Lila Appleton

Lila Marie Appleton, beloved wife of Richard L. and mother of Michael A. and David M. passed away on Saturday, January 5, 2019 at St. Lukes Hospital in Boise.   

A Memorial service will be held on Thursday, January 17, 2019 at 11:00 A.M. at Rost Funeral Home, in Mountain Home.

Lila was born in Lexington, Nebraska on July 25, 1940 to John and Anna (Jelinek) Cleland. As a teenager, she lied about her age to work as a car hop at a fast food restaurant. She graduated from Lexington High School. Her parents divorced and her mother later married Bernard Miller. They moved a lot because of construction jobs. She lived in Topeka, Kansas, Grand Island, Nebraska and several other towns and cities to include Little America in the western part of Wyoming. She said her step dad would come home and tell them “we have another job to go to” and pack up and leave. They finally settled in Omaha, Nebraska where she met her husband Richard in 1961. Richard joined the Air Force in January 1962 and Lila and Richard got married on June 24, 1962 in Omaha. They went to Lowery AFB in Denver, Colorado. After that, they went to Elmendorf AFB in Anchorage, Alaska and then moved to Cannon AFB, Clovis, New Mexico. Lila moved back to Omaha when Richard was sent to Vietnam. She moved back to Clovis when Richard was stationed back there again. During Richards’s military career, they were stationed at several bases including Edwards AFB in California, Torrejon AFB, Spain, Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, Williams AFB, Arizona, Lowery AFB, Colorado, Cannon AFB, New Mexico and finally to Mountain Home AFB.

Lila worked at the Army and Air Force Exchange System (AAFES) at every AFB listed above, finally retiring in July 2002 from the Mountain Home AFB exchange. After retiring, Lila and Richard purchased a 5th wheel camper and traveled through Canada and Alaska with their friends Lyle and Francoise Collins in 2006. In 2008, Lila and Richard took the camper and traveled a crossed the US to Washington DC down to Florida then across to Arizona and back home. During that trip, they stopped at numerous locations to visit family and friends. Lila really enjoyed both of the trips but was really happy to get back home. They also enjoyed the trips they made to Salt Lake City with their friends Sid and Mary Tucker and the stops they made at Wendover, Nevada for the night.

Lila is survived by her husband Richard, sons Michael and David (Teresa), 2 grandchildren Coby and Wyatt, brother Ronald Miller and numerous nieces and nephews.  She was preceded in death by both her parents, sisters Louan Alan and Wanda Blosser and brother Bert Cleland.

• Maiden Name: Cleland

Paula Blodgett

Paula Sue Whittaker was born in Lexington Nebraska on May 24th,1940 to Mary and Luther (Paul) Whittaker. She was the 3rd of 4 children. Growing up as a child she was an excellent student and by all accounts very much of a tom boy.

On May 25th, 1958, she married the love of her life, Marvin Blodgett Jr. Quite literally, he was the boy she grew up across the street from. They raised two sons, Steve and Bryan.

Paula was a successful secretary/bookkeeper/accountant and held positions with Judge Hugh Stuart, Countryman and Associates, and was a long-time employee at the KRVN radio station until she retired.

Paula was a woman of deep faith and was very involved in the church, especially when the boys were young. She taught Sunday school and participated in all the church youth groups that the boys were involved in as they got older. In her later years as a member of the Berean church, she would put the power point presentations together each week for the congregation to follow.

Paula enjoyed many outdoor activities throughout life. She enjoyed bicycling, boating, fishing, camping, snow skiing and playing tennis to name a few. She also enjoyed playing games such as Scrabble and Cribbage (she didn’t lose very often!) and always enjoyed putting together a good puzzle.

Marvin died unexpectedly when he was 60, so Paula’s later years were spent enjoying time with her son’s and their families and of course, her faithful dog Wilson.

After a hard battle with Covid, she moved to the Omaha area into an independent living community where she lived until she passed away on February 2nd.

