Mahlon Earl Johnson was born on his father’s Arthur County ranch on July 16, 1927 to Chris H. Johnson
and Almeda B. Stoddard Johnson. He passed away at home on January 19, 2013 at 1:06 P.M. He graduated from the
Arthur County High School in 1945. Then, on June 12, 1949, he married Nina L. Waits at her parent’s home
by Ringgold, NE. They made their frrst home on the ranch where they lived for 24 years. Three children were
born to them: Marlon LeRoy Johnson, Clinta Leone (Ron) Johnson Samuelson, and Lance Alan (Linda) Johnson.
Mahlon raised the top selling yearlings in the county for several years. He was a self taught welder, wood-
carver, and made exquisite jewelry. He built many things and rarely found anything he couldn’t do. He won
many ribbons in carving shows and persuaded The North Platte Woodcarvers they could have a show, which
proved to be very successful. In 2007 he won, “The People’s Choice,” for his table and, in 2008, he was
given an honorary table in honor of his carving accomplishments.
He is survived by his wife, Nina Lee (Waits) Johnson; his children, Clinta (Ron) Samuelson, and Lance (Linda)
Johnson; plus six grandchildren, Matthew (Jessica) Samuelson, Toby (Elly) Samuelson, Jessica (Chris)
Kline, Crystal Johnson, Kristin Johnson, and Christopher Johnson; and six great granddaughters,
Grace, Addelynn, Naomi, Charlotte, Cora, and Etta; also, by one sister, Doris (Duane) Wilson of Arthur;
and several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his son, Marlon; his parents, Chris and Almeda Johnson; step-dad, Bill
Quick; parents-in-law, Clinton and Hildred Waits; sisters, Winifred Anderberg and Ethel Anderson; broth-
ers-in-law, Bill Schneede, Orland Anderberg, Lewis Anderson, and Mervyn Waits; nieces, Lorna Custer
and Leone Dunlap; nephew, Kenny Chris Anderson; and great grandson, Owen Shane Samuelson.
Mahlon became a dedicated Christian and faithfully read his Bible for many years. In 1969 he had a cancer-
ous brain tumor and was told he had four months to live. He made many picture frames after that time-old
barn frames for western artist, Ted Long and, also, hand carved walnut and other frames.
In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to the Gideons and online condolences may be shared at www.adamsswanson.com.
Services will be 10:30 a.m. Thursday, January 24, 2013 at Adams & Swanson Funeral Home with the Reverend Ryan Alexander officiating. Burial will follow at the Riverview Cemetery in Sutherland, Nebraska.
Visitation will be 9:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. today and Wednesday and from 9:00 a.m. until service time on Thursday at Adams & Swanson Funeral Home which is in charge of arrangements.

Dorothy Maurine Foster, 90, of North Platte, NE passed away surrounded by her family on Saturday, January 19, 2013, at Great Plains Regional Medical Center in North Platte.

Dorothy was born near York, NE on September 18, 1922, to Carl Albert Lewis and Mary Aileen Witter Halverson. The family later moved to the hills south of Maxwell where Carl was a tenant farmer during her younger years. Dorothy began her education in a one room school and graduated 8th grade from Miller School. She attained her GED from Adult Basic Education in 1974.

In 1939 Dorothy married Charles Kelsey in Twin Falls, ID. Five boys were born to this union.

Dorothy married John Henry Foster in 1950 in North Platte and four boys and three girls were born to this union.

Dorothy was a member of the Church of Christ (Walker Road) and the North Platte Eagles Club. She worked at Lincoln Elementary in the school lunch program during a brief period and volunteered with their reading program. She also worked as a nurse’s aide at Linden Manor, but mostly stayed at home and took care of her family. Dorothy especially enjoyed reading, solving crossword puzzles, gardening and her cats.

Survivors include her children, Robert (Loni) Kelsey, Tom (Meri) Kelsey, Mary (Don) Goosey and Abby Foster, all of North Platte, Jack (Susan) Kelsey, of Little Rock, AR, Steven Kelsey, of Omaha, NE, Mark Foster, of Lincoln, Joel (Brenda) Foster, of Paducah, KY, Anne (Paul) McQueen, of Georgetown, TX; her sister, Betty Dowhower, of North Platte; brothers, Gale, of Grand Island, NE and Carl (Diane), of Cedar, MN; sister-in-law, Marjorie Taylor, of North Platte; 26 grandchildren; 37 great-grandchildren; one great great-grandchild; her longtime friend, Lucile Larson; and other friends and family.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Carl and Mary Halverson; her husband John; three sons, Gerald Kelsey, John H. Foster, Jr. and Kent Foster; a sister, Barbara Bare; five brothers, Don, Richard, Gordon, James and Kenny Halverson; and her granddaughter, Sandra Kay Smolik.

