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Elton C. Lanka
STAPLETON - Elton Chauncy Lanka, 69, of Stapleton died May 13, 2001, at Great Plains Regional Medical Center.
He was born May 29, 1931, to Frank and Dorothy Grace Hayes Lanka in Arthur County, where he was raised. He graduated from Curtis Agriculture High School at Curtis in 1949.
On Aug. 5, 1951, he married Marian Bakewell at Stapleton. They spent their entire married life on the ranch north of Stapleton.
Mr. Lanka was a member of the First Presbyterian Church at Stapleton. He will be fondly remembered for his wonderful gift of witnessing and conversing with family, friends and acquaintances.
Surviving him is his wife and a son, Rex (Bethany) of Stapleton.
He is also survived by three daughters, Diane (Lee) Wonch of Gandy and their five children, Travi (D'Arcy) Rambali and their children, Tyler, Devin and Riley, Angie (Daniel) Hopper and their children, Alexa, Andrew and Brenden, Lee (DanDee) Wonch, and Amanda and Adam Wonch; Vanessa (Paul) Young of Roff, Okla., and their children, Ranae Nelson and Joshua (Adrienne) Nelson and their daughter, Emily; and Sue (Mike) Pollnow of Chappell and their children, Samantha (Chris) Ewing and Owen and Luke Johnson and a stepson, Brandon Pollnow. Other survivors are a sister, Lorna (George) Lane of Kearney; three brothers, Clarence (Judy) of Stapleton, Frank of Grand River, Iowa, and Kenneth of Madison, Wis.; and his father-in-law, Myron (Wilma) Bakewell of Stapleton.
He was preceded in death by his parents and his mother-in-law, Velma Bakewell.
Memorials may be given to the Western Nebraska Youth for Christ, KJLT Radio Station or to the Stapleton Presbyterian Church.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at the church, with burial in the Loup Valley Cemetery west of Stapleton.
The casket will not be open at the church.
Visitation will be from 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. today at Adams & Swanson Funeral Home in North Platte.
Thomas Pickar
ANSLEY - Thomas John "Tom" Pickar, 70, died May 12, 2001, at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney.
He was born March 26, 1931, to John Henry and Albey Marush Pickar at Sanish, N.D., where he attended school. In 1950, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served in the Korea War. He received an honorable discharge in 1954.
In 1955, he married Marilyn Fletcher at Ansley. The couple spent their entire married life farming in the Ansley community. He retired from farming in 1999.
Mr. Pickar was a member of the Ansley American Legion, Ansley Veterans of Foreign Wars and a past member of the Ansley Rural Fire Board and the Box Elder School Board. He enjoyed playing cards.
Surviving him is his wife; a daughter, Lois (Paul) Hansen of Ord; a son, John (Teresa) of Litchfield; and four grandchildren, Amanda and Adam Hansen and Taylor and Justine Pickar.
He was preceded in death by his parents; a grandson, Timothy; four sisters; and three brothers.
Memorials may be given to the Ansley Rural Fire Board.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday in the First Christian Church in Ansley with the Rev. Mel Shepherd officiating. Burial will be in the Ansley Cemetery with military rites graveside.
Visitation will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today at Govier Brothers Mortuary in Broken Bow and from 6 to 8 p.m. today at First Christian Church in Ansley.
Gerald Lee 'Jerry' Stark
LEXINGTON - Gerald Lee "Jerry" Stark, 53, of Lexington died May 13, 2001, at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney.
He was born Oct. 1, 1947, at Lexington Community Hospital to Loren Leith and Gaile June Stedman Stark. He attended school in the Lexington school system through the 11th grade. He attended Cozad High School his senior year, graduating in 1965.
He was interested in all sports and participated primarily in football and baseball, where he was the catcher and pretty good at it. He also wrestled and spent a short time trying to learn the art of boxing. Although he never backed up from a fight unless he had more than one opponent, he decided he didn't enjoy battering or being battered.
After graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, where he became a communications specialist. He served on a sub-tender off the coast of Scotland.
After his discharge, he returned to Cozad and began working at Monroe Auto Equipment Company where he met Margaret Kostman. They were married in September 1970. They had a son, Jerry Ron. They were divorced in 1985.
He enrolled in Kearney State College, where he earned a master's degree in speech and a bachelor's degree in communications.
While in college, he started as a stringer reporter for KOLN-KGIN Television and worked out of Grand Island, covering the surrounding area. He was a news reporter for them for 15 years.
After leaving KOLN-KGIN, he returned to Lexington and became a sports reporter for the Clipper-Herald. He enjoyed working with the kids. He had coached his son's Little League baseball team in Kearney and they had won several awards.
For two years he reported sports for KRVN radio station and for a short while he reported for the Tri-City Tribune and then on to the Cameron (Mo.) Observer. He returned to the Lexington Clipper-Herald in July 2000 as sports editor, where he worked until his hospitalization due to ill health.
Surviving him is a son, Jerry Ron (Gabby) of Kearney; three grandchildren, John Paul, Nancy "Maddie" and Andrea Stark, all of Kearney; his mother; his ex-wife and friend, Margaret Stark of Kearney; two sisters, Kathy Stark of Lexington and Carol Gibson of Cozad; a brother, Ron Stark of Cozad; seven nieces and nephews; four great-nephews and nieces; many aunts, uncles, cousins and countless friends and co-workers.
He was preceded in death by his father and a great-niece, Jerica Lynn.
Memorials are suggested to the American Diabetes Association or to the Stark family for the Veteran's Memorial Walk of Honor in North Platte.
