Obituaries

Reverend William “Bill” Louis Jurgens, 90, of Beatrice passed away peacefully on Sunday, July 18, 2021, at Whispering Winds Cottage of Beatrice. Bill was born near Mineola, Iowa, on September 7, 1930 to Louis and Wilma (Bichel) Jurgens. He attended country school through 8th grade and graduated from Glenwood Community High School in 1948. He was drafted into the Army in 1951 and served as the Chaplin’s Assistant until his honorable discharge in 1953. After his service he attended Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, graduating in 1958 with high honors. In the fall of that same year, the Lord called him, and he enrolled in Wartburg Theological Seminary, in Dubuque, Iowa. Bill met Brenda Mae Hense at a Student Association Sunday Night Fellowship and married her on April 30, 1960. Bill continued to attended seminary classes, internship and graduated in 1963. His first call was to St. Paul Hickory Grove Lutheran Church near Auburn, NE from 1963- 1974. In 1974, he was called to Zion Lutheran Church, rural Pickrell, NE where he served from 1974-1994. After moving to Beatrice, he continued his ministry with The Martin Luther Home, now Mosaic, in Beatrice from 1994-2002. He served as the associate and visitation pastor at St. John Lutheran from 2002 to 2015.

Jessica Lee Smith, one of two daughters of Todd Huffman and Johnnie Douglas, was born August 26, 1983, at Auburn, Nebraska. Jessica spent her entire life in Southeast Nebraska.

Merlan C. Grable, 84, died Friday, March 12, 2021, at Wichita, Kan. He was born July 2, 1936 at Table Rock. Grable worked in the grocery store business until retiring in his early 60s.