John "Jack" B. Waller

Funeral Services for John "Jack" B. Waller will be conducted from Holcomb Evangelical Free Church, rural Phelps County, Nebraska on Friday, March 21, 2008 at 10:30 a.m. with Pastors Murray Jones and Todd Marcy, officiating. Interment will be in the Moses Hill Cemetery in Phelps County.

John "Jack" Berg Waller, 71 years of age, of Holdrege, passed away on Monday, March 17, 2008 at his home in Holdrege. Jack was born April 27, 1936 at Holdrege, the youngest of four children of Milford and Minnie (Berg) Waller. He received his primary education from District #72 north of Holdrege and graduated from Holdrege High School with the class of 1955. He then pursued higher education at Kearney State College. Because of the death of his father in May of 1957, Jack returned home to the family farm.

On December 1, 1957 he was united in marriage to Norma J. Sutton at Holdrege and to this union two sons were born: Michael John and Mark Alan. The family made their home on the family farm seven miles northwest of Holdrege, where Jack farmed and fed cattle commercially until moving into Holdrege in July of 1998. Jack then pursued the occupation of buying cattle for customers throughout Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado even at the time of his passing.

Jack has always enjoyed sports, but his greatest love was baseball. Jack played on many teams throughout his life such as the Loomis Legion, Holdrege Legion and semi-pro teams of Holdrege Red Sox, the Holdrege Bears and the Holdrege White Sox. After his playing years, he continued to coach baseball from 1973 – 1982 with a record of 263 wins and 71 defeats. Jack also umpired countless games for Legion Baseball in the region. In the spring of 1988, he was inducted into the Nebraska Baseball of Hall of Fame in Tilden, Nebraska. Jack also coached basketball for 18 years at R-6 School and Optimist Midget Football for several years.

Jack was active in the community, serving on many boards including: Phelps Memorial Health Center, Agri CO-OP, Central District Water Users, which he served as President for several years, Phelps/Gosper Livestock Feeders and Holdrege Baseball. He was currently serving on the Board of Directors of Christian Homes and the Holdrege Housing Authority.

He was a member of the Holcomb Evangelical Free Church, where he served as Trustee, an usher, sang in the choir and was a youth sponsor.

He leaves to mourn his passing his wife, Norma of Holdrege; two sons: Michael Waller and his wife, Kerry of Holdrege, Mark Waller and his wife, Kim of Lincoln; six granddaughters: Allisa, Audra and Addison Waller of Holdrege and Kaitlyn, Mallory and Makenzie Waller of Lincoln;one brother, Roger Waller and his wife, Mae of Falls Church, Virginia; two sisters: Mary Alice Feeney of Davis, California and Virginia Gustafson of Holdrege; and a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends. Besides his parents, Jack was preceded in death by two brothers-in-law: Dick Gustafson and Robert Feeney.

Jack will lie in state at the Nelson-Bauer Funeral Home in Holdrege on Thursday, March 20, 2008 from 1:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. with the family greeting from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

In lieu of flowers a memorial has been established in his memory to Holdrege Baseball Inc.

Expressions of caring and kindness can be sent to the family at www.nelsonbauerfh.com

The Nelson-Bauer Funeral Home in Holdrege is in charge of the arrangements.