Lillian D. Peshek

Lillian D. Peshek, 94, of Kearney, formerly of Fairfield, Nebraska, died Saturday, July 24, 2021 at the Mother Hull Home in Kearney NE. Funeral Services will be held on Friday, July 30th at 2:00p.m., at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Glenvil, Nebraska. Rev. Patti Byrne will officiate. Burial will be at the Glenvil, Nebraska Cemetery. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service. Memorials are suggested to Immanuel Lutheran Church. Please visit www.hlmkfuneral.com to leave a tribute or message of condolence. Horner Lieske McBride & Kuhl Funeral and Cremation Services in Kearney are in charge of arrangements. Lillian was born on Sept. 4, 1926, on the family farm in Spring Ranch, Nebraska, to George Jr. and Dora (Riese) Paus. A graduate of Glenvil High School. Lillian attended Hastings College and attained her elementary teaching accreditation. She taught in a one room schoolhouse at Spring Ranch just north of her home at the Pawnee Stock Farm. It was at the Pawnee Stock Farm where she met her future husband Joe when he came by to haul a load of cattle for George Jr. to the Omaha Stockyards. Joe and Lillian were married on hot summer day on July 25, 1948. Lillian remembered the heat because she bought a wedding dress on sale meant for a fall or winter wedding. Joe and Lillian purchased a farm west of Fairfield and began a life together. Through various attempts raising cattle and hogs, the purchase of a heard of Ayrshire dairy cattle proved to be a good fit; the family milked cows for 28 years. Lillian was an engaged farm wife working side-by-side with Joe milking cows, raising bottle calves, and hundreds of chickens, and was an able hand in the field driving her John Deere B tractor. Lillian had a green thumb and could make a fantastic meal with just the resources on the farm. Family and friends enjoyed many meals with fresh produce and the best pies from the five sour cherry trees by the garden. Her family and friends will remember the aroma of baking bread, kolaches and dinner rolls from her farmhouse kitchen. Lillian was baptized, confirmed, and married at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Glenvil. She taught Sunday school and summer vacation Bible school for a number of years. The verses and lessons provided to the children in her classes resonated with Lillian in her last years of life. Her deep faith provided strength during times of diminishing health, and fondly remembered the camaraderie of her lady’s circle bible study and association with the Blue Bonnet’s Extension Club. After years of work building a life on the farm and raising her boys John, Lyle, and Craig, Joe and Lillian retired and traveled a great deal of the lower forty-eight states and Alaska. During the winter months the two spent time in LaFaria, Texas. During the “Snowbird” years Lillian made new friends from many different states and walks of life. The warm winters at the Kenwood RV Plaza gave Lillian a chance to relax, do some needle point, write letters, read books, and take the occasional dip in the park’s pool and Jacuzzi. Lillian gave up her supper making duties during this time to the folks at Sizzler and Golden Corral taking full advantage of the early bird senior specials at 4:30 in the afternoon. Lillian is survived by her three boys, Reverend John (Dee) Peshek of Alexandria, Minnesota, Lyle (Aileen) Peshek of Ocean Side, California, Craig (Jodi) Peshek of Kearney, Nebraska, six grandchildren and seven great grandchildren. Lillian was preceded in death by Joe, her husband of sixty-eight years; Alvin, her older brother; and younger sisters Darlene and Vera.

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Lillian D. Peshek

September 4, 1926 - July 24, 2021