Therese I. Keefe, 89, of Columbus, formerly of Kearney, passed away Oct. 29, 2012, at the Golden Living Center in Columbus.
Therese Ileen was born on Aug. 26, 1923, in Valley County, to Carl M. and Ida M. (Mogensen) Hansen. She was raised in the Ord and Burwell areas and received her education at Haskel Creek Country School and graduated from Ord High School in 1941.
On Aug. 15, 1942, Therese was united in marriage to Morris M. Keefe at the 20th Infantry Chapel in Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. For over 40 years the couple along with their family farmed and ranched in Valley and Custer Counties and settled south of Sargent. Throughout the years, Therese worked in the Sargent, Broken Bow and Kearney hospitals in housekeeping and the kitchen.
Following their retirement, the couple lived in Ord and Kearney. Morris passed away on Nov. 4, 1996. Therese continued to make her home in Kearney until April 2012, when she moved to Columbus.
She was a member of Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Kearney. She enjoyed playing bingo and watching western movies.
Survivors include three daughters and three sons-in-law, Karla (Tom) Knott, of Broken Bow, Patricia (Larry) Young, of Comstock, Kimberly (Jay) White, of Columbus; two sons and two daughters-in-law, Richard (Carol) Keefe, of Sargent, and Matthew (Debi) Keefe, of North Platte; 17 grandchildren; and 18 great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Morris; a son, James M. Keefe; a grandson, Justin Young; two brothers, Jack and Wally Hansen; and a sister, Audrey Keefe.
Her wishes were to be cremated. A celebration of her life will be at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 1, at the Ord Memorial Chapel with Father Mark Maresh officiating. Inurnment will be at the Ord Catholic Cemetery. Memorials are suggested to Catholic Charity. Ord Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements.