Ray O. Winkelman

Ray Winkelman, age 85, of Aurora, died Friday evening, October 4, 2002, at Memorial Community Care in Aurora.

Funeral Services will be held 11:00 A.M. Tuesday, October 8th at the Higby-McQuiston Mortuary Chapel in Aurora. Rev. Karl Larson will officiate. Interment will be in West Lawn Cemetery in Grand Island at 2 P.M. Visitation will be from 3 P.M. to 8 P.M. Monday at Higby-McQuiston Mortuary in Aurora. Condolences may be e-mailed to the family through the mortuary website at higbymortuary.com.

OBITUARY: RAY O. WINKELMAN

Ray O. Winkelman, the son of Louis and Louise (Kluna) Winkelman, was born in Comstock, Nebraska on February 5, 1917 and died in Aurora, Nebraska on October 4, 2002, at the age of 85.

He grew up in the Comstock area and went to school through the 8th grade. He worked on Dick Stone's farm. Ray joined the U.S. Army on February 19, 1942 serving in World War II in China, India and Burma in the 931st Signal Battalion. He earned the Carbine Sharpshooter Badge in January 1944. Ray was honorably discharged on December 31, 1945.

Ray farmed most of his life working for Fagans at Cairo, Arnold and George Meyer in Grand Island and Ed Strotman of Aurora. He worked for Hamilton Telephone Co. for several years before he did farming for Ed Strotman. His photo along with Fritz Penner and Lynn Willman was honored on the 2000-2001 front cover of the Hamilton Telecommunications phone book. When Ed Strotman retired from farming Ray went to work for the State of Nebraska highway maintenance until his retirement in 1981. After retiring from the State, Ray worked a few summers mowing roads for the Hamilton Co.

Ray was united in marriage to Lorraine A. Ruge on January 29, 1944, at Gainesville, Florida while in the service. The couple lived in the Grand Island-Cairo area and later moved to Aurora in 1957, where they now reside.

He was a member of the V.F.W. Post 4993 in Aurora. Ray's hobbies included fishing, hunting, trapping and his yearly gardening. He won the Garden of the Week award for his garden in 1991 and 1992.

He was preceded in death by his parents, one brother Edward; one sister, Eva and his daughter, Raylene Kay Steele.

Those left to cherish his memory are his wife Lorraine of Aurora; two daughters, Rosemae Schafer and her husband Ron of Columbus and Delores Inness and her husband Dwain of Kearney; 4 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren.