Kennedy, Elaine Olberding (1929-2019)

KENNEDY, OLBERDING, NEES, LEWIS, VERDEJO, HENSLEY, MILLER, LEE, TRUEX, THOMPSON, PLOEGER, VERNIA, KOEBEL

Posted By: Paul Nagy (email)
Date: 5/18/2021 at 17:36:24

Elaine Kennedy
October 1, 1929 - July 21, 2019

After a valiant and optimistic effort dealing with numerous health issues during her lifetime, Elaine E. Kennedy, 89, Omaha, Nebraska, formerly of Storm Lake, passed peacefully on Sunday, July 21, 2019, after a brief hospice at home.

Mrs. Kennedy, formerly Elaine Olberding, was born at home on a farm with a midwife on October 1, 1929, at Arcadia, Iowa, to Frank and Victoria (Dora Nees) Olberding. She attended country school in Carroll County by riding two miles each day in a horse drawn buggy driven by her older brother. In 1939, after two years, her family moved to a farm near Odebolt, and she attended St. Martin’s Grade School where she received her first Holy Communion and confirmation. At age 16, she enjoyed spending a year helping her Dad on the farm. In 1946, she graduated from Odebolt High School. Next, she attended and graduated from National Business Training College in Sioux City, Iowa, where she was elected vice president of the Alpha Iota Sorority. After working as a secretary and bookkeeper at the Livestock Exchange building in Sioux City, she married Joe Kennedy on May 9, 1949, at The Cathedral of the Epiphany in Sioux City. A member of St. Mary’s Guild, she, also, taught CCD classes, volunteered for Meals on Wheels, and became a Brownie and Girl Scout leader, a softball coach, for several years a Shaklee distributor, and a bookkeeper for the family business after Hygrade closed.

Survivors include her five children, Randy, and his wife, Myra, of Waterloo, Iowa, Ron, of Omaha, Nebraska, Steve, and his wife, Priscilla, of Reidsville, North Carolina, Deb Lewis, of Omaha, Nebraska, and Kim Verdejo, and her husband, Richard, of Clarksville, Tennessee; seven grandchildren: (Randy) Ryan Kennedy, and his wife, Krisi, of Oregon, and Brooke Hensley, and her husband, Gary, of Iowa, (Steve) Joseph, of North Carolina, (Deb) Jarad Miller, and his wife, Michelle, and Devon Miller, and his wife, Sara, all of Nebraska, (Kim) Jennifer, and Erica Verdejo, and her husband, Tyler Lee, of Tennessee; eleven great-grandchildren, [Ryan] Wyatt and Haley, of Oregon, and [Brooke] Kennedy and the twins, Carter and Reagan, of Iowa, [Devon] Lillian, Noah, Violet, and Hazel, of Nebraska, [Jennifer] Ethan and Sadira, of Tennessee, and [Erica] AJ; a brother, Vern, and his wife, Sandy, of Spencer, Iowa, and a sister, Sharon Truex, of California; as well as by many nieces, nephews, and friends.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Joseph; her parents, Frank and Victoria Olberding, of Odebolt, Iowa; her parents-in-law, Daniel and Rosa Kennedy, of Storm Lake, Iowa; a brother, Norman Olberding, and his wife, Millie of Odebolt, Iowa; two sisters, Marilyn Thompson, and her husband, Robert, of California, and Mardelle Ploeger, and her husband, Les, of Schaller, Iowa; in-laws, Pat Kennedy, and his wife, Opal, of Washington, Frances, and her husband, Ike Vernia, of West Bend, Iowa, Vern Koebel, and her husband, Leo, of Moville, Iowa, John Kennedy, and his wife, Dorothy, of Storm Lake, Iowa, and Marie Kennedy, also of Storm Lake, Iowa.

She enjoyed her family and friends, sports, dancing, cats, and traveling. Despite her many health hurdles, she remained strong and optimistic, believing every day offered a reason to be grateful. She was deeply loved by her family and friends, remaining in their hearts and memories until they meet again.

Elaine will join her beloved husband Joe, united in a marriage of nearly 70 years, with a joint private mass at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Storm Lake and they will be layed to rest in a private ceremony at St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery.

Memorials can be made to Diabetic Association or Lied Kidney Transplant Center in Omaha, Nebraska.

The Family of Elaine E. Kennedy, 2019.

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