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Howard Gardner
Howard C. Gardner, 88 years of age, retired farmer and longtime resident of the Farnam community, passed away at his home in Farnam, Thursday night, Febr. 24th, following a stroke he suffered the day before.
Mr. Gardner came to Frontier county in 1890 and took a homestead 5 miles south of Farnam, where he lived until 1929 when he and Mrs. Gardner moved to Farnam, his son, Clyde, taking over the farm. He was born in Washington county, Indiana, on September 13, 1866. Mrs. Gardner died on December 21, 1952.
He is survived by his son, Clyde, of Farnam; his daughter, Mrs. Tony Funk, of Douglas, Wyo.; four grandchildren, two great-grandchildren; also two sisters: Mrs. Linnie Wilkins of Appleton City, Mo., and Mrs. Hattie Daugherty of Huron, Indiana; several nephews, nieces and many friends.
Funeral services for Mr. Gardner were held Sunday afternoon, Feb. 27th, at the Methodist church at Farnam, Rev. B. H. Hart officiating. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Pollard, Mrs. Hugo Blomquist and Dan McNickle, sang "God Be With You ’Til We Meet Again" and "When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder." Mrs. Raymond Smith accompanied them at the piano. Burr Parker, Hugo Blomquist, John Rowland, Edgar King, Jay Rice and Arch Jorgensen served as pallbearers. Interment was in the Farnam cemetery. Olesen Funeral Home, in charge of arrangements.
Source: The Gothenburg Times
Jennie V. (Johnson) Gardner
Jennie V. Gardner, 92, of Farnam died August 1, 1996, at Gothenburg.
The eldest of seven children, she was born April 3, 1904, in a sod house near Orafino to George and Clara McMichael Johnson. She attended country school south of Farnam and graduated from Stockville High School in 1923. She married
Clyde W. Gardner on August 11, 1926. They resided on the family farm south of Farnam until their retirement when they moved into Farnam in 1964.
Mrs. Gardner was a member of the United Methodist Church, Rebekah Lodge and a charter member of the Sunshine Club.
She and her husband celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in August 1976. Her husband preceded her in death in November 1976. She moved into Gothenburg Memorial Hospital-Long Term in November 1992.
Survivors include a daughter, Eula (Ray) Weathers of Corvallis, Oregon; a son, Elvin (Marilyn) of Farnam; two sisters, Dora Weiss of Curtis and Donna Swanson of Wauneta; a brother Millard Johnson of McCook; four grandchildren, Dan Weathers of Medford, Oregon, Lori Wydronek of Amboy, Wash., Launa Hopkins of Fairmont and Tracy Gardner of Gothenburg; and eight great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by two sisters, Eleanor Johnson and Rebecca Shanholts; and a brother, Irvin Johnson.
Services were held at 10:30 a.m. Monday, August 4, 1996, at the United Methodist Church in Farnam with the Rev. Mark Shutt officiating. Burial was in the Farnam cemetery.
Source: The FREE PRESS, August 8, 1996, p. 5
Charles A. Gaudreault
Charles A. Gaudreault, 80, of Gothenburg died Nov. 19, 1997, at Hilltop Estates in Gothenburg.
He was born May 1, 1917, at Farnam to Gustav and Mary Alice Gaudreault.
On June 15, 1940, he married
Leah Maxine Price in North Platte. She preceded him in death on August 7, 1996.
Mr. Gaudreault was a member of St. Christopher Episcopal Church in Cozad.
He was also preceded in death by a son, Marcus Del, and his parents.
The body was cremated.
Memorial services will be at 1 p.m. Tuesday at St. Christopher Episcopal Church in Cozad with the Rev. Ray Grieb officiating. Burial of the cremains will be at a later date in the Farnam cemetery at Farnam.
Source: The North Platte Telegraph, November 20, 1997
Marcus Gaudreault
Marcus Crampton Gaudreault, 61, died suddenly Monday morning, July 6, 1981, at the Cozad Hospital. He was born Jan. 30, 1920, at Farnam [to Gus and Mary Crampton Gaudreault] and was a lifelong resident of Farnam and Curtis.
He served in the army field artillery four years. On July 25, 1944, we was seriously wounded in action at St. Lo, France.
On Nov. 27, 1944, in Topeka, Kansas, he was united in marriage to Zelma Lorine Wall of Monroe, N.C. To this marriage one son, Don LaVerne was born.
Gaudreault graduated from barber college in Omaha and worked as a licensed barber before entering the military service. After being discharged from service he moved to Curtis where he worked for the John Deere agency as bookkeeper. He also worked for six years there as a postal clerk.
He graduated from the North West Institute of Medical and X-Ray Technology in Minneapolis , after which he worked as a licensed technologist in Memorial Hospital in North Platte, Yuma, Colo., and Las Vegas, Nev., until his health forced him to retire.
He and his family moved back to Farnam at this time where he spent the remainder of his life. He was a devoted and loving husband, father and grandfather. He will be greatly missed by all.
