RAY HOLM, farmer, mason, husband, father, and neighbor, died Thursday, August 20, 2009, in Omaha, Nebraska. He was 85 years old.

Ray was born on March 23, 1924, near Craig, Nebraska, to Albert and Lillian (Willnard) Holm. There were two sisters in the family: Olga, the older and Edith, the younger.

Ray graduated from Craig High School in 1941. He was reportedly the best typist in his high school class and excelled at ping pong.

During World War II, he was employed at the Martin Bomber Plant in Omaha constructing B-26 bombers. Following the war he returned to farming and worked with his father for more than twenty years.

On August 22, 1948, Ray married Priscilla “Perky” Scott of Tekamah. They initially lived in the little house on the creek in Tekamah before moving to the country. Ray and Perky worked multiple farms in Summit township over the next twenty-five years before moving to Tekamah in 1973.

After the move to town, Ray worked as a refined fuel salesman for Burt County Co-op and Ag-land Coop for twenty-three years. This part of Ray’s life was most enjoyable as he maintained a connection to the land and to the farmers he came to know so well. He retired in January 1999, and upon retirement vowed not to spend any time sitting around in coffee shops.

During his ten years of retirement, he enjoyed annual trips to Texas, weekly lawn mowings, and daily visits to the coffee shop.

Ray was a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Tekamah, where he served as an elder and deacon. He was a member of several Masonic orders and served on the Board of Directors of the Burt County Museum.

Survivors include his wife, Perky of Tekamah; sons, Tom and his wife Barbara of New York City, New York, Cary and his fiancée Tami and her son Bud of Omaha; sister, Edith Gibbs of Tekamah; nieces and nephews from Olga’s family of Omaha and Oakland; nieces and nephews from Edith’s family of Tekamah and Colorado; sisters- and brothers in-law, the Severine family of Indiana and the Mader family of Colorado. Both Ray and Perky adored having “adopted” grandchildren, Eva and Mark Jones, the children of their best friends Faye and Michael Jones.
Ray was a kind, gentle man. There were no strangers in his life, only friends that he had not yet met. He will be missed by the entire community.

MEMORIAL SERVICE: Monday, August 24, 2009, 11:00 a.m. at the First Presbyterian Church in Tekamah.

MEMORIAL VISITATION: Sunday 4 - 7 p.m. with a 7 p.m. Masonic Service at Pelan Funeral Home in Tekamah.

PRIVATE FAMILY BURIAL: Tekamah Cemetery

MEMORIALS: Nebraska Children's Home, 4939 S.118 St., Omaha, NE 68137, Burt County Museum and the First Presbyterian Church, Tekamah.

Please feel free to send your condolences to the family.
Each condolence will be printed and given to the family after the service.

pelanfuneralservices@hotmail.com