The body was cremated. Inurnment will be at 10:30 a.m.
Thursday in Fort McPherson National Cemetery at Maxwell.
There will be a memorial service at 2 p.m. Thursday at the United Methodist Church in Lexington with the Rev. Bracken Sheldon officiating.
Reynolds-Love Funeral Home of Lexington is in charge.
Veronica V. Thalken
PAXTON - Veronica V. Thalken, 86, of Clinton, Iowa, a former long-time Paxton resident, died May 11, 2001, at the Bluff Terrace Nursing Home in Clinton.
She was born Jan. 30, 1915, in Paxton to Hubert and Christine Meyer Kildare. She graduated from Paxton High School in 1933.
She then attended business college in Omaha and later returned to work in the family business, Kildare Lumber Company.
On May 31, 1937, she married J. Hugh Thalken of Roscoe. They lived on a farm north of Roscoe. In 1960, they moved to Sutherland where her husband became the branch manager of Kildare Lumber Company. Once again, she went to work in the family business.
Mrs. Thalken enjoyed sewing for her daughters and grandchildren, as well as doing needlework. She and her husband enjoyed traveling and visiting family in the United States and around the world. The couple moved to Clinton in 1998 to be near their daughter, Marge, and her family.
She is survived by her husband of Clinton; two daughters, Margaret "Marge" (Norman) Cogil of Clinton and Joan (James) Cunningham of West Windsor, N.J.; two sisters, Christine (Leonard) Pelster and Dorothy (Richard) Stark, both of North Platte; a brother, Bernard Kildare of Paxton; nine grandchildren; and 16 great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents, a sister and a brother.
A memorial has been established.
A vigil service will be at 7 p.m. Friday at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Paxton. Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10 a.m.
Saturday at the church in Paxton with the Rev. Jim Janovec as celebrant. Burial will be in the Paxton Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Friday, with family receiving family and friends from 3 to 5:30 p.m., at Gubser Funeral Home in Ogallala.
Iva Wand
ANSLEY - Iva Belle Wand, 102, formerly of Ansley, died May 12, 2001, at Sandhills Manor Nursing Home in Broken Bow.
She was born Oct. 31, 1898, to Charles and Cora Leech Lowder in her parents' sod house northeast of Westerville. She was the oldest of her four sisters and two brothers. She attended Mount Custer Country School.
In 1923, she married Bill Wand in the courthouse in Loup City.
They farmed in Berwyn, Ansley and Mason City areas, raising corn, horses and chickens and milking cows.
Mrs. Wand attended the Ansley Baptist Church.
Survivors include two sisters, Ruth Sysel of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Anna Reid of Longmont, Colo., and a brother, Lyndon Lowder of Westerville.
She was preceded in death by her husband; her parents; two sisters, Vivian Schmid and Vida Quaife; and a brother, Oren Lowder.
Graveside services will be at 3 p.m. Wednesday in the Ansley Cemetery with the Rev. Victor Crawford officiating.
Visitation will be from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. today at Govier Brothers Mortuary in Broken Bow.
Wauneta R. Barmore
LEXINGTON - Wauneta R. Barmore, 75, of Lexington died May 15, 2001, at the Tri-County Hospital in Lexington.
She was born Oct. 20, 1925, at Ceresco to Wallace F. and Addie Lentz Seaman. She moved with her family to Cedar Bluffs where she graduated from high school in 1942. She attended Midland College at Fremont, graduating in 1947 with a teaching degree.
While in school, she worked at the defense plant at Mead. She taught school in Genoa and North Bend before moving to Lexington where she taught ninth-grade English at the Lexington High School.
On June 25, 1953, she married Richard Barmore in Fremont. She had met him while singing in the choir at the First Presbyterian Church. They were in business together at Barmore Drug where she worked as a secretary, bookkeeper and buyer.
She enjoyed watching birds, her flower garden and was an avid reader. She was active in her church community at the First Presbyterian Church where she served as deacon, elder and was a Sunday school teacher. She enjoyed her involvement in the church women's association as well as the Federated Woman's Club. She was a member of Chapter FS PEO.
Mrs. Barmore is survived by her husband; a daughter, Kerry (Thomas) Madigan of Lakewood, Colo.; two sons, Rick (Mary) of Lexington and David (Deb) of Omaha; four grandchildren, David, Denise, Deanna, and Danielle Barmore; a brother, Wallace F. Seaman of Ames; and nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents; a grandson, Steven; and two sisters, Inez Rentschler and an infant sister.
Memorials are suggested to the First Presbyterian Church in Lexington.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Friday at the church in Lexington with the Revs. John Shields and Floyd Starr II officiating. Burial will be in the Greenwood Cemetery in Lexington.
Visitation will be from 2 to 5 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the Reynolds-Love Chapel in Lexington.
Lois Adalaide Bellin
Lois Adalaide Bellin, 87, died May 14, 2001, in North Platte after a long illness.
She was born Oct. 19, 1913, in Diller to John Delbert and Bellala Gurton Bivens Cherry. In 1940, she moved to Glendale, Calif., where she lived until 1988.
Survivors include a daughter, Linda Wishart of Hillsboro, Ore.; a son, Ted of Lincoln; a sister, Hazel Trego of North Platte; five grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Elvin; two sisters, Gladys Albers and Grace Hall; and a brother, Jack Cherry.
Memorials are suggested to the Alzheimer's Association.
Services will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at Odean Colonial Chapel in North Platte. Burial will be in Glendale.
Visitation will be from 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday at Odean Colonial Chapel.
