James E. Ready

James E. Ready, age 80, of Giltner died Friday, December 24, 2004, at University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.

Funeral Services will be held at 2:00 P.M., Monday, December 27th at the United Methodist Church in Giltner. Rev. Nora Mendyk will officiate. Interment will be in the Giltner Cemetery. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 P.M. on Sunday at Higby-McQuiston Mortuary in Aurora. Condolences may be e-mailed to the family through the mortuary website at higbymortuary.com.

OBITUARY: JAMES E. READY

James Eugene Ready, the son of Sam and Mary Ellen (Case) Ready, was born in Giltner, Nebraska on July 5, 1924 and died in Omaha, Nebraska on December 24, 2004, at the age of 80.

Jim grew up in the Giltner area and graduated from Giltner High School.

Jim was united in marriage to Marjorie Pauline Burrows on July 25, 1944, at Grand Island. They lived in California from 1944-45 while Jim served in the United States Navy. In December of 1945, they returned to Grand Island. He worked as a mechanic for Melvin Sims at C.E. Brown's Auto Supply. In 1950, they moved to the family farm near Giltner, where they farmed until retiring. Jim's love of the land began at an early age. He helped his father for many years and continued in his father's footsteps to successfully provide for his own family. While harvest was always a busy time, it was his favorite time of the year. He anxiously anticipated early July when the annual wheat harvest commenced. Other yearly highlights included the state and county fairs, and of course, Husker Harvest Days each fall. Winter months found Jim in the Butler building, overhauling irrigation motors and tinkering with antique cars and tractors.

Jim was a member of the United Methodist Church in Giltner.

He was preceded in death by his parents and also his wife, Marj, who passed away on September 28, 2004.

Those who remain to cherish his memory are his three daughters, Carol (Cletus) Kothe of Giltner, Susan (Ernest) Heyen of Giltner and Myra (Joe) Ricceri of Omaha and 6 grandchildren, Lisa and Bradley Bell of Hastings, Eric and Leaha Kothe of Phillips, Kevin Heyen and his fiancée Anne Schonhardt of Jefferson City, Missouri, Alex Heyen of Columbus, Ohio and Laura Ricceri attending Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa and Adam Ricceri attending Rockhurst University in Kansas City.