Her granddaughter, Sharon Axthelm, remembers two of Dorothy’s quotes that “getting old isn’t for the weak” and “shuffle off this mortal coil”.

Funeral service will be 1:00 p.m. Wednesday, January 23, 2013, at the Church of Christ (Walker Road) with Ned Cooper officiating. Burial will follow in Fort McPherson National Cemetery. Visitation will be from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday with family greeting friends from 5 to 7 p.m. at Odean Colonial Chapel At C & Sycamore. Condolences may also be shared at odeanchapel.com. In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to the Church of Christ or Paws-itive Partners. Odean Colonial Chapel At C & Sycamore is in charge of arrangements.

F. Alberta “Bertie” Elfeldt, 98, formerly of Sutherland, passed away Jan. 18, 2013, in her home at Linden Court in North Platte.
She was born on May 2, 1914, on a ranch west of Tryon, to A.B. and Grace (McCance) Snyder. As a child, Bertie and her family moved to Oregon, where she graduated from Salem High School in Salem. Afterward, she and her family returned to the Sutherland area and she worked as a nurse at the North Platte Hospital. On Sept. 27, 1934, she married Glenn A. Elfeldt and to this union three children were born. Bertie and her family soon settled on a ranch south of Sutherland. In 1957, a group including Bertie founded Sutherland Industries. She worked there until 1977 and her family continues to run the business today.
Bertie lived a full 98 years. She served as president of the Nebraska Cowbells (now Nebraska Cattlewomen), was a member of the Lincoln County Extension Board, was a 4-H Leader, served on the Census and Election Boards, was an Honorary Member of the Sutherland Chamber of Commerce, and was active at the Sutherland United Methodist Church where she found time to teach Sunday School. After being nominated by her grandchildren for being an outstanding grandmother, she was selected and hosted by the Granny Smith Apple Company with a trip to Washington State to receive an Outstanding Granny award.
Bertie had many hobbies and loved a good adventure. She and Glenn loved to square dance and traveled to dances all over the country. She enjoyed trapping, hunting rattlesnakes, raising many varieties of cactus, and was a fixture at the top of the stands at the Sutherland Rodeo for many, many years. In later years, Bertie always creatively celebrated her birthdays with her family, including going whitewater rafting when she turned 80, and driving the lead team of horses on the Oregon Trail at Chimney Rock when she turned 90. She truly had a great life.
Survivors include a daughter, Dr. Josee (Ray) Schultze, of Bellevue; two sons, Dr. William ‘Bill’ (Kandi) Elfeldt of Strawberry, Ariz., and Robert “Skip” (Anita) Elfeldt, of Sutherland; eight grandchildren, 19 great-grandchildren, and five great-great-grandchildren. In addition, she is survived by a sister-in-law, Beulah Callihan, formerly of Sutherland, and currently residing in Connecticut.
Bertie was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Glenn; two sisters, Nellie Yost and Billie Thornburg; a brother, Miles Snyder; and a grandson, Jamie Elfeldt.
Memorials are suggested to the Sutherland United Methodist Church or to the Sutherland Public School Foundation. Online condolences may be made at adamsswanson.com.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, Jan. 23, at the Sutherland United Methodist Church with Pastor Kolawole Akinnigbagbe officiating. Burial will follow at the Riverview Cemetery, south of Sutherland. Visitation will be from noon to 9 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 21, and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., with the family receiving friends from 5-7 p.m., on Tuesday, Jan. 22, at the Adams & Swanson Funeral Home in North Platte, which is in charge of arrangements.

