Eldon C. Hoelting, 76, of Kearney died suddenly on Monday, January 23, 2012, at Good Samaritan Hospital after complications following surgery.
Mass will be held on Friday, January 27, 2012, at 10:30 a.m. at St. James Catholic Church in Kearney and the burial will be at Kearney Cemetery. A Vigil Wake Service will be at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday at the church. Visitation will be at St. James church for one hour before the Wake Service on Thursday evening and one hour before mass on Friday morning.
Eldon was born on August 30, 1935, at his parents’ farm near Lawrence, Nebraska, to William and Dora (Ostdiek) Hoelting; he was their twelfth of thirteen children. During his high school years at Lawrence High, he played football and basketball for Lawrence where he was an All-State End in 1953 before graduating in 1954. Eldon attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, initially on a football scholarship, and he graduated with a B.S. in 1958.
Eldon married Jolene Buescher on August 7, 1957, and they lived in Campbell, Nebraska, where Eldon was the school principal, taught science and vocational agriculture, and coached high school football from 1958-1965. Eldon, Jolene and their four children moved to Kearney in 1965 where he was employed by Western Land Roller until 1970. From 1970 to the mid 1980’s, Eldon was vice president and agriculture loan officer at First National Bank and then president of First Investment Savings & Loan. In 1986, Eldon became a financial planner for the Equitable Life Assurance Company, which is now AXA, and retired in 2010.
Eldon was a member of St. James Catholic Church, the Knights of Columbus, and a board member for ten years at Good Samaritan Hospital. He was a longtime member of the Gateway Committee, serving as its chairman in 1974, and helping with the Gateway Farmshow for years. Eldon was an active member of the Kearney Country Club and was a past president of the club. A message of condolence, tribute or memory can be left at www.hlmkfuneral.com. Memorials are suggested to St. James Catholic Church or the Kearney Little League Association.
Eldon's surviving relatives include his:
wife -----------------------------Jolene, of Kearney,
two sons ---------------------- Lynn and his wife Cathy of Goodland, KS,
Don and his wife Lynn of Baltimore, MD,
two daughters ----------------Cheryl Hoelting and her husband Mark Geisberg of Arcadia, CA,
Michelle Hansen and her husband Bill of Denver, CO,
seven granchildren--------- Braelyn, Emily, Zachary and Avery Hoelting, Ben Geisberg, Trevor and Monique Hansen,
three brothers ----------------Dick and his wife Doris of Lawrence, NE,
Leonard and his wife Imelda of Oxford, NE,
Vic and his wife Kay of Bellevue, NE,
three sister,-------------------Eva Krebsbach of Hastings, NE,
Eileen Buescher and her husband of Edgar of Lawrence, NE,
Marie Choquette and her husband Adrian of Upland, NE,
one sister-in-law,-----------Alma of Kearney, NE.
Eldon was proceeded in death by his: parents, William and Dora Hoelting, and six brothers; Dan, Roy, Vernon, Art, Francis and Clarence
.
