle East. The two enjoyed 66 years as man and wife.
Survivors include his wife; two daughters, Janelle (Glen) Emert of Laurel and Georgena (Alan) Arnett of Loveland, Colo.; a son, Andrew (Marcia) of Hershey; a sister, Rosella (Robert) Butterworth of Venice, Fla.; eight grandchildren, Kevin (MaryAnn) Miller, Karma (Ronnie) Reed, Kent (Glenda) Miller, Kirk (Tracy) Olson, Kim (Keith) Lutrell, Chris (Katey) Arnett Casey Arnett and Kendra Olson; 15 great grandchildren; a niece, Patricia (David) Malone of Nashville, Tenn.; other relatives and many friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents.
Memorials have been established for the Maria Lutheran Church and the Hershey Alumni Scholarship Fund.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday at First Evangelical Lutheran Church in North Platte with Pastor Margaret Olson officiating. Burial will be in Floral Lawns Memorial Gardens.
The casket will not be opened at the church.
Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. today and from 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday at Odean Colonial Chapel at C and Sycamore.
Rose Klemm
Rose Marie Klemm, 64, considered by many to be North Platte’s “number one volunteer,” died unexpectedly Dec. 4, 1998 after an apparent heart attack at her home, 2310 Cedarberry Lane.
She was the guiding spirit in the establishment and early success of the North Platte Clean City Committee, a perpetual fund-raiser for good causes, a loving wife, mother and generous caregiver to all whose lives she touched.
Rose Marie Plevak was born
Nov. 16, 1934 in Carrolville, Wisc. She grew up in south Milwaukee, attended St. Mary’s Academy there and graduated from high school in 1952.
She attended Marquette University and completed a bachelor of science degree at the University of Alabama where she was a member of Delta Gamma Sorority and a masters of education degree at the University of Wisconsin. She also did graduate study at the University of Minnesota.
She taught fifth and sixth grades in the Minnetonka, Minn. school system and was a reading specialist. She also taught at Whitewater, Wisc. State Teachers College, which later became the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater. Later, she was on the faculty at McCook Junior College.
She was married August 12, 1961 to Robert Klemm at St. Adalbert’s Church in South Milwaukee.
While in Minnesota, Mrs. Klemm was chairman of the Legislative Committee for the Minnesota Reading Council. She also was secretary of the Twin Cities Reading Council.
The Klemms lived in Minnesota and McCook before moving to North Platte in 1972. She worked with her husband in the operation of the family business, Arrowhead Distributing Co.
She was instrumental in starting the Coat Closet, a project that provides free coats, blankets and jeans to the needy, as part of the Apostolic Committee at Holy Spirit Catholic Church. She also taught religious education at Holy Spirit. She helped with the food pantry and worked regularly at the Salvation Army soup suppers. She had just started work on the fund-raising team for the new McDaid Elementary School.
She had been on the Parents Advisory Board at Adams Middle School and was active in the North Platte High School Booster Club.
She was given the Friend of Education Award by the North Platte Education Association in 1987.
She was 1988-89 chairman of the board of the North Platte Area Chamber of Commerce, the first woman to hold that position. She was on Chamber committees that helped initiate the Clean City Committee, the Crime Stoppers program, and Leadership Lincoln County. She had been a member of North Platte Hostesses since 1988.
From 1985-1992 she was a member of the Great Plains Regional Medical Center governing board. She was currently a member of the board of the Great Plains Health Care Foundation and chair of its events committee. She had planned the menu and helped with decorations for the foundation’s “It Takes A Village” benefit dinner and dance held Friday night.
She was a charter member of the Great Plains Regional Medical Center Auxiliary. As chairman of the auxiliary’s Crafts Committee, she personally provided transportation for several elderly women who otherwise would not have been able to attend the crafts sessions.
She was among a group instrumental in bringing the Miss Nebraska Scholarship Pageant to North Platte, served on the board, and since 1992 had judged community service projects of the contestants.
She had just begun a second four-year term on the Board of Counselors for the University of Nebraska Medical Center. As a Friendship Circle volunteer for the Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben she had been instrumental in achieving leadership recognition for several area individuals and organizations. She was awarded The First Lady of the Year award by the Beta Sigma Phi Sorority.
She had also recently been named to the Public Radio Nebraska Foundation board of directors.
Rose became active in the Clean City Committee shortly after it was organized in 1978 and became its chairman, shepherding it through early years that saw it winning many state and national first place awards from Keep Nebraska Beautiful and Keep America Beautiful.
She was recognized for volunteer service with the Woman of Achievement award by the Community Improvement Committee of the North Platte Area Chamber of Commerce in 1985. She said then that in spite of the long list of her volunteer activities, her first priority always had been her family: “Everything I did in the beginning was children, husband, or business-oriented, and the first priority was the children.”
Survivors include her husband, Bob; two daughters, Sarah (Dan) Spencer of Denver and Betsy (Steve) Burns also of Denver; a son, Barrett (Brenda) of North Platte; and by her mother, Josie Plevak of Centennial Park, North Platte. She is also survived by a sister, Delores Farley of Springfield, Ill., and a brother, Joseph Plevak of Aurora, Ill.
