Mary Ruth Steffens

Mary Ruth Steffens, 96, Kearney, died August 24, 2016 at Kearney Regional Medical Center. Memorial Mass will be 11:00 a.m., Tuesday, August 30, 2016 at Prince of Peace Catholic Church with Fr. Paul Colling and Fr. Mike McDonald officiating. A rosary service will be at 7:00 p.m., Monday, August 29, 2016 at Prince Of Peace Catholic Church followed by a vigil service at 7:30 p.m. Memorials are suggested to The Friends Program in Kearney. She will be remembered primarily for her extraordinary determination to seek the good in others, and her uncanny ability to find it. Her favorite horse was a castaway from a neighbor; her favorite dog a stray; and her favorite person, well, it’s a 100-way tie. Mary Ruth was born in Omaha in 1920 to John and Anastasia Latenser. She grew up with her younger brothers Jack and Bill, reading books and riding horses. She attended Duchesne Academy and earned a Girl Scout Golden Eaglet Award. In 1938 Mary Ruth boarded the train for Chicago, where she attended Northwestern University. She was captain of the Northwestern women’s rifle squad and president of the Gamma chapter of Alpha Chi Omega. She returned to Omaha after graduation and found a job at the Martin Assembly Plant, where she inspected B-26 and B-29 World War II bomber planes. In 1944, Mary Ruth met a Navy doctor, LaVerne Steffens, while on a blind date with someone else. After the war, they married, moved to Kearney, and bought a house at the edge of town. They had four children, Julie Anne (Thomas), Bill, Mary Louise (Nelson), and John. They planted a few pines and watched the children, the trees and the town all grow up around them. Dr. Steffens died in 1967. Mary Ruth once again returned to the workforce, this time as the first elementary school counselor for Kearney Public Schools. For the next 20 years, she touched the lives of every student at Bryant, Central, Emerson and Kenwood Elementary Schools. After her retirement, Mary Ruth joined the Disaster Relief Services arm of the American Red Cross. She traveled around the country to help after numerous natural disasters, such as Hurricane Hugo and the 1989 San Francisco earthquake. Between disasters, she helped launch the Friends Program of Kearney and was an active member of Kearney’s Golden K Kiwanis. Mary Ruth earned numerous awards for her volunteer work, including the Red Cross Clara Barton Award, the Sertoma Service to Mankind Award, and the Hub Freedom Award for Humanitarianism. Mary Ruth is survived by her daughters, Julie Anne Thomas and her husband Jon of Lincoln, Mary Louise Nelson and her husband Pat of Kearney; sons, Bill Steffens and his wife Cory of Broken Bow, John Steffens and his wife Jayne of Lincoln; brothers, Bill Latenser and his wife Marian of Omaha, Jack Latenser of Omaha; grandchildren, Lea Anne (Thomas) Wroblewski, Katherine Thomas, Kelly Steffens, Jaime Steffens, Stephanie (Nelson) White, Michelle (Nelson) Flannigan, Beth Nelson, Chris Steffens, Matt Steffens; great grandchildren, Anna, Mary, and Frank Wickizer; Tess and Calvin White; Noah, Sam, and Chase Flannigan; Isaac and Evan Steffens Mary Ruth was preceded in death by her husband Dr. L.C. Steffens and her parents.

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Mary Ruth Steffens

August 24, 2016 - August 24, 2016