Survivors include his wife, Zelma; son, Don LaVerne; daughter-in-law, Janice; three grandchildren, Betty Lorine, Marcus John and Anthony Jay, all of Farnam; one brother, Charles and wife, Leah, of Gothenburg; four step-sisters, Sue Fiess, Lois Herring and Kathleen Stack of Monroe, N.C. and Mozelle Elmore of Thomasville, N.C.
Interment was July 10, 1981, in the Fort McPherson National cemetery at Maxwell with Cpl. Carl Heath American Legion Post 195 in charge of graveside sevices.
A memorial service was held at 2 p.m. in the Methodist church of Farnam with Rev. Carl Lent and Rev. Eugene B. Elmore, brother-in -law, officiating. The Wetzel Funeral Home of curtis was in charge of arrangements.
Edwin Gene Hoppe
Edwin "Gene" Hoppe, oldest child of Ed and Lois (McLaughlin) Hoppe, was born near Gretna, Phillips County, Kansas on August 20, 1928 and died on August 31, 1992 near Farnam, in Lincoln County, Nebraska at the age of 64 years and 11 days.
Gene grew up south of Moorefield, Nebraska where his parents farmed. He attended school at Mulberry Ridge, Curtis Ag, Moorefield High and Farnam High School where he graduated in 1946.
In 1950, he entered the U.S. Army, training at Fort Riley, Kansas before going overseas to serve in the Korean War until the summer of 1952. He then returned home to farm with his parents.
On September 18, 1953 he was united in marriage to Hazel Elizabeth (Betty) Thompson at the Farnam Methodist Church. While living near Moorefield, five children were born to them: John Edward (June 17, 1954), Wesley Gene (April 6, 1956), Wendel Jon (March 5, 1957), Weldon James (December 5, 1958) and Sharla Kay
(August 4, 1961).
In 1962, a severe hailstorm forced the family to leave the farm and move to Farnam. While continuing to farm until 1980, Gene also served as bus driver, street superintendent and village marshal in Farnam. He was an insurance agent and crop hail adjuster for many years and for the past six years he has been Farnam’s paper carrier.
In his later years he enjoyed several hobbies, but he enjoyed most of all his grandchildren and the many friends who needed his help or just stopped to talk.
He was a member of the Farnam United Methodist Church and the American Legion.
Although he suffered many problems with his health in his life, Gene carried a slip of paper in his billfold that read:
Do not worry whether or not
the sun will rise,
Be prepared to enjoy it.
He will be greatly missed by his wife, Betty and parents, Ed and Lois of Farnam; two sons and wives, Wendel and Donna Hoppe of The Woodlands, Texas and Weldon and Paula Hoppe of Colon, Nebraska; a daughter and husband, Sharla and Brian Rader of Hickman, Nebraska; two sisters and husbands, Mary Ellen and Rex Stewart of Omaha, Nebraska and Carol and Ed Warner of Littleton, Colorado; a brother and wife, Glen and Marlene Hoppe of Doniphan, Nebraska; ten grandchildren and many other relatives and friends.
He was preceded in death by two sons, John in 1954 and Wesley in 1976.
In the past few years, he put much effort into emulating the lives of his grandfathers, who were pioneers in Nebraska. He raised a team of oxen and trained them to pull using his Grandfather Hoppe’s original yoke. His beard gave him a resemblance to his Great-Grandfather Gibson, who travelled to California, crossing Nebraska with a team of oxen in 1859.
The following poem is from Gibson’s memorial service in 1891:
’Tis hard to break the tender cord,
Where love has bound the heart,
’Tis hard, so hard, to speak the word,
’Til heaven, we must part.
Services were at the Farnam United Methodist Church at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday September 3, 1992 with Rev. Arnie Teachout officiating. Interment was at Farnam cemetery with military honors by the Farnam American Legion Post #288.
Edwin Herbert Hoppe
Edwin Herbert Hoppe died May 28, 1996 at his home in Grand Island, Nebraska at the age of 94 years, 11 months and 11 days. He was born June 17, 1901 at the family home near Gretna in Phillips County, Kansas to F.C. and Agnes (Gibson) Hoppe.
As a young man he worked in western Kansas and southwestern Nebraska for farmers and ranchers in the area. He married
Lois McLaughlin of Moorefield, Nebraska on January 16, 1928 at St. Francis, Kansas. They first lived and worked around Imperial, Nebraska before moving to the Moorefield/Farnam, Nebraska vicinity in 1930, where they made their home and living for the next 65 years. In 1995, they moved to Riverside Lodge retirement apartments in Grand Island, Nebraska. They enjoyed over 68 years of married
life together.
Farming, playing cards and watching baseball were among his pasttimes in life and he enjoyed many years of fishing at his cabin on Jeffrey Lake north of Moorefield. He also liked friends and family.
