Wilmer Benstead |
| Posted 2014-09-06 by Gayle Nelson |
| Wilmer E. Benstead, 78, of Allen, passed away Sunday, March 9, 2014, at the Norfolk (Neb) Veterans' Home. Services will be 11 a.m. Thursday at Evangelical Free Church in Concord, NE, with the Rev. Todd Thelan officiating. Burial will be in Eastview Cemetery, rural Allen, with military rites conducted by Allen American Legion. Visitation will begin at 5 p.m. Wednesday, with family present at 6 p.m. and a prayer service at 7 p.m., at Mohr Funeral Home in Ponca, NE. Wilmer was born July 17, 1935, in Ponca, the son of Floyd and Ethel (Baldwin) Benstead. He grew up on a farm south of Allen, and graduated from Allen High School in 1953. He attended Nebraska Wesleyan University and Wayne State College. Wilmer taught school in Coleridge, NE, and South Sioux City before he served in the US Army. After he entered the Army he was stationed at Fort Chaffe, Ark., Fort Sam Houston, and Fort Collins, CO, where he was being trained as an x-ray technician before he was called back home to farm, upon his father's death. He married Joyce O'Hara on September 17, 1965, at First Assembly of God Church in Sioux City. The couple farmed south of Allen. After retirement Wilmer worked as a greeter at Walmart in Norfolk and South Sioux City. Wilmer was an active member of Concord Evangelical Free Church, where he taught Sunday school. Wilmer enjoyed horses, bee keeping, gardening, and spending time with his family and 18 grandchildren. Survivors include his mother, Ethel Fox of Wakefield, NE; his wife, Joyce Benstead of Allen; children, Jennifer (Doug) Geigle of Minot, ND, Byron (Jackie) Benstead of LeMars, IA, Heather (Alex) Dohrman of Waterbury, NE, Brent (Joslyn) Benstead of Concord, and Heidi (Brian) Heitzman of Emerson, NE; 18 grandchildren, sisters and brother, Sara Tennisen of Kansas City, Mo, Jerry (Linda) Benstead of Culdesac, ID, and Beverly (Paul) Stewart of Allen; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his father, Floyd Benstead; in-laws, Orville and Margaret O'Hara; and an uncle, Elwood Benstead. |