Paula is preceded in death by her parents, Mary and Paul, her husband Marvin, her brother Kenneth, and her sister Myrna.

She is survived by her brother Jerry (Donna) of Lexington, her son Steve (Mary) of Elkhorn, Nebraska, her son Bryan (Emily) of Papillion, Nebraska, five grandchildren – Craig, Joe, Nick, Ashley and Jake – as well as numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

Services will be held on Saturday, February 7, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. at Reynolds-Love Funeral Home in Lexington with Dan Willets officiating.

Visitation will be held an hour prior to the funeral service on Saturday.

Burial will be held at Greenwood Cemetery in Lexington following the service.

Please direct any memorials to the family. The proceeds will be donated to help fund a TBD community improvement project for the City of Lexington.

Reynolds-Love Funeral Home in Lexington is honored to be assisting the family with arrangements. Please share online condolences with the family by visiting: reynoldslovefuneralhome.com

• Maiden Name: Whittaker

Bud Brecks

Earl F. “Bud” Brecks, 81, of Lexington, Nebraska passed away on Friday, January 28, 2022 at Lexington Regional Health Center.

He was born on April 29, 1940 in Cozad, Nebraska to Earl and Sophie (Ostendorf) Brecks. Bud attended Lexington Public Schools and graduated from Lexington High School with the class of 1958. Bud participated in football and track, the 1957 football team won the State Football Championship and was inducted in the Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.

Following High School, Bud enlisted into the United States Army on September 8, 1958. He proudly served his country during the Vietnam War and was honorably discharged on August 23, 1961.

Bud was united in marriage Bonnie Bedford on July 10, 1964 at the First Presbyterian Church in Lexington. Three children were blessed to this union: April, Rachel and Bill. The family made their home in Lexington. Bud worked for Mead Lumber, was a foreman for Britton Construction for nine years, went to Cornland Dressed Beef and worked on the kill floor for seven years. He was the Plant Engineer for a year and Superintendent for several years before managing NebraskaLand Tire for twenty years and retired in 2004.

Bud’s hobbies included playing golf, watching sports and traveling. He enjoyed a cold Pabst Blue Ribbon with his friends, spending time at Fonner Park and playing fantasy football. He was also an avid Seattle Seahawks fan. In his younger years, Bud played fast pitch softball for Martin Electric and the Blue Lounge.

Survivors include his children, April (Sterling) Stokes of Springtown, Pennsylvania, Rachel (Joe Houser) Brecks of Lexington and Bill (Abby) Brecks of Lexington; two granddaughters, Emily (Oscar Bojorquez) Houser of Kearney and Haley (Julio) Orantes of Lexington; four great-grandchildren, Evan, Eliberto, Nayelli and Andre; one brother, Jim Brecks of O’Fallon, Illinois; brothers-in-law, Don Fox of Cozad and Bob Martin of Lexington; step-sister, Rosemary Hofferber of Kearney; as well as nieces, nephews, extended family and friends.

Besides his parents, Bud was preceded in death by his wife, Bonnie in 2006; stepmother, Wanda Brecks; sisters, Diane Brecks, Ethel Fox, Alice Dorsey and Glenda Martin; half-sister, Cindy Acton; step-brother, Larry Deeds; sister-in-law, Myong Brecks and a son-in-law, John Parker.

A Celebration Of Life Service will be on Wednesday, February 2, 2022 at 1:00 p.m. at Reynolds-Love Funeral Home in Lexington with Reverend Eddie Mariel, officiating. The Service will be live-streamed via the Reynolds-Love Funeral Home Facebook page.

A Memorial Book Signing will be held on Tuesday, February 1, 2022 from 5-7 p.m. at Reynolds-Love Funeral Home in Lexington.

Inurnment with Military Honors will be in the Evergreen Cemetery at Lexington.

Memorials are kindly suggested to the Lexington Community Foundation.

