2024 In Memoriam, New Years Day to April Fools

Friends and acquaintances

David Francis, 11+ years as temporary (!) organist at St. Luke’s, who dubbed the acquisition of the current organ our “organ transplant” project, whose then wife Connie and their three children were all active at St. Luke’s when I was its Rector; a court reporter par excellence in his paying job. David was one of the four from St. Luke’s who braved stormy skies to fly to Louisville to see the organ they had for sale, which St. Luke’s eventually bought. Grounded to wait out a storm, taking to the air again just in time for the storm to turn around and bear down on us, beating it by just a moment or two, being glad to land safely in Louisville, the taxi taking us from the airport to our motel, and the driver pulling out a pint of whiskey for a drink. David led the laughter in the car. The pilot was Dr. Mark Meyer, the other two were Dr. Feese, our choir director at the time, and me. (see photo of the organ below)

Terry Grossman, in a house fire. Terry loved work and was employed several places, including UNK Facilities and CHI Good Samaritan Hospital; when we were new to recovery, Terry was of great help to us.

Monte Krabil, husband of faithful member of St. Luke’s, Lyn, herself of a long acquaintance with my dad, who presided at her wedding. Mostly saw Monte at the Harmon Park summer concerts sponsored by the Kearney Area Arts Guild, himself once a member of several bands.

John Wharton Lowe III, a very fine scholar of southern studies, including Faulkner, where we seemed to enjoy each other’s work and company, and he was just John.

Virginia Lund. For some years, Virgie was the director of the Frank House (now the Frank Museum) on the UNK campus, doing her part to follow those who preceded her and would follow her to bring out the old house and contents historic value.

Dan Mahalek, husband of Sandy in a second marriage, he a long-time history teacher at Kearney High and a presenter at Senior College on his favorite historic event, the Civil War, even as she taught seniors about plains Indians.

Peggy M. Wife of Dick M., who faithfully recorded speakers on Recovery for many years. Peggy celebrated 60 years before passing.

Don McKenzie, once part-owner of Kearney’s ABC Rexall; his late wife Roberta was a beloved journalism teacher at UNK and Don was a sports enthusiast, especially when it came to children and grandchildren; theirs was one of the first home in which I visited after moving to Kearney.

Cathy Parsons, great and good long-time friend, once part of Nancy’s bridge (and baby-sitting) group with Valerie Fetrow and Ruth Lampe, for many years a professional traveling to facilities for severely to moderately challenged people to create standards of care and see to compliance. Cathy always a host at so many feasts in the Parsons’s home; I officiated at both of their daughters’ weddings.

Bonnie Rasmussen—I do not recall meeting Bonnie, but she is the mother of good friend Kristi Salestrom and related to former parishioner Bud Rasmussen and photographer Jack Rasmussen, so I felt like I know from what they’ve said over the years.

Rick Sehnert, who after his father, Bob, ran the Sehnert’s Bakery in Kearney, a brother and brother-in-law to our good friends, Jan and Tom Paxson. Growing up in McCook, we enjoyed the other Sehnert’s Bakery, run by a cousin of the Kearney Sehnert’s, Walt, and later his son Matt. I’m pretty sure several of my pounds are owed to their baking!

Richard Walker, college fraternity brother, a senior when I was a first-year student, who had a passion for studying water and had stories of wading out into one river another on a plunge of discovery. Perhaps the first person I’d ever met with a single passion. And he overcame a lot to succeed.

Janice Wiebusch, sometime choir director at St. Luke’s, who began her adult life teaching music and ended her career as a successful real estate broker, and in the meantime played dueling piano-organ pieces with David Francis, then the organist (also recently deceased—see above) and, with her husband Jack was part of our Road Trip supper club.

Celebrities and in the news

Joan Acocella, who covered Dance for years for the New Yorker’s but is known to Cather fans for one of the finer pieces about Willa Cather—incisive, capturing the heart of Cather and her work.

Bob Beckwith, the New York retired fire fighter who came out of retirement to put his skills to use on 9/11 and was photographed with President Bush atop the rubble, becoming an icon of civic responsibility and the public good (something a lot of Americans forgot during COVID as they flaunted public health measures).

