Stanley Wilshusen |
| Posted 2026-01-28 by Tammy Cooper |
| Stanley Wilshusen, age 81, of Aurora passed away on Monday, January 1, 2024 at his home. Funeral Services will be held at 2:00 P.M., Saturday, January 6th at the First Christian Church in Aurora. Rev. Penny Schulz will officiate. Interment will be in the Aurora Cemetery. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 P.M. Friday at Higby-McQuiston Mortuary in Aurora. Stanley Dee Wilshusen, the son of Arnold and Genevieve (Splinter) Wilshusen, was born January 1, 1943 in Aurora, Nebraska and passed away in Aurora, Nebraska on January 1, 2024, at the age of 81. He was raised in Aurora and graduated from Aurora High School, Class of 1961. Stanley was drafted into the U.S. Army on November 12, 1964. His Basic Training was in Ft. Leonard Wood, MO and advanced training in electronics was in Ft. Monmouth, NJ. Stanley was stationed at Fr. Bragg, NC and then Ft. Benning, GA where in March 1966 his unit was sent to Vietnam. He was a member of the 58th Trans Battalion stationed in Saigon. Stanley was honorably discharged from the Army on October 20, 1966. He earned the Vietnam Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal and the Good Conduct Medal. Stanley was united in marriage to Karen Marie Williams on September 5, 1965 at Aurora, Nebraska. After discharge from the Army, Stan returned to Aurora to work at Coast to Coast. In 1971, he enrolled at the Central NE Technical College in Hastings on the GI Bill and graduated as a HVAC/Refrigeration Technician. He worked at H & H Appliance, then became self-employed as Wilshusen Refrigeration and later on for Eckerson Equipment. Stan enlisted in the Nebraska Army National Guard on September 15, 1977, serving as a Petroleum Supply Specialist, and was honorably discharged on September 14, 1981. On November 2, 1985 he enlisted in the Nebraska Air National Guard, serving at the Air Base in Lincoln. In 1993, he served six months on active duty travelling to different bases in the United States working on their equipment with a group out of Minot, ND. During his enlistment in the Air Guards, deployments included Edmonton and Nova Scotia Canada, Alaska, Germany, Honduras, Hawaii, Panama, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. He was in the UAE at the time of 9/11. He retired from the Air National Guards on December 30, 2002 with the rank of Master Sergeant. Stan was a State employee at the air base while serving in the Air Guards. In 2008, after retirement as a state employee, he traveled to Kyrgyzstan as a contract employee working on Manas Air Force Base for three months. Stanley was a member of the First Christian Church since 1955. He was a member of the Aurora Volunteer Fire Dept. for 15 years, Lester S. Harter Post #42 American Legion for 50+ years, V.F.W. lifetime member, Aurora Jaycees, Aurora Chamber of Commerce and Aurora Gun Club. Stan enjoyed fishing, camping with the "Camping club", card club, shooting blue rock, Nebraska Husker football, league bowling and volunteering at the State Fair for seven years. He was preceded in death by his parents, brother, Conley Wilshusen; son- in-law, Gary Cooper; great-granddaughter, Eastyn Krei; brother-in-law, Jim Williams and father, step-father and mother-in-law, Arbie Williams, Evelyn Williams Zehr and Clair "Shorty" Zehr and 4-legged fur baby Haley. Those left to cherish his memory are his wife, Karen Wilshusen of Aurora; three children, Tammy Dee Cooper of Kearney, Kevin Eugene (Sandra) Wilshusen of Las Cruces, New Mexico, and Angela Marie (Rick) Straw of Lincoln; eight grandchildren, Ashley (Andy) Krei, Tyler (Micaela) Wilshusen, Lance (Shelbi) Eastman, Megan (Jared) Haag, Candice (Nick) Fasnacht, Jaylee (Julian Simms) Johnson, Savannah Wilshusen and Litzy Wilshusen; 10 great-grandchildren, Bentley, Avalyn, Austin, Ryder, Aron, Nadeane, Alexandra, Nixon, Noah and Aelin and sister-in-law, Jeanette Ferguson. |