Leona M. Schrad

NORFOLK -- Services for Leona M. Schrad, 91, of Norfolk will be Monday at 10:30 a.m. at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Norfolk with burial in St. Frances Parish Cemetery in Randolph and the Rev. Greg Carl officiating. Visitation will be 4-7 p.m. Sunday at Stonacek Funeral Chapel, Norfolk, with a rosary at 7 p.m. She died Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012, at Heritage of Bel Air. Leona was born Nov. 25, 1921, on the family farm north of Carroll in Wayne County to Paul and Olga (Larsen) Obst. She attended rural schools and Carroll High School, then worked in the Carroll area before moving to Sioux City, Iowa. There she worked for the Sherman family, Windcharger Corporation and at the Yonker-Martin Tea Room. Leona married Paul F. Schrad on June 3, 1945, at the Cathedral of the Epiphany in Sioux City, at which time she was also baptized and confirmed. The couple lived in Dodge City, Kan., and Ft. Worth, Texas, while Paul served in the Army Air Corps and Leona worked at the Post Exchange. They lived in Sioux City for a short time after Paul's discharge, farmed in the Randolph area and then moved to Minnesota in 1956. They lived in Worthington and then Fairmont, where Leona attended beauty school, returning to Nebraska in 1958. She operated Leona's Beauty Shop in Laurel until moving to Norfolk in 1973. After working for a time at Dudley's Servall in Norfolk, she began her career as a custodian at Norfolk Junior High School, retiring in 1988. Leona was a member of Sacred Heart-St. Mary's Church, Altar Society and Catholic Daughters. She sang in the Bound for Glory Choir and helped with funeral dinners for many years and was active in the Rosary Crusade and Ministries of Praise. Leona was always glad to help out her neighbors and was known for her ability to make things, such as doll clothes for her grandchildren and beautifully decorated cakes. Survivors include her husband Paul of 67 years, two daughters, Dianne (Terry) Lamb of Kearney and Cheryl (Kevin) Johnson of Norfolk. Her grandchildren are Heather (Lamb) Roubicek and husband Eric of Kearney, Christen (Johnson) Watts and husband Michael of Hartville, Ohio, Allison (Lamb) Selk and husband Nathan of Minooka, Ill., and Eric Johnson and wife Amber of San Antonio, Texas. She is also survived by four great-granddaughters and four great-grandsons and brother-in-law Richard Pfeifer. She was preceded in death by her parents, son Gary Schrad in 1965, brother Lloyd Obst, sister Elvera (Peters, Dempster) Pfeifer, and several brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law. Organist will be Karl Henkel with the Bound For Glory Choir and hymns "On Eagles Wings," "Be Not Afraid," "Eye Have Not Seen," "Song Of Farewell." Casket bearers are Gene Elliot, Nate Selk, Dean Hoffart, Michael Watts, Eric Roubicek and Richard Pfeifer.

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Leona M. Schrad

November 25, 1921 - December 26, 2012