Ken Bowman, who snapped the ball and ran the interference for QB Bart Starr during the Green Bay Packers great seasons in the 1960’s…reportedly “de-centered” by natural causes.

Hydeia Broadbent, As the Associated Press reported: a prominent HIV/AIDS activist known for her inspirational talks in the 1990s as a young child to reduce the stigma surrounding the virus she was born with…She was 39. Having just finished John Irving’s The Last Chair Lift, with extensive chapters about the AIDS crisis, this report seemed to me especially poignant!

Lou Gossett Jr., who claimed God set him on earth for a purpose, then set down “Roots” and became the first black actor to receive the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, and now, listen up soldiers, is producing and directing in another realm.

Shecky Green, one of the best of the standup comedians of the mid-to-late 20^th Century, a regular in Las Vegas. We got to be present at a show where he included in his “act” a song from Fiddler on the Roof, whose lead part went to someone other than Sheky. He claimed he never had an act, that it was always improvised. Survivor of driving his car into the fountain at Caesar’s Palace and telling the police when they arrived: “No wax, please.” And survivor to of the attacks on him by the Rat Pack after he’d fallen out with Sinatra. His joke: “Frank Sinatra once saved my life (pause) A bunch of guys were beating on me and Frank said, ‘Okay that’s enough.’”

Norman Jewison, unafraid of controversy and able to make controversies clear to a mass audience, with the breadth of understanding and vision to be able to direct TV and film hits of amazing breadth, from Moonstruck to In the Heat of the Night, throw in Fiddler on the Roof and Jesus Christ, Superstar!

Jiang Ping, Chinese legal scholar who lost his position at China University of Political Science and Law (where he was both a longtime teacher and for two years its President), forced to resign after backing the 1989 pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square. Unlike many dissidents, he continued to be a public figure and an influential voice for the rights of citizens against the powers of the state.

Glynis Johns, 101, of which 80 were spent on stage and screen, being remembered in the pop ups for her role as the suffragette in Mary Poppins, but by me for The Sundowners (Winfred Banks) and Danny Kaye’s wonderful the Court Jester. Sondheim thought enough of her distinctive voice to arrange songs for her that played to her vocal strengths. South African-British-American.

Toby Keith, king of rowdy country music and patriotic songs.

Dexter Scott King, MLK’s second son, chosen by Coretta Scott King to take her place as head of the King Center, he resigned four months later over a dispute with her. His real ambition was embodied in his desire, born of his passion for human and animal rights, to see the King Center be what he called “a West Point of nonviolent training.” Sadly, it was not to be so, as so many of our campuses have military programs and so few have peace studies.

Richard Lewis, comedian whose humor had an argumentative edge, the expression of his own troubled sense of the world, but not before some light came his way, and now the greater light.

Joe Liberman, first Jewish person to run for Vice-President of the United States, sometimes a bridge-builder between political parties, sometimes contradictory in his allegiances.

Peter Magubane, artist and photographer, whose work shed light on the everyday struggles of those living under the Apartheid in South Africa.

Dan Marberger, Iowa Principal who was fatally struck by numerous bullets as he heroically stepped into protect children at his school, and shame on the votes the gun lobby has bought.

Anthony Messineo, think Tony, think Valentino’s, think his father’s Tony and Luigi’s, it would be hard to think of any greater impact over a period of three generations on Lincoln food; a relative was once secretary in the Philosophy Department at NU and helped run off my class materials.

M. Scott Momaday, who finally made his way to the House Made of Dawn! The novel of that name opened American literature to him and the great native writers who followed, the first foray into the sort of Native Renaissance, long overdue after Oliver La Farge’s groundbreaking Laughing Boy.

Alexy Novalny, becoming sadly the permanent victim of Putin’s Russia, by which he had been persecuted his whole adult life, and leading figure in the struggle from which he never flinched.

David Soul, Hutch of TV series Starsky and Hutch, whose “Don’t Give Up on Us” was a hit song.

Current Organist Marilyn Musick at the organ David Francis helped select and for some years played.

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