Smoke Ryba, 41, of North Platte, passed away peacefully in his sleep on Jan. 16, 2013 at his home. He was born Feb. 16, 1971 to Martin and Sherri (Husman) Ryba at North Platte. In 1989, Smoke graduated from North Platte High School and then attended college at University of Nebraska at Kearney. He was employed at the Union Pacific Railroad as a Carman for eight years. He was a member of the Lutheran faith. Smoke is survived by his mother, Sherri Ryba; a sister, Shara Ryba; a nephew, Cash Ryba all of Lincoln; half-brothers, Brian, Larry, Jim and Alan Ryba; half-sisters, Susie and Janet Ryba all of Omaha; several nieces, nephews and friends. He was preceded in death by his father; and his maternal and paternal grandparents. Online condolences may be shared at www.carpentermemorial.com. Cremation was chosen. Memorials are suggested the Super Bowl 2013 (just kidding, go Niners). Memorial services will be 4:00 p.m. Monday, January 21, 2013 at Carpenter Memorial Chapel, which is in charge of arrangements.

Eldora Jeanne Ellis, 87, of North Platte, NE passed away with her family at her side on Thursday, January 17, 2013, at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, NE.

Eldora was born October 2, 1925, to Frank and Mary Snover Gubin on their farm near Stratford, SD. She grew up in Stratford and Bath, SD and graduated from Bath High School. While in school she met Daryel Wayne Ellis and they were married on June 6, 1944, at Aberdeen, SD.

Daryel and Eldora spent the early years of their marriage on their grain and dairy farm in Bath. They lived in Chicago for a time then moved to Nebraska where they spent their retirement years. Eldora enjoyed golf, bowling, playing cards and most of all, cooking and baking for her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Even though she had many of her own children to love and care for, Eldora was often considered a “mom” and “grandma” to many others. She had a heart of gold, caring deeply for family, friends and animals. She will be greatly missed.

Eldora is survived by her three daughters and two sons, Cheryl (Roger) Miller, of Silt, CO, Bill (Cindy) Ellis, of Lincoln, NE, Ted (Cleo) Ellis, of Elkpoint, SD, Peggy (Bob) Florom, of Pueblo, CO and Merry (Thomas) Sedlacek, of North Platte; 19 grandchildren; 19 great-grandchildren; numerous nieces, nephews and other family.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Daryel; her parents, Frank and Mary Gubin; grandson, Jayde Miller; twin great-granddaughters, Avery and Madison Craig; her brothers, Jack and Bill Gubin; and four sisters, Dorothy Snover, Mildred Wilke, Clayonne Wood and Arlene Bartz.

Funeral service will be 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, January 22, 2013, at Messiah Lutheran Church with Pastor Tim Eighmy officiating. Burial will follow in Fort McPherson National Cemetery. Visitation will be 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday with family greeting friends from 6 to 8 p.m. at Odean Colonial Chapel At C & Sycamore. Condolences may also be shared at odeanchapel.com. In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to Paws-itive Partners. Odean Colonial Chapel At C & Sycamore is in charge of arrangements.

Harriet “Ivon” Glassburn, 88, of North Platte, NE passed away Tuesday, January 15, 2013, at Linden Court in North Platte.

Ivon was born October 1, 1924, at Cotter, AR to James Robert and Arlena Chrisbon Whisnant. She grew up in Cotter and graduated high school from Wellington, KS. She then began work cleaning houses.

On September 17, 1945, Ivon married Raymond Lee Glassburn at Hutchinson, KS. They made their home in Anthony, KS where she worked in cafes, before moving to Wellington. Ivon then started working at Sears Roebuck Co. She and Raymond later moved to Wyoming and Colorado before settling in North Platte in the mid 1950’s. Ivon continued working for Sears and retired from there at the age of 65.

Ivon was a member of the Church of Christ (Oak Street). She liked to sew, loved her dogs and was a great typist. Each morning, Ivon and Ray would start the day by reading the Bible and having a cup of coffee. She was a kind and loving woman.

Ivon is survived by her husband, Raymond, of North Platte; a son, Calvin (Rae Ann) Glassburn, of Wichita Falls, TX; five grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; many nieces, nephews and other family.

She was preceded in death by her parents, James and Arlena Whisnant; two brothers, Robert and Roland Whisnant; and five sisters, Anna Farley, Geraldene Crow, Dell Mae Basinger, Rosa Norman and Betty Monteleone.

At her request, there will be no service. Visitation will be 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Odean Colonial Chapel At C & Sycamore. Burial will be in the Good Hope Cemetery north of North Platte. Condolences may also be shared at odeanchapel.com. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the family. Odean Colonial Chapel At C & Sycamore is in charge of arrangements.