Russell Onken

Russell Onken, age 98, of Aurora, died Thursday, November 18, 2004, at Memorial Hospital in Aurora.

Funeral Services will be held 10:00 A.M., Monday, November 22nd at the First Christian Church in Aurora. Rev. Sam Fox will officiate. Interment will be in the Parkview Cemetery in Hastings. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 P.M. Sunday at Higby-McQuiston Mortuary. Condolences may be e-mailed to the family through the mortuary website at higbymortuary.com.

OBITUARY: RUSSELL ONKEN

Russell E. Onken, the son of Edward T. and Florence Celsey (Poling) Onken, was born in Lebanon, Kansas on August 1, 1906 and died in Aurora, Nebraska on November 18, 2004, at the age of 98.

He grew up on a farm east of Glenvil, Nebraska. He received his education at Glenvil and graduated from Glenvil High School. Russell became a Christian at the age of 12 in the First Baptist Church in Glenvil. He sang in the choir, played the piano at church, and was very active in church activities. He had one year of college in Concordia, Kansas.

On April 29, 1930, Russell was united in marriage to Florence Cathryn Meester.

During their early years of marriage, they lived in Deshler, Nebraska where Russell worked in a broom factory. They moved to Fairbury, Nebraska where he worked in the Bielow Grocery Store. From there they moved to a farm east of Glenvil and then to Aurora.

In 1943, Russell and his family moved from the Glenvil farm that the Navy Ammunition Depot took over and moved to Aurora. After a few years, they moved to Hastings where his parents lived and they took care of them. They moved back to Aurora in 1997 and in August of this year they moved into Colonial Corners.

Russell was a member of the First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

He was preceded in death by his parents, and one brother, Clinton.

Those left to cherish his memory are his wife, Florence, three daughters, Evelyn (Ervin) Bamesberger of Aurora; Rachel (Robert) Scott of Arvada, Colorado; DeEtta (Dallas) Amend of Fountain Hills, Arizona; 7 grandchildren: David Bamesberger of Naples, Florida; Denese Callen of Livermore, California; Kevin Lawrey of Fort Morgan, Colorado; Tami Fiedler of Grand Island, Nebraska; Traci Raber of Grand Island, Nebraska; Michael Amend of Seattle, Washington; and Russell Amend of South Riding, Virginia; 13 great grandchildren and 2 great-great grandchildren.