She was preceded in death by her father, Joe Plevak.
Memorials may be made to the McDaid Project 2000 or to GPRMC.
Rosary will be at 7 p.m. Sunday at Holy Spirit Catholic Church.
Mass of Christian Burial will be 10 a.m. Monday at the church with the Rev. Art Faesser as celebrant. Burial will be in Floral Lawns Memorial Gardens.
Visitation will be from 3 to 9 p.m. today and 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday at Carpenter Memorial Chapel.
William F. Hackney
William F. Hackney, 74, of North Platte, died Dec. 3, 1998 at Bryan LGH East Medical Center in Lincoln.
He was born
Sept. 9, 1924 to Josiah and Margaret Kollman Hackney at Atlantic City, N.J. He was raised in New Jersey, where he attended school. He joined the U.S. Army during World War II, serving in the European Theater where he received a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star. Following his discharge he returned to Omaha, where he did car body work, which he also did in Ainsworth.
He married Wilma Hollopeter on Nov. 2, 1957 in Omaha. He and his wife attended Bible College in Florida and the Frontier Bible College at Lagrange, Wyo. He became an ordained minister in Village Missions. He served parishes in Star Church in Granada, Colo., Clearmont, Wyo., Gateway, Colo., Hall Church at Tryon and Scottsville and Jamestown, Kan. He retired in 1994 and moved to North Platte, where he resided since.
Survivors include his wife; a daughter, Linda Holmes of Lamar, Colo.; a son, Bill of North Platte; and adopted family, Jim and Rochelle Kemp and their children, foster children, Stacey, Jeffrey, Brian, Chris, Stephanie, Erica and Jahnathan; 3 grandchildren, Cody Allen Hackney, Austin Cheyenne Hackney and Darren Dean Holmes; numerous nieces nephews and other relatives.
He was preceded in death by his parents, a brother and two infant children.
In lieu of flowers, a memorial has been established.
Services will be 2 p.m. Monday at Grace Community Bible Church with Pastor Michael Wing officiating. Burial will be at North Platte Cemetery with military honors graveside.
Visitation will be from noon to 9 p.m. today and from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday at Adams & Swanson Funeral Home and prior to service time Monday at the church.
Inez A. Mueller
MAXWELL — Inez A. Mueller, of Ogallala, died Jan. 14, 1999, at Great Plains Regional Medical Center. She was 72.
Survivors include her husband, Bob Mueller of Ogallala; a daughter Arliss (Randy) Hraban and three grandchildren of North Platte.
Inurnment will take place at Fort McPherson National Cemetery at Maxwell.
Draucker Funeral Home of Ogallala is in charge.
Mary Catherine Schmeekle
EUSTIS — Mary Kay Shmeeckle, 76, of Eustis, died Jan. 14, 1999, at a Lincoln hospital.
She was born
April 5, 1922, at Cozad to William and Vivian Ochs Lemke. She attended Cozad schools and graduated from Gothenburg High School. On Sept. 6, 1942, she married Roy Schmeeckle and they made their home on a farmsite northeast of Eustis where her husband was born. They moved to Eustis in the mid 1970s.
Mrs. Schmeekle worked as an operator at the Eustis Telephone Company and as a pre-school teacher. She had worked for 16 years for Drs. Hranac and Rosenau and had served as city clerk for Eustis until her retirement in 1989.
She was a member of St. John’s Lutheran Church where she was recently elected to the church council and was a longtime choir member. She was a delegate to the Nebraska Synod Assembly of ELCA and attended the last Tri-Annual Convention of the women of ELCA. She was also a member of the American Legion Auxiliary and a charter member of the Eustis Rescue Squad. She had served as treasurer for the Eustis Community Chest and as coordinator of the Life Line at Eustis. She had donated more than 100 baby quilts that she made to the Lutheran Family Services in Lexington. She was a recipient of the Ak-Sar-Ben Good Neighbor Award. While on the farm, she and her husband had received the Ak-Sar-Ben Pioneer Family Award. Along with her work and civic activities, she was still known for her many hours of volunteer work and she enjoyed quilting, dancing, baking, canning and gardening.
Survivors include a daughter, Judy (Neil) Betty of North Platte; two sons, Jim (Sharolyn) and Jerry Joe all of Eustis; two sisters, Anna Marie (Ves) Miller of Papillion and Lois (Stan) Zoucha of Cedar Rapids; three brothers, Louis (Dorothy) Lemke and Raymond (Gwen) Lemke of Papillion and Lloyd (Marie) Lemke of Gretna; four grandchildren, Jason and his fiancee, Debbie Maring, Casey, Kristine (Scott) Morton and Shelly (Lannie) Miller; three great-grandchildren, Mallory and Jacob Morton and Evan Miller.
She was preceded in death by her husband in 1991 and also by three half sisters, Viola, Ellen and LaReine.
Memorials are suggested to St. John’s Lutheran Church of Eustis.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Monday at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Eustis with Pastor Don Hunzeker officiating. Burial will be in the East Cemetery at Eustis.
Visitation will be from 3 to 8 p.m. Sunday at St. John’s Lutheran Church. Berryman Funeral Home of Cozad is in charge.