Reynolds-Love Funeral Home in Lexington is honored to be assisting the family with arrangements. Please share online condolences with the family by visiting: reynoldslovefuneralhome.com

Lois Carnes

Lois Hanorah Carnes (née Zeplin) passed away peacefully in her home, surrounded by her loving family, on November 17, 2018.

A funeral Mass of the Resurrection will be held at St. Charles Church, 880 Tamarack Ave., San Carlos, Calif., at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 1. A reception will follow at the family home, and interment at Santa Clara Mission Cemetery, 490 Lincoln Street, Santa Clara, Calif., later that afternoon.

Lois will be remembered on Friday, Nov. 30, with a visitation at 6:00 p.m. and a Rosary at 7:00 p.m. at Crippen & Flynn Carlmont Chapel, 1111 Alameda de las Pulgas, Belmont, Calif.

Lois was born in the small town of Ainsworth on Feb. 15, 1940, and raised in Lexington, the sixth daughter of Nora S. (Murphy) Zeplin and John Zeplin. After losing her father when she was five years old in an airplane accident, she and her siblings were raised by their courageous mother, and each learned to contribute to making the household run.

Lois was gifted with amazing creativity, a ready laugh, and a constantly welcoming presence. At Lexington High School, she stood out for her leadership and artistic talents, participating in Glee Club, Pep Club, and Girls State, and serving as Junior Class President and Senior Class Vice President. She was chosen for the Honor Society and selected to receive a scholarship to Kansas City Art Academy (which she had to decline due to her family’s limited resources). She was even elected Homecoming Queen!

At the heart of Lois’ life was her religious faith. A lifelong Catholic, she followed her sense of vocation to a year as a postulant and novice with the Sisters of St. Francis in Clinton, Iowa, and she remained forever marked by that experience of prayer, silence, and a reverence for God, creation, and each person she met. Indeed, it was precisely in her religious experience that she discovered her call to venture far from home -- to California -- and to cultivate a life of generous service grounded in family life and her faith community.

Thus it was that Lois moved to San Mateo County in April 1963, working as a secretary for Minnesota Mining, and living with her elder sister, Kathy, as “career women.” Later, she would move on to work at United Air Lines, where a friend set her up on a date with Edward Carnes, whom she would eventually marry in 1967. They bought their home in San Carlos in 1969, and it served as the base for her activities for the rest of her life. From that time on, Lois poured her energy into the raising of her sons, Matt and Jim. In her free time, she was a linchpin volunteer at St. Charles Catholic Church and the White Oaks School and Central School communities in San Carlos.

Lois had an uncanny knack for finding people who were in the midst of challenging or vulnerable moments, and providing them with the welcome, support, and encouragement they needed. Individuals from church who were suffering loss; family members or friends who were grappling with relationships or depression; young people who felt excluded or were trying to find their way; elderly people who needed a ride to church or shopping or an appointment -- these became her people. With a never-empty pot of coffee, or a cigarette for those who smoked, she made them feel at home and completely accepted.

When Lois fell ill with cancer in 2014, she accepted it with a sense of calm and peace. She knew that she had lived life fully and well, and her faith gave her a profound sense that what lay ahead was even better than what she had known thus far. She beat the odds, outliving her initial diagnosis by years, and she was grateful for each day. From her couch, phone in hand, she continued to support, counsel, pray, and love right up to the end.

Lois is survived by her devoted husband of 51 years, Edward A. Carnes, and her sons, Rev. Matthew Carnes, S.J., of Washington, D. C., and James Carnes, of San Carlos, Calif., as well as by three of her siblings, Mary Ann Englert, of Redding, Calif., Katherine Ramsey, of Tucson, Ariz., and Patricia Zeplin, of Durango, Colo.

She was preceded in death by her sisters Jeanne and Maureen Zeplin and her brother James Zeplin.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Kino Border Initiative, PO Box 159, Nogales, AZ 85628-0159, https://www.kinoborderinitiative.org/give.

• Maiden Name: Zeplin