We attended the funeral today for Cousin Phil Vrana in Hastings, NE. Phil was 82 and is pictured here with his parents and siblings in i996 at the time of his parents, Joe & Ruth's 60th Wedding Anniversary. The siblings are Dale, Joanne, Bonnie, Margaret and Phil. Phil's Dad and my Dad were brothers. Phil is survived by his wife Jean, sons Steve (Marilyn), Dan (Mary) and daughters Jan(Matt)Dwyer, Sue (Terry) Colhour; twelve grandchildren and four great-grandchildren and his siblings shown in the picture. Phil graduated from UN-L with a BS in Agriculture, served 2 years in the Army and had a career in Land Management with Farmers National and eventually his own firm "Mid-west Farm Management, Inc." He was active in the Methodist Church, Rotary Club and Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers, etc. Phil was highly respected among his associates in business, church, friends and relatives. As cousins we had many mutual friends and everything that I ever heard about Phil was very positive. He was a good Man and Steward of our Natural Resources.
We rode with my brother Don and his wife and were able to enjoy seeing the Sandhills Cranes feeding in the corn and soybean fields near Grand Island and the Platte River.
Tony, I stumbled across your blog today when I googled my dad's name. (I'm Sue, one of Phil's daughters.) As you know, dad's ancestry and family were very important to dad. I know that he always spoke positively of the Vrana cousins reunion. He always had a good time. Even mom enjoyed it! Thank you for attending the service this week and for the kind words about him. He was one in a million. He was soft-spoken, kind, very articulate and always helped me with car stuff (my Achilles heel). It seems the love of farming was born into dad. Even after he retired, his eyes would light up when someone brought up that subject. He was well-respected, a very good businessman, spiritual man and the best father anyone could ask for. I will miss him dearly.
ReplyDelete~Sue Vrana Colhour