Ione M. Horst

NORFOLK -- Funeral service for Ione M. Horst, 92, of St. Edward will be held at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, October 21, 2023 at Stonacek Funeral Chapel in Norfolk. Officiating the service will be Pastor Brian Ketelsen. Burial will take place at Prospect Hill Cemetery in Norfolk. Visitation will be held from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m., Friday, also at Stonacek Funeral Chapel. Ione peacefully passed away on Monday, October 16, 2023 at Faith Regional Hospital in Norfolk with family by her side. In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to the family for designation later or to donor’s choice. Stonacek Funeral Chapel is in charge of the arrangements. Ione was born on August 31, 1931, in Dodge, Nebraska, the first child of Theodore and Lillian (Cernin) Cech. She was baptized into the faith at St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church in Dodge, NE. Ione attended rural Colfax County grade schools and graduated from Clarkson High School in 1949. During her last years of high school, she completed Nebraska Normal training for teachers and started teaching in rural Colfax and Stanton County Schools in the fall of 1949, at the age of 17. Between teaching, working in Norfolk department stores in the summer, and taking summer classes for teaching, she enjoyed attending dances in area dance halls. Dancing eventually led her to meet the love of her life, Melvin Horst, at the Howells Ballroom in 1950. On December 29, 1953, she married Melvin at St. Matthew’s Church in rural Wisner, and they made their first home on a farm near Union Creek in Stanton, NE. They farmed, raised livestock, enjoyed fishing in the creek, and hunted in the surrounding area. In 1962, they moved to Norfolk, where they purchased their new home on Cottonwood Street. Ione continued teaching school until their oldest daughter was born, and then she became a stay-at-home mother. Her hobbies included tending to her rose gardens, sewing clothes for her children, baking sweets, canning garden produce, polka-dancing at Riverside Ballroom in Norfolk, reading, playing the piano and accordion, and visiting family every Sunday. She started taking college classes part-time and graduated in the spring of 1979 with her Bachelor's Degree in Education from Wayne State College. She returned to teaching at District 19 in Stanton County until 1996. Ione loved helping her Kindergarten through 8th grade students learn new things and she especially enjoyed preparing her students for their annual Christmas Program complete with short plays, songs and recitations. Ione was a member of Christ Lutheran Church in Norfolk and Faith Lutheran Church in St. Edward in her later years. She was blessed with two daughters, Jule and Cheryl, and the family enjoyed spending time together camping, visiting amusement parks, going to country fairs, and helping her children with school projects and events. Ione retired in 1996 and spent her time taking care of her twin granddaughters during the week, socializing with friends on casino bus trips, playing Rummy and Kings Corner, and enjoying her RC Cola. She loved spending time with her grandchildren, especially watching her granddaughters’ sporting events and playing UNO attack with her grandson. Melvin and Ione celebrated 66 years of marriage before the passing of Melvin in 2020. Ione resided for the majority of the last 3½ years with Jule and Dean in St. Edward. In July she became a resident of Good Samaritan Estates Assisted Living Facility in Albion and thoroughly enjoyed her new friends, playing BINGO, making crafts and visiting. In recent years, her great-granddaughters brought her hours of joy and happiness. She loved listening to polka music, completing Sudoku puzzles and word searches, embroidering tea towels and baby quilts, and treasuring visits from her family. Ione is survived by her daughter Jule (Dean) Hamling of St. Edward, daughter Cheryl Musil (Steve Svoboda) of Columbus, granddaughter Christina (Michael) Hancock of Columbus, granddaughter Alicia (Cory) Preister of Humphrey, grandson Calvin Musil of Norfolk, great-granddaughters Madelyn and Leah Preister, and a third great-grandchild on the way. Her brother and his wife, Elden and Ruth Cech of Clarkson, as well as many nieces, nephews, and cousins. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Melvin, and her siblings: sister Margaret Groteluschen and husband Norris, sister Elaine Asche and her husband Eldon, brother-in-law Merlin Horst and wife Dorothy, sister-in-law Vernita Schulz and husband Wyllis, sister-in-law Eileen Renner and husband Harlan, sister-in-law Delores Horst, as well as nephews, uncles, aunts, and cousins. Casket bearers will be Calvin Musil, Cory Preister, Michael Hancock, Elden Cech, Dan Hellbusch, and Jack Groteluschen. Condolences may be expressed to the family on-line at www.stonacekfuneralchapel.com.

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Ione M. Horst

August 31, 1931 - October 16, 2023