HEMJE, Rose Arlene

Rose Arlene (Christensen) Hemje, 80 years of age from Hildreth, Nebraska passed away on Sunday, February 13, 2011 at her home in Hildreth. Rose was born on a homestead northwest of Minden on July 2, 1930 to Chris and Inger (Nielsen) Christensen. She was baptized as a child of God at home on November 10, 1930 and was confirmed in the Lutheran faith on May 6, 1945 at Bethany Lutheran Church in Minden by Rev. Alfred Anderson. Rose and Melvin Hemje were married on June 19, 1955 at Fredericksburg Lutheran Church near Minden and celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary this past June. They had three daughters Jane, Judy and Nancy, eight grandchildren and one great granddaughter. Survivors include her husband Melvin: daughters Jane Petersen and her husband Todd of Minden, Judy Dobbe and her husband Tom of Lincoln, Nancy Bellows and her husband Jim of York. Grandchildren Sarah Amstuz and her husband Trent of Lincoln, Scott Dobbe and his wife Audrey of Chicago, Stephanie Petersen of Washington, D.C., Matt Bellows and his fianceé Sunny Backlund of Lincoln, Gretchen Petersen of Minden, Stacey Rose Dobbe of Omaha and her fiancé Joel Barjenbruch of Lincoln, Brian Bellows and Becky Bellows both of York; Great Granddaughter Stella Rose Amstuz of Lincoln; Sister, Dahlia Saltzgaber of Minden and many nieces and nephews. Rose graduated from Minden High School in 1948 and received her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1952 and Master of Arts degree in 1967 both at Kearney State College. Rose worked at Warp Publishing Company in high school and college and in 1965 she wrote “Modern English Grammar” which was published by Warp's. In 1955-56 she did live television commercials for General Electric at the local television station outside of Kearney. Rose taught English and Speech in Cozad, Hildreth, and Minden Public Schools and retired from active teaching in 1980. She joined her husband Melvin in the Hemje Electric business as a secretary-bookkeeper from 1980-1994. Rose continued to be involved in teaching as a substitute teacher at Holdrege, Hildreth, and Wilcox-Hildreth Public Schools until 2001. She also worked part-time at the Minden Courier from 1997-2006. Rose enjoyed following the activities of her grandchildren and spending time with her little great granddaughter Stella Rose. Gatherings of family and friends were always a joy of Rose's life. She loved teaching and working with teenagers, directing both high school and community plays, playing bridge, surfing the Internet, reading and writing, and traveling on short trips with Slim. She was always very involved in both her church and the Hildreth community activities and most recently the Hildreth Q125 Celebration. She was member of Trinity Lutheran Church of Hildreth. Rose was preceded in death by her parents, brothers, Clyde Christensen and Clifford Christensen; sisters, Lily Jensen, Violet Christensen, Iris McDonald, and Zinnia Casper and many nieces, nephews, and other relatives and friends. Funeral service will be on Wednesday, February 16, 2011 at 11:00 a.m. at the Trinity Lutheran Church in Hildreth with Revs. Steve and Patti Byrne officiating. Burial will be in the Emmanuel Luteran Cemetery south of Hildreth. Visitation will be at the Jelden-Craig Funeral Home in Hildreth on Tuesday from 5-8 p.m. Memorials to Trinity Lutheran Endowment Fund or donor's choice.