He is survived by his wife, Lois, of Grand Island; two daughters, Mary Ellen Stewart and her husband, Rex, of Bella Vista, Arkansas and Carol Warner and her husband, Ed, of Littleton, Colorado; a son, Glen and his wife, Marlene, of Doniphan, Nebraska, nine grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a son, Gene, six brothers, five sisters and two grandsons, John and Wesley Hoppe.
Funeral services were held at 10:30 a.m. Friday, May 31, 1996 at the United Methodist Church in Farnam, Nebraska where Ed was a longtime member. Burial was in the Farnam cemetery.
Nelson Taylor
Nelson Lynn Taylor, son of Harry Lin Taylor and his wife, Nellie Troudt, was born June 29, 1914, at Olin, Illinois. He moved with his family to North Platte at the age of 6 years and later to Maywood where he grew to manhood.
In June of 1937 he was united in marriage to Erline Marie Walters of Hebron, Nebraska. To this union two daughters were born: Minnette Jeanne and Kathleen and two sons: James and David.
Nelson worked for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad for 25 years, 17 years as section foreman at Farnam, Nebraska.
He passed away at the hospital in Gothenburg, Nebraska, October 17, 1966, at the age of 52 years, 2 months and 18 days.
He was a devoted husband and father who leaves to mourn his passing, his wife, Erline; four children, Minnette Jeanne Houdesheldt of North Platte, Nebr., Kathleen at home, James and David in the U.S. Navy, four grandchildren and a host of other relatives and friends.
Services were held at the Farnam Methodist Church, Wednesday, Oct. 19, 1966, with the Rev. Conley K. Hinrichs as Clergyman. Music was provided by Mrs. Elvin Piersol, Mrs. Harold Bick and Mrs. Raymond Smith. Pallbearers were A. W. Wear, D. N. Boyd, L.W. Gardner, A. E. Axtell, V. L. Boyd and V. C. Mayden. Final resting place was the Farnam cemetery.
Douglas Dowain Thomalla
This community was shocked and deeply grieved to learn of the tragic accident at the farm home of Mr. And Mrs. Earl Thomalla, when their little son, Douglas Dowain was found drowned at their home Tuesday afternoon.
Mrs. Thomalla left the little tot in the yard, which was fenced, and in about 15 minutes after she had seen him playing she went to locate him and as he had disappeared through a hole under the fence by the gate she started searching for him. When she had looked every place she thought he might be near the barn, including a search in the tank and hog waterer she went to the field where Mr. Thomalla was working and when he was not to be found there, they returned to find that he had gotten into the hog waterer. They rushed him to the hospital but were unable to revive him.
Though his stay upon earth was of short duration he had endeared himself to his parents and his many other relatives and friends who will all miss him. He had reached the age of one year, 8 months and 11 days.
Funeral services were held from the Catholic church Thursday morning at 10:00 o’clock.
He is survived by his parents, Leila Belle and Earl Thomalla, his grandparents, Mr. And Mrs. Henry Derra and Mrs. Ada Thomalla besides the aunts and uncles and many other relatives.
Earl C. Thomalla
Earl C. Thomalla, 83, of Gothenburg died May 27, 1998, at Gothenburg Memorial Hospital - Long Term.
He was born May 1, 1915, south of Farnam to John Paul and Ada Harry Thomalla. He attended school in Farnam.
On April 14, 1936, he married
Belle Derra at Farnam. They lived and farmed in Farnam, moving to Gothenburg in 1945. He bought and managed Bert and Earl┬ Lounge until 1955, when he became president of Webb Oil Company. In 1965, he re-purchased the lounge and managed it until he retired in 1977. During this time, he sponsored a softball team, bowling team, racing car and took part in community projects. For a while, he and his wife spent their winters in Brownsville, Texas, where he taught a Spanish class and enjoyed traveling into Mexico. In his later years, he enjoyed taking care of customers in his bait shop. He had a large garden, which was admired by and shared with many neighbors and friends.
Mr. Thomalla loved fishing, camping, dancing, bowling, playing cards and taking part in the activities of his family and friends. He loved music and had a wonderful voice. He competed in music and public speaking contests as a student. He enjoyed sharing his musical talent with his grandchildren and singing in church and at funerals. He was especially honored to sing at his granddaughter┬ wedding. He was a member of Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church in Gothenburg and the Knights of Columbus.
Survivors include his wife; a daughter, Carolyn (Larry) Malcom of Cozad; three sons, Bill (Rita) of Gothenburg, Mike (Adrian) of Lincoln and Steve (Kelly) of North Platte; a daughter-in-law, Paula (Barry) Pfister of Lexington; a sister, Grace Ozanne of Lexington; 16 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by two sons, Douglas and Gary; his parents; a sister, Pansy; and two half-brothers, William and Loren.
A memorial has been established.
Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church in Gothenburg with the Rev. Donald O﹨rien as celebrant. Burial will be in the Gothenburg cemetery.
Source: The North Platte Telegraph, Thursday, May 28, 1998.
